Villans

The presence of an antagonist is essential in most stories and it can manifest in many ways. Often in children's animation the antagonist is so obviously a villain in his appearance that we need not know their crimes to believe they must be evil. It helps of course when the villain does act in a way to scare or otherwise cause harm to the protagonist. It helps induce, not strictly fear, but anticipation and excitement in the audience and they follow the story with renewed interest as to what will happen to the hero next.

In the Looney Tunes cartoon 'Hyde and Hare', an adapted story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, bugs is fearful of Mr Hyde without knowing that he is also Dr Jekyll. The cartoon uses the classic pantomime technique of having the audience know more than the protagonist; a case of 'He's behind you!' This engages the audience further than the fear and excitement alone, having the audience on the edge of their seats wishing Bugs would realise what we already know.


One of my favourite illustrations of the theory that a villain need only to look like one to be believed as one, is in 'Transylvania 6-5000' again another Looney Tunes cartoon based loosely around a classic tale. The house itself screams dark and evil but Bugs seems none the wiser. Again its another case of the audience knowing more than the protagonist. The vampire character seems born from the shadows, simply a vague black mist floating along till he appears suddenly tall and with feed on the ground in front of Bugs. This is a clever animation technique as well as an effective one. Why have a character walk when he can float mysteriously over the ground?

The eyes are also important in the way a character is perceived as evil, typically the pupils are small and the eyes are narrow, as if in a glare, for many of the character's expressions.