Movie Coincidences

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#1

Hello all,

I browse

Roger Ebert’s website every once in a while, and one time – while I was skipping around the site – I happened

to come upon this

page:

[url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/classifieds?category=search1&SearchType=1&

Class=62&FromDate=19150101&ToDate=20071231&SortOrder=Title]Movie Glossary[/url]

It is a

glossary/list of numerous movie coincidences, rules, and “patterns” that often appear in select films.

Some of them are quite interesting, while others are just downright hilarious. I thought it so interesting, in

fact, that my sister and I began to create our own glossary of “movie coincidences”. Come to think of

it, they adhere to many movie rules in several ways, and a good portion of them seem to make sense. Here is our

list:

1. The BBFS Rule - If you are bald,

black, fat, or scum, you

will most likely be killed in some way.

2. The “Can’t Die” Rule -

If you are the main character or a kid, you probably won’t die.

[b]3. Ben Equals

Brown[/b] - If your name is ‘Ben’, there is a very good chance that your hair will be brown.

4. The Blue Rule - If your fur/skin color is blue, then you are one,

several, or all of these things: unique; cool; people don’t like you at first, but will come to respect you

later on.

5. The Purple Rule - If your fur/skin color is purple, then you

are one or both of these things: weird; tend to cause trouble or get into trouble in one way or another.

6. The Side-Kick Rule - If you are the protagonist’s side-kick, you will

probably end up assisting your hero/leader in some way or another, or will save the day in some way or another.

If you are the antagonist’s side-kick, there is a good chance that you will either die or narrowly escape death

at some point in the film.

We had another rule, as well, but I don’t think that

it makes much sense, so I didn’t put it – heh.

Do you have/notice any movie rules, coincidences, or

“patterns”. Well, feel free to post them here for others to read! :slight_smile:

#2

The purple rule really makes

me smile. :smiley:

I really like this idea- it is very true that films do play according to certain rules,

especially the ‘if you’re the main character, you’re probably not going to die’ rule. When watching Casino

Royale, in the part where James Bond is going into cardiac arrest, it wasn’t as frightening or worrying as it

could have been because he was the title character, and they very rarely kill off the title

character.

I’m trying to think of some other rules…If you’re evil in a Disney film, you will get your

commupence. Um…That’s all I can think of for now.

#3

lizardgirl - Haha – thank you! I’m glad you like my idea. And yeah – I thought

you might appreciate that “purple rule”. :wink:

Your "Disney villian usually gets his/her

commupence" rule certainly seems to fit, as well. It kind of applies to my first rule, as it states that if

you are “scum” you will probably get the boot. :stuck_out_tongue:

Here is a list of characters that apply to

some of my rules:

Characters who apply to rule one: Mr. Udesky in

Jurassic Park III (bald); Denis in Jurassic Park

(scum/fat); Mace Windu in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (bald/black); Beloc in

Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (bald/scum)

[b]Characters

who apply to rule three:[/b] Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars; Ben the rat in

Willard; B.E.N. in Treasure Planet (he had no hair, but

his main color was brown)

Characters who apply to rule four: Remy in

Ratatouille; Deisel in Robots; R2-D2 in

Star Wars; Dory in Finding Nemo

I had to get

Remy in there somewhere. :wink:

#4

I have one

The Happily Ever After

If your

rated G , mostly if animated , it all leads to a happy ending .

#5

gottalovepixar - Haha –

yeah! That’s a funny one. :laughing:

#6

Intresting find. I really love the "can’t die

rule".

#7

The Star Swordsman - Heheh – thanks. :smiley:

I decided to post up the seventh

rule my sister and I made up anyway:

[b]7. The “Friendly Freckles”

Rule[/b] - If you have red hair and freckles, you are probably a very friendly and compassionate

person.

#8

Reminds me of

the guy in Ratatoille who has red hair.

#9

The Japanese

military can’t do anything about giant monsters, period. Only exception to this rule I can think of is Godzilla

Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack or the Kiryu Duology (also Godzilla films, though one ended

with a draw and the other ended with the military hardware, a possessed Mechagodzilla, dragging a Mothra web’d

Godzilla to the ocean, partly to end its own unnatural existence)

#10

The Star Swordsman - Yep –

that’s partly where my sister and I got it from. The first person who popped into my head on account of this

rule, however, was Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter novels. Actually, his whole

family applies to this rule, with the exception of Ginny, I believe.

FigmentJedi - Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the monster rule. Nice one –

very nice. :wink:

#11

besides Ratatouille, what other Pixar movies aply to these rules?

#12

The Star Swordsman - Let me see. Well, here are a few

that I thought of…

Hopper from A Bug’s Life applies to the first rule, in

that he was a scum/bad guy and was eaten in the film.

All the main characters and kid’s in every Pixar

film apply to the second rule.

Randall applies to the fifth rule in that he is purple and got into into

trouble/caused trouble in one way or another.

Buzz Lightyear, if taken as a side-kick, applies to the

sixth rule. He saves Woody many times in the first Toy Story film.

Princess Dot, if taken as a side-kick, applies to the sixth rule. She escapes from Thumper

and warns Flik and the circus bugs about Hopper’s evil plan, thereby alerting the troop to their senses and

forcing them to return to the colony to save the day.

Bulls-Eye served as a mode of

transportation for Woody, allowing him to save Jessie from being shipped to Japan, and thereby "saving the

day", so to speak.

Dory is the ultimate companion and one of the best side-kicks ever

created in a Pixar film. Without her, it would probably would have taken Marlin alot longer to find Nemo; even

worse, he may have never even found him at all without Dory’s help.

Mirage, if taken as a

side-kick, assisted the Incredibles family by giving them the password to control Syndrome’s rocket.

Actually, when you think about it, almost every character in a film contributes to the story in some

way. Without one character, a plan may go faulty; and without the assistance of another, a story may never

end.

#13

Ah I see. But wouldn’t Dot be

considered a good friend of flik?

#14

[b]The

Star Swordsman[/b] - Mmm…yeah, she would. Dot is kind of half a side-character and half a main

character (a friend of Flik, as you said). That’s why I put “if taken as a side-kick” after her name

in my previous post, for I am not entirely sure if she is a side-kick or not. She’s probably not, though – more

like a sister. Heheh.

I’m pretty sure that Buzz Lightyear, Bulls-Eye, and Dory serve as side-kicks,

though. I’m not sure about Mirage, but I suppose she counts as well, since she worked for Syndrome.

#15

And Mirage also

fits into the side-kick rule. (If she was a side kick.)

Believing that his family died from the missile

explosion, Mr. Incredible launched himself in a state of rage to Syndrome, but grabbed Mirage instead. He

threatened to break her, but released her instead. After Mirage released him from his cell, but Mr. Incredible

grabbed her neck and almost strangled her to death.

Twice she escaped death.

#16

Don’t forget these:

The

“Incompetent Bad Guy” rule. If you are a part of a gang of bad guys, you won’t be able to shoot the

broadside of a barn or successfully beat up the hero.

The “Assured Success” rule, a corollary

(sub-rule) to the “Can’t Die” rule. If you are the main character, and you fail to beat the bad guy,

there will be a sequel.

Actually, in reference to the “Can’t Die” rule, if you’ve seen

“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” movie, 12-year-old Bailey dies.

#17

KE - Nice rules, KE. I

especially like the second one, as it makes perfect sense.

As for the third rule: Wow – one of those

rare times a kid dies! It does happen from time to time, although it is not seen very often.

I forgot

about another, very significant one:

8. The “Rainy Days” Rule - If

someone dies/is thought to be dead, if a character/characters is/are depressed, or if something has gone wrong,

it is likely to rain. Thunderstorms are also possible in this type of situation, with lightning sometimes

accompanying the scene.

#18

I would

like to make a comment about rule 8. THere is a reason for that. the reason why is because rain symbolizes

saddness and tears. I think most people could’ve figured that one out.

#19

The Star Swordsman - Exactly – it’s a very simple rule. But I just had to put it,

because I see it everywhere. :stuck_out_tongue:

#20

And the oppisite applys. If it

is sunny, or there is a rainbow, then chances are that there is something happy or a joyous event happened.