The latest Ratatouille trailer for American audiences is out and whaddya know…they managed to keep the relationship throughline in there. It’s ready to view either on Disney.com in HiRes or here in LowRes YouTube fashion. They score a big 5 out of 5 for creating a compelling and gorgeous trailer that has just enough in there to entice audiences into theaters this summer.

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The Dramatica way of looking at a story can not only be applied to the stories themselves, but also how they are marketed. Take for instance, the one-sheet - or what normal civilians would call a movie poster. As with stories, a successful one-sheet is one that includes all the different persepctives one can take when looking at a problem.

Here are four films with varying degrees of success in communicating their central idea.

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Well, in sharp contrast to my elaborate analysis of Hotel Rwanda, I have little to say about Notting Hill (1999). I found the story incredibly boring - and this coming from a fan of romantic-comedies. But it’s not enough to simply say you were bored watching a film. In order to be constructive you should at least know why.

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The first act of Pixar’s next film, WALL-E has been revealed online. At first glance, it looks both daring and brilliant. What is most fascinating from a Dramatica standpoint is how all four throughlines are setup and easy to pinpoint in this brief synopsis.

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In a conversation I had with Dramatica theory creator Chris Huntley last November, I asked him, “After 10 years of writing story analysis, what are the top 10 re-occurring problems you see in story today?” He gave me two.

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The newest Superman movie almost does it. The pieces are there for a full complete story. But like most stories that almost make it, the pieces are there, they’re just not put together in a way that provides an audience with meaning.

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My first attempt at analysis finds me writing about the Vince Vaughn/Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy “the break-up.”

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There are good trailers and then there are bad trailers. The best trailers compel you to go to the theater. And as always, the most compelling ones incorporate Dramatica concepts.

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Can a 3-minute trailer lay the foundation for a Grand Argument Story?
I think if a movie wants to draw an audience into the theater it has to. And the Sam Mendes film, Jarhead, does just that.
Within 10 seconds we set up our Main and Impact Characters. Jamie Foxx’s Drill Sgt. Siek draws us in immediately, [...]

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