Guidelines for Crafting a Kids' Film Screenplay: Infusing Magic, Mayhem, and Ethics
In the world of filmmaking, creating a children's movie is a unique and rewarding challenge. These films have the power to shape young minds and become cherished parts of someone's growing-up years. Here, we delve into the essential tools and techniques for crafting captivating children's movies.
Mapping Out the Story's Structure
One of the most crucial elements in crafting a children's movie is using a beat sheet. Beat sheets help map out a story's structure, defining major plot points, tracking emotional arcs, ensuring pacing, and aligning character development with story progression.
Bringing Characters to Life
When writing a children's movie, it's essential to make characters visually distinct, use exaggerated traits, let them grow, include sidekicks, and bring them to life with character profiles and beat sheets. Character Profiles help build characters from the inside out, defining personality traits, motivations, relationships, visual descriptions, and backstories.
Exploring Diverse Examples
Children's film scripts can be learned from by reading examples, such as "Kubo and the Two Strings", "The Mitchells vs. the Machines", "Coraline", and "A Monster Calls". Each of these films offers a unique take on storytelling, with "Kubo" blending Japanese folklore with universal themes of memory and loss, "Coraline" exploring darker, more gothic themes of neglect, bravery, and self-reliance, and "A Monster Calls" focusing on a boy coping with his mother's terminal illness.
Testing the Script
When testing a script for children, reading it aloud and sharing it with kids in the target age group can be helpful. This provides valuable insights into the script's appeal and any areas that might need improvement to better resonate with young audiences.
The Power of Animation
Animation allows for more visual exaggeration and fantastical elements, while live-action often leans more into realism and subtlety. Each style has its strengths, and the choice between them depends on the story being told.
Writing with Purpose
Writing a children's movie is a chance to create something timeless, helping kids feel seen, understood, and inspired. It's an opportunity to handle serious themes with care, presenting them with hope and offering valuable life lessons. Children are smart and emotionally intuitive; they can handle depth if it's presented in an engaging and relatable way.
Meet Natasha, a Rising Talent
A shining example of this is Natasha, the freelance screenwriter and script editor from the United Kingdom who placed in the 2022 Screenwriters' Network Short Film Screenplay Competition and the Golden Short Film Festivals. Her work demonstrates the potential for powerful, thought-provoking children's movies that resonate with audiences of all ages.
Scripts to Explore
For those interested in delving deeper into the world of children's film scripts, the BBC has a comprehensive list of children's scripts to explore. The script for "A Monster Calls" is especially useful for writers interested in horror or fantasy for kids.
In conclusion, crafting a children's movie is a rewarding and impactful endeavour. By using beat sheets, character profiles, and testing scripts with children, screenwriters can create captivating, heartfelt, and memorable films that inspire and educate young minds.
