Eng2 assignment1

1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
NAME: DANA KAN JIA TORNG
STUDENT ID NO: 0323648
FILMS SELECTED: SCI FI - FICTION (BIG HERO 6 & MARY POPPINS)
WORD COUNT: 1042
ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: GOPIGHANTAN MYLVAGANAM
SUBMISSION DATE: DECEMBER 4TH
2015

2. Pre-writing
Introduction-
Explain the definition of a genre
Genre definition of the two movies: Big Hero 6 & Mary Poppins (SCI-FI &FI)
Brief synopsis of Big Hero 6 & Mary Poppins
Thesis statement: Both movies are loved by young and old people alike. However, they
are different in terms of the
 Characters
 Theme,
 Setting and background of movie
 Movie ending
2nd
paragraph: Main character
 Big Hero 6- Hiro
Young teenager who is brave, intelligent and rash
- Acted without thinking and assumed revenge is the answer after the loss of his
brother
 Mary Poppins- Mary Poppins
Magical nanny who sweeps into the Banks home on Cherry Tree Lane and takes
charge of the Banks children. Is Caring, thoughtful and full of surprises
- Taught the children different moral values
 Characters are well-developed in Big Hero 6 unlike Mary Poppins.
3rd
paragraph : Theme
Big Hero6- Revenge is not the answer
Focuses on how Hiro deals with the grief of his brother and how his friends help him
find his and their potential
Mary Poppins- There is joy in life if you look for it
Focuses on musical songs and the magical adventures of Mary educating the spoilt
Bank’s children to be more grateful and imaginative.
4th
paragraph: Setting
Explain differences
 Big hero 6- set in futuristic place with robots and advanced technological gadgets, all
made using computer-generated graphic animation
 Mary Poppins- set in 1960’s London. Main character is portrayed by award-
winning actress Julie Andrews
5th
paragraph: Ending
 Big hero 6- full of action and heartwarming moments
 Mary Poppins- Mary mysteriously disappears after she feels that her job of teaching
the children is done
Conclusion:

3. Moral values learnt from the movies
Compare & Contrast Essay
Since the invention of cameras, humans have had the chance to make moving
pictures. Our time of leisure is mostly occupied by indulging ourselves in the entertaining
and interesting world of television and movies. We often watch movies because we get
the opportunity to experience drama and things we never would have expect to happen in
our daily ordinary life. Films can be specified into many different genres which are an
essential part of a film. Similar narrative elements from how a film is constructed sorts
the films into their respective categories. It is essential because genres can define the the
direction of how the story goes so that we can prepare ourselves for that film. Among the
variety of movie genres, I have chosen to elaborate on science-fiction and fiction movies,
namely “Big Hero 6” and “Mary Poppins”. According to TheScriptLab, Science-fiction is
defined as “ a genre that incorporates hypothetical, science-based themes into the plot of
the film. Often, this genre incorporates futuristic elements and technologies such as
extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, time travel and so on”. Fiction films are made by
making believable narratives to convince the audience that it is real. While both movies
gain popularity from young and old people alike, they still vary in terms of their themes,
characters, and film settings.
Firstly, the theme of the two movies are different in their own way. “Big Hero 6” is a
science-fiction film of a strong brotherhood relationship and tells us the the importance of
using one’s talents to help others. The story revolves around a young robotic genius Hiro
Hamada, where with the help of his tech-savvy friends and his brother's invention—a
huggable healthcare robot, Baymax; try to solve a mystery of crime in the hi-tech
metropolis of San Fransokyo. Hiro deals with his brother’s grief alone but as the story
progresses, he finds comfort in his friends and learns to apply his and their talents to help
others. When he is faced by the enemy who caused the death of his beloved brother, his
friends help him realise that revenge is not the answer and that he should use his robotic
knowledge to do good things instead of killing the enemy off. In contrast, “Mary
Poppins” focuses on a lighter topic, which is allowing our heart to follow our dreams and
not be gunned down from the rules in life. In this fictional film, Mary Poppins is a
magical nanny who comes to the Banks England household to help the children, and the
uptight parents, learn more about the power of imagination. For example, she made the
nursery clean itself to the tune of “A Spoonful of Sugar” to educate the children that
boring household tasks can be done quickly and turned into fun games if you think that

4. way. Later on, she also takes the Banks’s children, Jane and Michael to a tea party
suspended in mid-air where Mary’s joking Uncle Albert floats uncontrollably whenever
he laughs.
Moreover, another different aspect between the two movies is the main characters’
personalities. Hiro in “Big Hero 6” is a young, 14 year-old robotics prodigy who is caring
and intelligent. He believed he had all the knowledge he needed and appeared to be cocky
and uninterested when his older brother Tadashi persuaded him to attend college where
he could expand his potential. During his bot-fighting with Mr. Yama, he was seen so
overconfident and bored as he knew he would win. He was also portrayed as a rash
person when he ordered Baymax to kill Professor Callaghan, the enemy who caused
Tadashi’s death. This was because he was so overwhelmed with anger and grief that there
was no thought of the consequences in his actions. Mary Poppins on the other hand, was
a mysterious, magical nanny in her 30’s and was a caring and thoughtful person. She was
played by the famous actress Julie Andrews who has won numerous awards and starred in
films such as “The Sound of Music” and “Princess Diaries”. In the movie, she carried the
role of a fairly stern but warm-hearted nanny very well when she was seen telling Mr.
Bank’s children to go to bed and did as they were told in a motherly way. This is a huge
contrast compared to Hiro’s character who was less matured and reckless in his actions.
Furthermore, the most obvious difference of the two different genre movies is the
settings. “Big Hero 6” is set in futuristic hybrid metropolis between San Francisco and
Tokyo, fusing two different cultures: Western and Eastern, into a fictional place called
San Fransokyo. The animated movie was made using 3D digitally-rendered computer
graphics that was visually pleasing to look at. The production team stated that they had
made in-depth research on the characteristics of Japanese and North American culture
and architecture to blend in and create an almost perfect futuristic hybrid city. There were
advanced technological gadgets, robots and special effects that made it look all the more
satisfying and believable that our near future will look like. In comparison to that, “Mary
Poppins” however was set in Edwardian London, 1910 but it was filmed in 1960’s when
the making of movies were not yet advanced. The outlook of the live-action movie was
rather old and frayed looking.The lightings and special effects from Mary Poppins’
magical acts were poor and predictable. It was a narrative story with musical parts that
the audience could all sing along to.

5. In conclusion, I have learnt a lot of these films from diverse genres which had
differences in terms of themes, characters and settings. While both are enjoyable and
have an interesting set of characters with personality, they each tells a different story with
meaningful values. Personally, I favour the modern Big Hero 6 compared to the
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” musical Mary Poppins as it gave me a more heart-
warming deeper message of family of dealing with the struggles of grief when we lose a
loved one.
References
Davis, L. (2014, June 11). Everything You Need To Know About The Making Of Big Hero

6. 6. Retrieved December 4, 2015, from http://io9.com/everything-you-didnt-know-about-
the-making-of-big-hero-1655497545
Disney wiki. (n.d.). Mary Poppins film, Retrieved December 3, 2015, from
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Mary_Poppins_(film)
Kelts, R. (2014, November 14). Japan and America Meet in “Big Hero 6”. Retrieved
December 4, 2015, from http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/japan-america-
meet-big-hero-6
Unknown. (n.d.). The Scriptlab : Science fiction. Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/science-fiction#

7. 6. Retrieved December 4, 2015, from http://io9.com/everything-you-didnt-know-about-
the-making-of-big-hero-1655497545
Disney wiki. (n.d.). Mary Poppins film, Retrieved December 3, 2015, from
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Mary_Poppins_(film)
Kelts, R. (2014, November 14). Japan and America Meet in “Big Hero 6”. Retrieved
December 4, 2015, from http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/japan-america-
meet-big-hero-6
Unknown. (n.d.). The Scriptlab : Science fiction. Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/science-fiction#