The Three Act Structure

 Three Act Structure within a recent film

‘Every movie needs to have a beginning, middle, and an end but not necessarily in that order, ‘said Jean Luc Godard. 

As viewers of films we are used to this familiar structure, in which a main character follows us throughout and goes through some sort of crisis which we eventually see to be solved. The protagonist is what the whole film is structured around, their life, the problems they face and how they emerge on the other side. Often we see the story begin in a state of equilibrium, in which the characters are seen in an environment is normal to them. Something disturbs this and then by the end the characters are returned to a new equilibrium in which something has changed.

Fantastic Mr Fox is a film adapted from a classic Roald Dahl story book, which has recently been released. It follows the three act structure perfectly.

The story begins by setting the scene, introducing us to the characters and Mr Foxes plan to steal from the farmers.

The crisis is when the farmers are aware that the fox is stealing from them and hunt the animals, trapping them underground without food. The resolution is when they find the supermarket and no longer have to worry about food and the characters are closer to one another after working together.