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?
No comments:
Post a Comment