Action and

Adventure!

To explore the other

stock characters in
Action Adventure

Remember Mr Propp
Russian Theorist
He liked to read fairy stories!
Having read over 400 of them
he realised that despite differences
of language and culture, most folk tales
follow the same basic narrative and
they also have the same stock
characters

The categories
The hero or victim/seeker hero: reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
The villain: struggles against the hero.
The dispatcher: character who makes the lack known and sends the hero
off.
The (magical) helper: helps the hero in their quest.
The princess or prize and her father : the hero deserves her
throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil,
usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he
marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.
The donor: prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
The false hero: takes credit for the heros actions or tries to marry the
princess.

As seen in

Hero/Seeker

Reacts to
the donor,
saves the
princess/
prize.

Villain

struggl
es
against
the
hero

Dispatcher
character
who
makes
the lack
known
and
sends
the hero
off.

Magical Helper
helps the hero in their quest.

The Princess/Prize
The hero deserves
her throughout the
story but is unable to
obtain her because
of an unfair evil,
usually because of
the villain.
The hero's journey is
often ended when he
marries the princess,
thereby beating the
villain.

The Donor
Prepares
the hero or
gives the
hero some
magical
object.

False Hero
Takes credit
for the
heros
actions or
tries to
obtain the
prize/
princess

Have a go at:

Other Harry Potter films

Lord of the Rings
The Wizard of Oz
A Disney Film
The hero or victim/seeker hero: reacts to the donor,
weds the princess.
The villain: struggles against the hero.
The dispatcher: character who makes the lack known
and sends the hero off.
The (magical) helper: helps the hero in their quest.
The princess or prize and her father : the hero
deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry
her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain.
The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the
princess, thereby beating the villain.
The donor: prepares the hero or gives the hero some

Action Adventure Wider

Research
Use the remainder of this lesson to
show any clips/ openings to support
understanding of the course so far.