World Creation

Some filmmakers go to great lengths to create fantastical imaginary worlds or fictional universes. These trailers are from films that have had settings, histories, geographies and sometimes whole ecologies constructed to help tell the story.

Watch each trailer and answer think about these questions:

  • Artemis Fowl is a fantasy adventure movie based on novels written by Eoin Colfer. Describe the look and feel of the fairy world as it’s shown in the trailer.
  • The Lion King is a photorealistic version of the 1994 Disney animated classic of the same name. Can you spot any key shots/sequences that are in the original movie?
  • Wonder Park is a computer animated adventure film set in an amusement park run by animals. Describe any of the theme park rides that you noticed.
  • Toy Story 4 is also computer animated. It’s the fourth film in the Toy Story series and it tells the story of a new hand-crafted toy: Forky. How are the antique shop characters shown to be different to Woody, Buzz and their friends?
  • Playmobil: The Movie is the final computer animated trailer in our activity. It’s based on the popular Playmobil ‘robbers, thieves and rebels’ toys. Can you spot which characters are the robbers, thieves and rebels? How many different locations did you spot?
Artemis Fowl
The Lion King
Wonder Park
Toy Story 4
Playmobil: The Movie
Artemis Fowl
Walt Disney Pictures

Get creative!

Filmmakers and story writers often create detailed location maps and character backstories to aid the world creation process.

1. Choose one of the trailers and create a map of the world created. For instance, you could draw:

  • the underground fairy world of Artemis Fowl
  • the African Pride Lands of The Lion King
  • the theme park run by animals of Wonder Park
  • the journey from Bonnie’s house to Bo Peep’s antique shop from Toy Story 4
  • the lighthouse and surrounding landscape of Playmobil: The Movie.

2. Create a backstory for one of the characters in your favourite trailer. You can do this by creating a timeline for your character and showing where and when they grew up and any key events from their life so far. When you are thinking about your backstory, think about how events from their past affected their choices and actions in the present. Did they have any big triumphs or failures that made them who they are?

For example:

  • you could write diary entry from her army training days for Commander Root in Artemis Fowl
  • you could explain how Scar from The Lion King got his scars
  • you could show how Peanut got his powers to create the rides that June’s mum describes in Wonder Park
  • you could draw a storyboard to show how Bo Peep ended up in an antique shop
  • you could write a shot-by-shot analysis of the ‘how the magic got them there’ fast cut sequence of the Playmobil: The Movie trailer. How did Marla’s brother disappear, why did she abandon her safe life to go after him and how does the Playmobil magic work?