Most adventure films involve a call to action that takes the protagonist from the safety of their home to a fantastic new land. Harry Potter comes out of the cupboard under the stairs. Luke Skywalker leaves Tatooine. Bilbo Baggins leaves the Shire. Because Technicolor films brought the spectrum of light to the screen, viewers expect the thrill to take place somewhere extraordinary, full of color, intrigue, and spectacle. However, Barbie flipped the script by having Barbie’s hero’s journey take her from the pastel plastic of Barbieland to the gray concrete of the real world, where the adventure begins.
Even before BarbieMany films have taken interesting characters on adventures in the most normal and boring environments. Fantasy characters in ordinary settings provide a natural fish-out-of-water element. These films prove that a hero’s journey is all about character growth, which can happen anywhere from a McDowell’s in Queens to the skyscrapers of Century City in Los Angeles.
Barbie (2023)
Barbie is the hit summer comedy starring Margot Robbie as Barbie. Every day is the best day in Barbielandia. Barbie is worried when she suddenly becomes “irrepressible thoughts of death”And, worse, cellulite. Barbie doesn’t want anything to change in her life, but to right what’s wrong, Barbie must travel from the matriarchal utopia of Barbieland to the real world to find who is playing with her.
Barbie doesn’t care about how backwards everything is in the real world. Construction sites are not centers of “woman power.” Directing requires a lot of focus. Barbie is devastated to realize that as a doll, she held herself to unrealistic standards while thinking she was empowering girls. Barbie deals with many complicated realities. Beauty takes many forms. Barbie travels to the real world so that she can return to his life as it was, but at the end of BarbieBarbie chooses to stay and embrace the beauty of complexity.
Soul (2020)
Soul was a high-concept animated comedy-drama from Pixar. Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) dies on the same day he would have his big break as a jazz musician. In “Great beyond,”Joe meets 22 (Tina Fey), a soul who never got a body, because she never found it“spark.” Joe accidentally brings 22 back to Earth with him, and while 22 experiences life’s little joys, she finally finds her spark. They notice a “spark” is not a specific passion, but an openness to experiences. After thousands of years, 22 is ready to begin her life.
22 spent eons in the ethereal.”You seminar”, where souls can observe all human experiences, but nothing has grasped 22 as their purpose. If 22 had never arrived on Earth, she would never have experienced the warmth of a sunbeam or her first bite of a slice of pizza. It’s the simplest human pleasures that make 22 excited to start her life.
Last Action Hero (1993)
Ultimate Action Hero is a satire of the action genre. Danny Madigan (Austin O’Brien) loves action crime movies so much that he finds himself transported to one of them. Danny teams up with police hero Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger), but in his quest to get Danny home, Jack and the villains also find themselves in the real world of crime-ridden New York City.
Jack Slater is distraught about his time in the real world. He used the superhuman invincibility he possesses in the world of cinema. In the real world, when he punches a car window, it hurts a lot. When he shoots, he doesn’t always hit the target. Slater becomes more well-rounded and empathetic as a mere human in the real world, but when he is mortally wounded, he returns to the film world, where he becomes merely a flesh wound. Slater heals with a new appreciation for the differences between his world and the real world.
Blast from the Past (1999)
Blast from the past is a romantic comedy. Brendan Fraser plays Adam Webber, a boy who grew up in a fallout shelter and experienced the outside world for the first time. His father sealed the family for 35 years. Outside the bunker, Adam meets Alicia Silverstone’s Eve Rustikov, his love interest who introduces him to the exciting world of the 90s.
While Blast from the past It’s all in one world, Adam’s life in the fallout shelter could very well have been a separate universe. Adam only has references and mannerisms from the 60s, which clash with the behavior and expectations of the 90s. At first, Adam is disoriented and disillusioned, but with Eva’s help he learns to navigate the present. Adam loves the outside world so much that he convinces his parents to come back too.
Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Woman was a DC superhero film starring Gal Gadot as Diana Prince, better known as Wonder Woman. Diana was raised on the hidden island of Themyscira, home of the Amazons, a force of female warriors. The island’s peace is shattered when Diana rescues a soldier from a plane crash. He tells her about World War I, and Diana believes it is the Greek God of War inciting violence among humans. Diana steals a sword said to be “the slayer of gods”And leaves his island to protect the real world.
Diana discovers that the truth of the real world is much more complicated. His idealistic view of humans is shaken by the brutality of war. Although humans are more selfish than she imagined, they are also worth saving. Diana enjoys the moments she shared with her new friends and loves finding the strength to become the godslayer in the final battle. Diana chooses to stay in the real world, because people are worth protecting.
Coming to America (1988)
Coming to America is a romantic comedy starring Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem Joffer, the crown prince of Zamunda. Akeem grew up with all the luxuries, but when his parents gift him his fiancée on his 21st birthday, Akeem realizes he wants an independent woman who loves him regardless of his titles. Akeem decides to go undercover as a poor foreign student to find the right woman, and the only place he can find his princess is in Queens, New York.
Although Queens is technically in the same world as the fictional Zamunda, the change in lifestyle could very well be a different dimension. In Queens, Akeem sets up shop in a small studio and gets a job at McDowell’s, a McDonald’s imitation. Akeem is attracted to Lisa McDowell (Shari Headley), the restaurant owner’s daughter, for her principles and open mind. This is the kind of woman he has never met in the palace. Akeem is willing to give up being with her when she finally discovers his identity, but Lisa jokes that that won’t be necessary.
Enchanted (2007)
Enchanted is a Disney musical fantasy romantic comedy that offers a new perspective on the fairy tale genre. Amy Adams stars as Giselle, a woman from an animated fairytale kingdom who is tricked into falling into a portal to New York, “where there are no happy endings.” Giselle is reluctantly taken in by a divorce lawyer, Robert Phillips (Patrick Dempsey) and his daughter. While Giselle waits for her prince to rescue her, Robert exposes her to modern ideas such as “falling in love.”
Giselle’s skills in her home world of Andalusia don’t translate so well into the real world. Robert is not pleased when she asks the mice to help tidy up her apartment or cuts her curtains to make a stunning dress. Giselle never experienced real emotions. Although Robert may frustrate her, even feeling negative emotions is a thrill for Giselle. When Giselle is given the option to return home, she discovers that she doesn’t want to go back to being the two-dimensional being she used to be.
The Little Mermaid (1989)
The Little Mermaid is an animated Disney musical romance. The film tells the story of Ariel, a mermaid who falls in love with a human prince. Desperate to be together, Ariel makes a deal with a sea witch to gain legs in exchange for her voice. Even before falling in love from afar, Ariel always dreamed of life above the surface, which she sings about in “Part of Your World”.
Ariel is delighted to be human. She wiggles her toes excitedly and gets the chance to explore all her earthly interests. Although she is not very articulate without her voice, her expressions are full of enchanting charm even in the simplest things, such as a fork. In the end, even her father admits that she was happier as a human and makes her fully human so that she can live happily ever after.
Thor (2011)
Thor is a Marvel superhero film based on Norse mythology. Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, is the arrogant crown prince of Asgard, home of the Gods. Thor has his powers, his friends and his magic hammer. Thor openly courts war, and his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), decides to punish and humiliate him. Odin banishes Thor from the golden halls of Asgard to the mortal world of New Mexico, stripped of his powers. Odin puts an enchantment on the hammer so that only someonevaluable”You can exercise it.
On Earth, Thor is a fish out of water. He tries the coffee for the first time, breaking the mug afterwards according to Asgardian tradition, drawing the attention of the entire diner. Thor connects with people and sees that he is no better than those he used to see as mere subjects. During the climactic battle at the end, he sacrifices himself to save innocent humans, so Thor finally becomes worthy of his hammer and its power. When he was banished, every Thor wanted to return home. After his journey, Thor is devastated to be trapped in Asgard, unable to return to Earth.
Elf (2003)
Elf is a Christmas comedy starring Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf, a human raised among elves at the North Pole. As an adult, Buddy discovers the truth about his ancestry and travels through Candy Cane Forest and the Lincoln Tunnel to reach New York City to find his father. Buddy’s father, Walter Hobbs (James Caan) is on the naughty list and is not patient with Buddy’s Christmas spirit.
Buddy grew up at the North Pole, where he could talk to narwhals and animated snowmen. Buddy’s naivety stands out in New York. When he passes a diner advertising “the best cup of coffee in the world”, he congratulates them. Some people find Buddy’s behavior cute, others find it irritating, but his incessant happiness tends to eventually rub off on everyone around him. Elf it is not an example of the hero who needs to change, but of the hero who changes the real world around him. Buddy manages to save Christmas, making even the most cynical New Yorkers believe in Santa Claus.