"Hug Me" by Pharrell Williams and Trey Parker

I promised a more happy song for today and, considering this has been one of the most stressful weekends thus far in 2018 (and that's really fucking saying something), I think a little lightness is in order. This is the song that plays during the credits of "Despicable Me 3." It grabbed my attention pretty much immediately, due to it's unrestrained bounciness and joy. Trey Parker is one of those unsung musical geniuses. Seriously? The guy who co-created "South Park?" Yes. If you haven't seen "Cannibal: The Musical," find it and watch it. It's a musical Trey Parker wrote, composed, and directed based on a story of Alferd Packer, who was accused of cannibalism when his companions on a journey from Utah to Colorado were found dead and half-eaten. It's hilarious and brilliant, in the worst way. Obviously, it's a black comedy....those are the best kind.

Anyway, since this song is from a sequel, I wanted to talk a little bit about what makes a good sequel. My two main examples for this discussion are two of my son's favorite movie trilogies: "Kung Fu Panda" and "Despicable Me." As you may have guessed, a good sequel is NOT just a re-telling of the original story but, rather, an expansion on it. That's not to say a good sequel can't follow the same narrative structure as the original. "Kung Fu Panda" expertly demonstrates that you absolutely can follow the same plot (in KFP's case, The Hero's Journey) as long as it builds on the what the viewer already knows about the Hero and explores a new aspect hitherto unseen in the previous film(s). All three KFP movies follow Po as he learns to master something. In the first, it's the mastery of skill and knowledge (Kung Fu); in the second, of Inner Peace and acceptance of the past (largely, a lesson in forgiveness); and the final, a mastery of Self. I would argue that the whole arc for Po is an overall search for the Authentic Self, the first and second being the foundation needed for Po to reach the mastery attained in the third film. There is a Kung Fu Panda 4 in the works but I have a theory that this film is going to mostly about Tigress (at least, I hope so), whose tragic backstory has been hinted at in past films and shorts. In this theoretical film, Po would take a backseat and become more of a mentor to Tigress, supplanting Shifu as the central Mentor in the series.

Moving on to Despicable Me, we have a couple shifts in narrative, which is an easy and powerful way to reinvigorate a character and introduce new characters (aside from villains) into the main story. In the first movie, Gru finds himself in a situation where he's forced to grow and take a hard look at his life choices. This leads him to make a major career shift and take on the responsibilities inherent in becoming a parent to three young girls. In the second movie, we can't really take the same route because the amount of evolution in who Gru is as a person would need something equally as monumental in order to slingshot him into an entirely new Hero's Journey. Something more subtle is needed, which is where a True Love arc comes in. As discussed before, a True Love arc is really an amalgamation of two miniature Hero's Journeys, so the change in each of the characters is not going to be as drastic as you would see if they had a whole movie to themselves. Enter Lucy. Arguably, the exact opposite of Gru (but the same....we can't forget The Rules). She is chipper and hopeful whereas Gru is cynical and realistic. They balance each other out and, more importantly, it's that balance that makes them a good team. Finally, in Despicable Me 3, Gru finally faces a Great Evil or, essentially, the closest he's gotten to an arch-nemesis. His initial failure to catch Evil Brat leads to him losing his job. Then, Gru's obsession with defeating Evil Brat leads to him deceiving both his wife and his twin brother, endangering his relationships with both of them. This deception leads Evil Brat into realizing Gru's true weakness - his family. But that's also his greatest strength, and it's also what defeats Evil Brat in the end. We've come full circle - a man who didn't think he needed anyone in the beginning now has a family that supports him, no matter what.

Why do you insist on trying to give me away

When they were too good and you wanted to shake them, who came?

I was your dirty boy, your good, new secret toy

Show me how they get you joy (who stayed in trouble with you?)

Oh, don't you want some more? Come on, I think they're gone

Our part is coming on (you're either with me or)

Hug me (bring it in)

Won't you loosen up, won't ya

Hug me (bring it in)

I think they wanna take a picture

And that's the secret to a good sequel...and any good story, really. Your protagonist cannot be the same person that they were at the beginning. Likewise, they shouldn't be learning the same lesson every single time because - seriously! - who likes someone who can't fucking learn something that's staring him in the face? And, ideally, you have to see the protagonist doing the work. It's not satisfying to have a protagonist that isn't faced with some sort of struggle or conflict that they must overcome. It's not enough for the protagonist to be a different person at the end - we must see them change. For the better, of course. If they change for the worse - either becoming more cynical and jaded, more angry, more materialistic, more bloodthirsty - they've become the villain. Or possibly an Anti-Hero, but that's a discussion for another day. I know today's post was lengthy but thanks for hanging in there! 

"Hug Me" Video