The Thief Lord - Spoiler!

The Thief Lord is a book by Cornelia Funke, it used to be one of my favorite books back in elementary. Only just recently did I discover the movie when my little sister read the book at instantly fell in love with it too. She decided to see if they had a movie made for it too, and to my surprise they did. Most of the main actors are young children and lack a lot of acting talent, yet it is still an excellent movie for young kids. My sister most certainly enjoys it; I think she's watched it about 6 times within the last 2 days. I found that there are quite a few archetypes that make themselves clear within the movie. Here's what I was able to find!

Prosper, called Prop, is the main character of this movie; him and his little brother Bo (Boniface) are both orphans. Bo is stuck with his aunt Esther, but Prosper manages to kidnap him and takes them both to Venice, the city their mother always loved. Once there, they're picked up by the Thief Lord, Scipio.

The Departure: This is when Prosper escapes the orphanage and goes to kidnap his brother back from the Hartleibs; their aunt and uncle. They hide themselves on a train, and then later end up on a delivery boat of goods. Prosper brought them both to Venice. Money is quite an issue for them at this point, but he knows that he must to everything he can in order to create a good life for him and his brother Bo. However, as soon as they reach Venice, Bo ends up getting sick and Prosper almost steals some cough medicine for him.

Initiation: When the man in the pharmacy suspects that Prosper is about to steal the medicine, he runs our of the store, grabs his little brother and they both start running like there is no tomorrow. They're clearly lost, but when Scipio hears someone call "Stop you thieves!" he looks to see who the man was talking about. Scip is the one who trips the pharmacist which allows Bo and Prop to escape. Once they stop running, the thief lord comes and finds them, and offers them a place to stay. This is when all the rest of the kids are introduced to the movie. Mosca, Hornet (Katarina), and Riccio.Bo and Prop have now been introduced to a new life.

The Road of Trials: The first trial is completed by Prosper. His goal was to be able to bargain a good price for the goods they trade in with Ernesto Barbarossa. When he first looks at the goods, Barbarossa only offers 100 dollars, but then Prop asks for 1000. The end deal is 500 dollars, the most anyone has ever been able to bargain out of him. With the completion of this task, the thief lord allowed him and Bo to stay at the Stella (The cinema they all reside in) for as long as they'd like. The second trial would be stealing the wing which the Conte asks for. Their reward is 50, 000 dollars. However, this is a task completed by all the children together, not just the hero. Bo plays a major role in this scene, because he is so young, adults seem to automatically relax every time they see him. Also, no adult ever expects such a young child to lie, and Bo definitely does not tell anything but the truth.

The Innermost Cave: This would definitely have to be the "Secret Isle". It is considered to be haunted, and no one dares step foot on it. However, this is where they can find the magic merry-go-round. The wing they had to steal was a critical part of the merry-go-round that the Conte had lost before. Instead of being a wing for an angel like you'd expect, it turned out to be a wing of a lion. At first, Prosper is very tempted to go onto the merry-go-round in order to become older, so that he will be allowed to take care of his little brother by himself and considered more mature. In the end though, he stays as who he is, he says that he can take care of Bo, not as a father, but as an older brother. He becomes more confident with himself, and knows that even though he may not be very old or have enough money, he knows his job is to protect his little brother, as himself.

Return and Reintegration with Society: Of course there is a happily ever after. Once Prosper and Scipio return from the Isle, Scipio goes on to work as an assistant to Victor Getz, the detective, and Bo and Prop are taken in by Ida, along with Hornet.. Ida is able to provide them with a lovely home and the love that all these children deserve.

The Thief Lord – Wise (Old) Mentor
He pretends to be a master thief, yet all the items he “steals” are from his own house. Scipio is someone who comes from a rich family but is neglected by his father. Even though he is only 15, he acts as if he is much older.

Father-Son conflict: His father believes that he does not have enough discipline or manners, and continues to neglect him and his needs. All his father ever cares about is his business and reputation; he hates the affiliation Scip has with the orphans. All he can ever seem to do is criticize Scipio on the small faults he has within his life, he can’t bear to give his son the love and attention he deserves. When speaking to his son, his voice always has a strict tone to it and is very ignorant towards Scipio’s wants and needs.

Victor Getz (Private detective) - The Evil Figure with the Ultimately Good Heart (Sort of)
At first he seems as if he is the bad guy because he is after Prosper and Bo, but his intentions are good. He’s worried about Bo because he is only 6 years old and is afraid that the children cannot take care of him properly. He ends up helping the children, and find Bo and Prosper a lovely home. Instead of telling the Hartleibs (their aunt and uncle) that he has found them, he tries to mislead them by telling them they have escaped to Corfu.

The task/quest within this movie would be the retrieval of the lion's wing. It is a part of the magical merry-go-round on the Secret Isle, and is the last piece the Conte needed into order for the merry-go-round to work. The thief lord and all the children are all in this together. However, while they are searching for it within Ida's house, she comes home and finds them all in her dark room. (Ida is a photographer) She threatens to call the police and holds a gun to them, however, when she sees Bo she immediately puts the gun down. She's shocked when the children reveal what they're really after. Not her cameras like she assumed, bur rather the wooden wing she received when she left her orphanage. She does not know why the wing holds such great value to the Conte, so they all take a trip down to the Merciful Sisters orphanage and ask the sister who gave the wing to Ida to explain the story behind it. This is when they find out about the merry-go-round and its magical powers. Ida agrees to give them the wing on one condition, she has to go with them to find out where the Conte has hidden the magic contraption.

If any of you have seen this movie as well, were there anymore archetypes you could find? Also, why do you think Cornelia Funke chose Venice, Italy as the main scene for this story? Is there something magical about Venice, maybe some old legends?

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Just by looking at her name, I get the feeling that she will be the innocent and beautiful main character of the story.

The color white represents purity, peace, and innocence; Snow White clearly possesses all three characteristics. Throughout the whole movie, never does she do anything to harm the feelings of others. Of course the dwarfs are scared of her at first, but she is quick to win their hearts over. They welcome her with open arms, this may be because she just has this warm feeling about her, you just know that she could never do anything wrong. Also, the color yellow, on her dress, gives you an idea that she is someone who is generally very happy and cheerful, and puts you in the same mood as sunshine might be able to. She always has a smile on her face (except when running in fear) which has the power to make everyone around her smile too.

When Snow White is running away from the man who was supposed to kill her, she is running through a deep, dark, creepy forest.

Forests represent evil, labyrinth, and fear. As she is running through the forest, you can clearly sense that she is frightened, which creates a mood of suspense. Also, the way the tree branches "grab" at her help create the allusion that a forest is a dangerous place to be, especially once it gets dark. I think Disney has created a lot of stereotypical judgments for little children that misleads them into having irrational fears within their life.

The poisonous apple that "kills" Snow White is given to her by the evil queen who is jealous of her beauty.

The color red can represent death, therefore, that may be why they made the apple a luscious red color, instead of a green. In a way, it foreshadows Snow White's death when we see the evil queen creating the apple. Also, in reality, people go for items that look alluring. When choosing an apple, I always try to choose the one that looks the brightest and juiciest, usually the one that is the most red. If the apple had not looked so perfect, maybe Snow White would not have eaten it so quickly? What are your thoughts?

Just like in the movie Sleeping Beauty, princess Snow White is awoken with a kiss from her prince charming. This scene reminded me of the "Death and Rebirth" stage within a hero's journey.

When Snow White takes a bite from the apple that the evil queen gave her, she drops to the floor to, what it seems like, her death. Yet, in reality, she's in a deep sleep that only her true love will be able to awake her from. While the dwarfs are mourning her death, the prince comes along, opens up the glass casket and places a kiss upon her lips. He believes she is dead and lays his head down beside her. However, in a few moments, she opens her eyes and is "reintegrated" into life. Then, of course, her and the prince ride off into the sunset. Yet another happily ever after.

And so they lived happily ever after..

There are various versions of the legendary story of Cinderella. The one I've chosen, is the classic one by Walt Disney. Almost every girl I know has always wanted her happily ever after, I think they can all blame their disappointment on Walt Disney when they find out that, not everyone can have a prince and have a glass slipper made just for them. Anyways ...

In the movie, a lot of the clothing items Cinderella wears are blue (her dress especially) The color blue is a positive color, and usually represents a peacemaker. Cinderella clearly is one of innocence and honesty. No matter how one may treat her, she still treats other with the respect she, herself, clearly deserves. Even when the stepmother and her two stepsisters constantly make fun of her, she keeps quiet, and does not allow herself to insult them back. She has plenty of self-control, and of course it all pays off in the end.


The devil figure, obviously, would be the step mother. There aren't certain colors she wears, and even if we did look at the colors, it would totally give us the wrong impression, seeing as she wears blue to the palace ball. So instead of looking at colors this time, I wanted to see where the stepmother would fit into within the Hero's journey. I've concluded that she would be a part of the "Tests" (Allies and Enemies) Cinderella goes through terrible ordeals with the stepmother, and has never really been able to shine through because of the way she only favors her own daughters. Cinderella has the courage to stand up for herself, but has always failed to (as in, fails her tests) be able to let herself go.


Oh the mice, how I adore them. They represent the sidekick(s) that are always there with Cinderella throughout her journey. Even though they aren't human, they still manage to build her a dress for the ball, help her get to the ball (by getting turned into horses by the fairy godmother), and also are the ones to bring her the key from the stepmother's pocket when she gets locked within her room. Just a sidekick should be, the mice are wililing to risk it all, even their lives, just to be able to help out Cinderella in the end. No matter how many troubles, or even near death experiences they may have to go through, they still stay loyal.


Don't you just wish you could have your own fairy godmother? I know I sure do. The fairygodmother represnts the wise mentor. Even though she may not exactly prepare Cinderella for a battle, she helps her out in a time of desperate need and is the reason Cinderella got to meet her prince charming. Also, like Cinderella, she wears blue. Representing her pure spirit.

"The number one movie of all time!"

What movie could I possibly be talking about? You've probably guessed it right; Avatar. The main message portrayed throughout the movie may have been about the way we are "destroying" our environment, yet there were quite a few archetypes shown within the movie.


The color of the Na'vi people: Blue

Blue represents a heaven, spirituality, and a religious feeling. The Na'vi people are very in touch with nature and the environment in which they reside within. They believe that everything is interconnected spiritually, and that everything must be given back to nature in the end.

'The Earth Mother' : Eywa

Eywa is a god that connects all of the Na'vi people with each other and ntaure. The Na'vi believe in listening to the signs Eywa gives them, and have a woman, Neytiri's mother, who is able to intepret Eywa's wills. There is also the tree of souls which holds the voices and prayers of their ancestors. They are able hear these voices by creating a connection called "Tsaheylu".

The spiral structure within hometree :

A spiral represents the evolution of the universe (macrocosm) and the relationship between unity and multiplicity. Everyone and everything on Pandora is connected in one way. The people respect the animals by always praying after they complete a kill and not harming them unless it is a life or death situation. They make the "Tsaheylu" connection with the animals they ride, and are able to communicate with the animals and become one with them. For example, the banshee. The Na'vi use the Banshee as a form of transportation and as a aid in war. Banshee are giagantic flying creatures that only ever fly with one owner. It isn't only up to you to decide which Banshee you will fly, they must choose you too. Once the connection is made, you are able to think about what you want them to do, rather than telling them what to do; "Think fly" instead of saying it out loud.

'Seeds of the Sacred Tree' : White

The color white represents purity, peace, innocence and a spirit. They come from the tree of souls and Neytiri says that they are "pure spirits" Possibly the spirits of their ancestors. When they all gather and land on Jake Sully, she believes that it is a sign from Eywa, proving that Jake has a pure, innocent heart. Therefore, she takes him back to hometree, and has mother read the will that Eywa has bestowed upon him.

There are definitely a lot more archetypes within the movie, but these are the ones that stood out the most to me. Can you think of any others?