Heroes, Protagonists, and Jack Frost

Psst.

Can I tell you a secret?

No, right now.

Yeah, like, before my computer runs out of batteries and I have to go to bed!

(*cough* Actually I should really already be in bed...but my dad hasn't given the order yet... >:})

(Especially since I think I'm coming down with the cold circulating throughout our two-bedroom condo...)

(Anyways.)

No, I only have 18% left, you have to come right now!

Okay. All settled? You may want to sit down. This could knock your socks off.

For real this time. You ready? Okay. Here goes...

I have serious character envy.

There, I said it! The secret is out! I, who treasure and adore my characters, with all their little flaws and occasional rebellion, and their cute little perfect features (perfect for me, anyways), ENVY another character...one I did not create!

Ooohhwwggg...I'm so ashamed...

Here's the whole story. You know I have this whole 'affair' with the Dreamworks movie Rise of the Guardians? Well...I watched it today. It was probably my fifth time I've ever watched it. And around that time I start to really take apart the movie and its characters. And I am seriously jealous of Jack Frost.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm sure you read that little blurb on my author blog about "I. Love. Jack. Frost." I'm sure you caught wind of my animation romance with the complexity and awesomity of Jack Frost. But you have no idea how deep that character goes.

First, I'm going to have to ask you to watch the movie. Yeah, I know, it wasn't exactly a BLOCKBUSTER HIT or anything, but it is a super good movie. Especially if you're artsy like me. The story is awesome and the animation is INCREDIBLE. The facial expressions always get me...I could watch Jack and Santa Clause talk about their center all day... No seriously, you can tell everything Jack is thinking in that scene from the way his face moves, I swear.

Anyways. Off-track and distracted by the late night hypers. Ahem. So, go to your local Redbox and pick up the movie, dust it off, and stick it in your Blu-ray player. No, it has to be Blu-ray. No Blu-ray?! What, do you live in the twentieth century or something?! FINE, use your DVR...sheesh.

...Watched it? Good! Now I can blurt out all the secret stuff about Jack Frost.

Okay. Here's why Jack Frost is such an awesome hero.

1. He has flaws. *Gasp!* I know! Heroes aren't supposed to have flaws, right?! Nope, wrong! Heroes should ALWAYS have flaws, weaknesses, and things that make them tick. Haven't you ever come across a protagonist in a book that you just hated because he was too...good? Jack Frost can't be seen by the children of the world. He has a bad weakness because he's doubtful of himself. He feels like he can't know who he is unless he knows who he was before he was Jack Frost. That. Is. AWESOME.

2. He has fears. And it's not just because of the Boogie Man. Jack has always been afraid of never being believed in. He's afraid of never knowing who he was. He's afraid of himself, in a way. It's sooooo easy to make a hero perfect. (I have on many occasion...ahem...) But lots of people don't realize it's the flawed, fearful, messy characters we love the most because we sympathize with them. We feel their pain, because we aren't perfect. (I guess that's why I never liked Superman... Always had things going for him with the super strength, the invincibility, the laser eyes... I think the whole kryptonite thing is in his head, too, because, um, wasn't his PLANET made out of kryptonite?!)

(...Don't answer that, I know literally two things about Superman.)

(He's super and he has a dog named Krypto.)

(Another weird thing. Name a dog after your greatest weakness.)

(...Losing track. Sorry.)

3. He has desires. Jack wants more than anything to be noticed by kids. His greatest wish is to figure out why he is who he is. Why did the Man on the Moon pick him to be Jack Frost? What is so special about him? These desires drive Jack into the adventure. They keep him going when the going gets tough. When life hands him lemons, he looks at his goals and desires and squeezed those lemons right into his eye sockets just to feel the stinging flames of victory. And that, my friends, is the mark of a true hero that us readers can say, NOW THAT'S SOMEONE WORTH ROOTING FOR! HE'S NOT JUST FLYING BY THE SEAT OF HIS PANTS, THERE'S MOTIVES BEHIND THOSE DECISIONS!

4. He makes mistakes. When Jack gets distracted and abandons his team to search for his past in Pitch Black's lair, he makes a big mistake and ruins Easter, resulting in him being cast out from the Guardians. Now, this is something I have trouble with: letting my heroes fail. As writers, we want our heroes to succeed! We want them to get the girl and fly off into the sunset on a cherry red Mustang GT 500! We don't want to see them stuck in a snowy wasteland being tempted by the villain. But in order to make a believable and sympathizable (is that a word? I just used it. Loud and proud and no one will notice, that's what I always say.) character, we must let our babies experience life. In real life, things aren't easy. They come with hurt. Bad choices have consequences. It's just hard to fit that all into a character who still seems so awesome.

5. He still manages pure awesomeness. Grace under pressure. That's a hero's motto. Or it should be, anyways. Despite his faults, Jack still strives in his own little way to become a better person. He wants to help the kids of the world, and he wants to help the Guardians. Realizing that he'll do whatever it takes to accomplish that takes guts. The guts of a real hero. See, heroism isn't all about the cape and the sword and the cool quips. A hero has to get his hands dirty or he'll just end up like...like...Superman. Too good for his own good. And that is not something we writer's want, right?

Right. NOW GO OUT THERE AND GO TO BED, NOW THAT YOU HAVE LISTENED TO ME RAMBLE ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE JACK FROST!!!

(Wow...I managed to write that all and still have 12% battery left! Yippee me! That was like...speed blogging...oh yeah, if there was an Olympic sport called speed blogging, I'd SO win.)

(But if it came to staying on subject...yeah, that's a whole different matter.)

;)