I grew up watching Scooby Doo. I love Scooby and the whole gang. I consider them to be one of the most fun cartoons of all time. But cartoons don’t make for great lessons in characterization. Unfortunately many of us write our characters as if we graduated from The Mystery Inc. Conservatory for Literature. That’s our fault, not Scooby’s.
How no to do the Doo in Characterization:
1. Cartoons are 2D, your characters shouldn’t be.
The hero is always the hero. The girl needing rescue always needs rescue. The comedic character is always useless, except for comedy. I love Scooby Doo, but it does not make for a well rounded characterization lesson. American Hustle, however, does. At multiple points in the film, you absolutely think Christian Bale’s character, Irving, is scum of the earth. But in other points, we admire him to the point of sainthood, we root for him like he is a hero, we pity him for his situation, and cringe at his mistakes. Why? Because he is a round character. The same thing can be said for nearly every character in the film. Scooby Doo, however, Velma is always smart, Daphne always captured, Scooby and Shaggy were afraid and comedic, and Fred was always cool.
Scooby Doo rocks all kinds of awesome, but it wasn’t nominated for 10 Oscars (although it did win multiple Scooby snacks).
People actions rarely all line up in a straight line. If you want your character’s to be tangible, then make them have shame. Make them hurt over what they’ve done. Make them say things they regret, not just in the past before the story happens, but during it. Show their faults. But then, by God, have them seek redemption and restitution. Give them a craving for justice, even if it’s selfish. Show the audience your character’s bruises, but then apply the make up to cover them up. A poorly done character is confident all the time, a worse done character is never sure of themselves. A realistic character lives somewhere in between.
2. At the end of 3 Seasons of being scared to death, shouldn’t one of them need to see a therapist by now?
The Godfather, if you don’t know already, is an american film based around the deterioration of the morals, good intentions, and overall niceness of Michael Corleone. He is a prime example of someone who starts out as hero and ends as a protagonist. At the end of the film, he is not the nice young man from the beginning of the film, but the worn and calloused crime boss who has his brother in law killed (deservedly). Why does this change take place? Because a lot of crap has happened to Michael.
Crap changes people. And so does time.
If your story takes place during a life changing event, then your character had better change. He can still be an idealist, she can still be all about family, but something should change. You don’t need to turn someone from good to bad, like in the Godfather, but you could turn them from a optimist to a realist or a cynic to a believer, or a carnivore to a vegetarian, or just someone who thinks twice before jumping out of a plane because they now realize how dangerous it is! Change for the better, change for the worse, but if a year passes and your story is worth telling, then your character will change, otherwise your character’s story isn’t worth telling.
3. Why don’t Scooby and Shaggy quit solving mysteries and open up a travelling food service?
The last characterization flaw I have with Scooby Doo is common sense actions. If Scooby and Shaggy hate ghosts and are pretty much (the bestest ever) cowards, why are they apart of a company that chases them?
Forrest Gump, let’s be honest, is a spectacular film. Forrest for a mentally challenged individual, does some wild stuff: teaching Elvis to dance, graduating from college, fighting in Vietnam, becoming a ping pong champion, captaining a shrimp boat, running across the country, and marrying the love of his life Jenny. Those are some accomplishments. But why does Forrest do any of them? Because he decides he wants to be awesome? No, that doesn’t fit his character at all. It’s because he’s impressionable, generally a good person and his love for Jenny. Those three attributes interact with his circumstances and give us a why for every adventure.
If you want your character to act, give them a reason. Make your story make sense.
Why do your character’s have a job they hate? Stay with a girl that’s awful to them? Refuse to turn in their abusive molesting stepfather? There are reasons for all of these, but if your character doesn’t have that reason, then it doesn’t make sense for them to in that situation. I will accept the reason that some people keep a job they hate is because they are honorable enough to take care of their orphaned siblings. But show me that honor in their personality. I will accept the fact that the guy won’t break up with the evil girl because he loves her. But show me through his eyes, WHY he loves her? Or at least the fact that he feels responsible for her. I accept the fact that the girl won’t turn in her stepfather to the cops out of fear, but don’t make her stand up to him ten seconds later.
People do unreasonable things, but nothing ever done is areasonable (without a reason).
Breath the Story 