Scriptwriting is all about creating emotional symphonies. Thrillers work to keep people on the edge of their seats. Horror shows play with the emotion of fear. Walt Disney once said for every laugh there needs to be a tear. If you’re not building up some emotion you're boring your audience.
One emotion that is exceedingly rare, but which can provide box office magic, is joy. Never has joy been more wonderfully presented in a movie than in the third highest box office success of all time (adjusted for inflation). People from around the world still travel to Salzburg Austria to visit the Locations where The Sound of Music was filmed. It’s been bringing joy to people for more than 50 years.
It does not bring joy to everyone. Before signing on to play Maria Julie Andrews was concerned that it was too sweet. Director, Robert Wise tried to give it some sharpness. Reviewer Pauline Kael despised it and actually lost her job for being so nasty in her review, including the line, “We have been turned into emotional and aesthetic imbeciles when we hear ourselves humming the sickly, goody-goody songs.” Critics aside, it was a huge success. Audiences who enjoyed the goody-goody loved it. Shockingly, it even won a best picture Oscar.
After the world fell in love with the movie Julia Andrews and Robert Wise were asked why they thought it did so well. Robert Wise said, ““People just feel good when they see it; there’s a sense of warmth, of well-being, of happiness and joy.” Julie Andrews answered, ““It’s very joyous. It’s refreshing and not too complicated. A love story, with children and music. And I think, from the enormous amount of mail I get, that word ‘joyous’ has an awful lot to do with it.”
Few filmmakers could pull this off because most feel more like Pauline Kael than Rogers and Hammerstein. Oscar Hammerstein once said, “I know the world is filled with troubles and many injustices. But reality is as beautiful as it is ugly. I think it is just as important to sing about beautiful mornings as it is to talk about slums. I just couldn't write anything without hope in it.”
There are audiences for what’s ugly, but there are huge audiences for what’s beautiful and joyful. Look at how The Sound of Music pulled it off.
First there was just wind and clouds, then wind and mountains, then birds chirping before the beginning of gentle orchestral music. The case was being made that all of God’s creation is alive with joyful music if you have a heart to hear it.
The camera then sweeps down on Maria with arms outstretched and palms up swinging around with very real joy in her heart. She sings of her heart being blessed as she appreciates all God has made. This reverent joy is very rare in movies.
The movie then contrasts this spontaneous reverent joy with the more formal praises sung in the abbey. While the nuns’ songs are beautiful, they seem dutiful and practiced rather than spontaneously inspired from within.
Then comes the amazing song, “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria.” The nuns argue about Maria’s good and bad qualities. She seems too wild for the discipline of the abbey, but very sweet and sincere. They conclude the song asking, “How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?”
This deep joy as a character trait is very attractive and becomes all the more so when combined with the spunk necessary to stand up to Capitan von Trapp and bring joy to children being treated as soldiers. The “My Favorite Things” song teaches the children to think of joyful things even in difficult situations. The musical instruction in “Do, Re, Me” is accompanied by one of the most joyous and beautiful romps ever put on film. Maria even manages to bring joy to the movie’s official grump, Captain von Trapp. By bringing music back into the house, the captain is melted.
Shortly after The Sound of Music came out the Motion Picture Code was abandoned and MPAA ratings were instituted. Pauline Kael’s wishes came true. Hollywood dove head long into dark stories and more R-rated movies were made than all other rating combined. Today the thought of making something as joyful as The Sound of Music does not strike a note with studio executives. I hope one day it will. I believe the world would still like some joy.
La La Land and The Greatest Showman are two recent successful Box office musicals. The thing about Hollywood movies is it's a freelance business. Everyone on the creative side is a freelancer. All you need is an idea and the will to put in the work, and very few people start off their careers making a blockbuster movie. The best filmmakers start small, low budget indies. Robert Wise was already an established director before "The Sound of Music."
I think you’re running into a classic storytelling mistake. You shouldn’t tell your audience to be something, you should tell your audience to do something.
“Be joyful” is abstract and could take many forms, from action to inaction. “Spread joy,” for instance, is much more specific and comes with an inherent set of actionable parameters. Or, for The Sound of Music, the film was telling the audience to persevere even in the face of extreme adversity.
Which is to say, writers hoping to impact their audience should focus less on evoking a specific emotion and more on compelling action. Because if your audience walks out and thinks “I feel more joyful” and this feeling does not result in a change in what they do or how they live, you have not really accomplished anything except a temporary feeling of elation.
Thanks Stephen. You have an excellent point. Maria in The Sound of Music was a joy spreader. In the case of Maria she was able to spread joy because she had a joyful outlook on life. Her heart "sang" in the mountains and when she had problems she "thought of her favorite things." Her "be joyful" was infectious. A takeaway from The Sound of Music is "if you will be joyful, even in difficult situations, you can change the world." This message was LOVED by audiences and HATED by many movie critics. They saw the world as nasty and wanted movies to show it that way. They considered that being "realistic."
In Pollyanna the movie's young heroine shared with a grumpy pastor a message from her father. It was "If you look for the bad in people you will surely find it." The pastor went from preaching hellfire and brimstone to preaching about God's desire to bring joy. The very word "Pollyanna" now means an outrageously optimistic person. The movie was about how her joy and optimism changed a whole town.
Hi David,
I know I gave you a list of 2019 Family Friendly Films last week. I just wanted to let you know that a lot of the old films with a lot of songs/musicals are being remade/re-imagined, too - and are finished' or in development. From 13, to Aladdin, to Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dream, to West Side Story. Even Guys & Dolls. There's probably another 20 or so, too. And I don't know if you saw it, but The Sound of Music was remade a few years back, too.
Between the Family-Friendly Films I named last week, and the upcoming musicals/films with a lot of songs....there are a lot of great films being released or that are being made, and that fall in your wheelhouse. You are on the same page with a lot of producers and execs!
Best fortunes to you in your creative endeavors, David!
Thanks Bill. I did see that list. It's impressive. I'm working on a big musical called The Sound of Heaven. It opens in the Ukraine on a mountain top (much like The Sound of Music) and ends in the Hollywood Bowl. My hero hears music from heaven and seeks to recreate it. He winds up in a huge Hollywood contest. It's big enough it may need a major studio to make it. I don't know who among the majors would be interested and I don't have a lot of contacts. I see that musicals are making a comeback and this could be a very impressive one.
Eric. I suggest you watch this: https://vimeo.com/261191655
Eric. You are more joyful than I if you can find joy in everything. I'm glad you enjoy the programs you mentioned.
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I can only agree with this : ''Walt Disney once said for every laugh there needs to be a tear.'' and with this : '' If you’re not building up some emotion you're boring your audience.''
You have to make your audience laugh and cry , hold their breath and make them care for at least one of the characters you are portraying. You have to make them feel their emotions.