Introduction
I developed a data collection tool with two focal points: Tim Burton’s character construction — focusing on the portrayal of the grotesque and the uncanny — and the emotional connection between the characters and the audience through character identification and engagement — expanding on Shaw’s findings on character identification and Smith’s structure of sympathy.
Data Collection Tool
Whereas the aim of the first section is to determine how Tim Burton makes use of the grotesque and the uncanny in the characterization of the protagonists, the second section focuses on how the levels of identification and engagement can influence the emotional connection and response the spectator feels towards the character.
Conclusion
The data collection tool I have developed for this study — which uses triangulation as a validity procedure — can be used in the future by the animation community as a guideline to examine the remaining characters in terms of levels of identification and character engagement through empathy and sympathy.
Bibliography
Shaw, A. (2015) Gaming at the Edge. Sexuality and Gender at the Margins of Gamer Culture. London: University of Minnesota Press.
Smith, M. (1995) Engaging Characters. Fiction, Emotion, and the Cinema. Oxford: Oxford University Press.