Christopher Vogler- A Writer’s Journey

STAGE TWELVE:
RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR
 Return
Having survived all the ordeals, having lived through death, heroes
return to their starting place, go home, or continue the journey.

Returning with the Elixir means implementing

change in your daily life and using the lessons of
adventure to heal your wounds.

Denoument:
A French word meaning "untying" or "unknotting."
(noue means knot).

We speak of "tying up the loose ends" of a story in a denouement.

 TWO STORY FORMS
The Circular Story Form
● Also known as closed form, the narrative
returns to its starting point.

● Good way of tying up loose ends and

making a story feel complete

LOTR- The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

● Having the Hero return to
the starting point or
remember how they started
allows you to draw a
comparison for the audience

The Chronicles of Narnia—The Lion, the Witch and LOTR- The Return of the King (2003)
the Wardrobe (2005)
 Achievement of Perfection
‘And they lived happily ever after’
The "happy endings" of Hollywood films link them with the
world of fairy tales, which are often about the achievement of
perfection.

Fairy tales bring the shattered family back into balance, back
to completion. Disney Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Weddings, marriage or striking up the

relationships can be seen as a perfect
ending.

"Louie, I think this is the beginning of

a beautiful friendship." -Casablanca

The Illusionist (2006) Casablanca (1942)

 The Open Ended Story Form
● Once in a while, a few loose ends are desirable
● Storytelling continues when the story is over
● Poses new questions

The Thing - 1982 Inception - 2010

 Functions of the Return
● The Return is your last chance to touch the emotions of the audience
● The story must finish in a way that it provokes the audience as intended
● Bears special weight because of its position at the end of the work

Return Home - Charco

 Surprise
● A Return can fall flat if everything is resolved too neatly or as expected
● Untie plot threads with a certain amount of Surprise
● May have a Twist

Saw - 2004 The Sixth Sense - 1999

 Reward and Punishment
● Part of restoring balance to the world and giving a sense of completion
● Villains should be punished. Punishments should fit the crime
● Rewards should be proportionate to sacrifices offered

The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time 1998 The Legend of Zelda - Majora’s Mask 2000
 The Elixir
● What the Hero brings back from their journey upon the Return
● Bringing back the Elixir is the hero's final test
● The Elixir may be any of the things that drive people to undertake adventure
● The best Elixirs are those that bring the hero and the audience greater awareness

Healing Elixir - Skylanders Youth Elixir

The Elixir of Love
● A reward the hero doesn’t win until after a final sacrifice

PK (2014) Directed by Rajkumar Hirani [Film]

The World is Changed
● The wisdom which got back may be so powerful that it force change
● The whole world is altered and the consequences spread far

Dune (1984) Directed by David Lynch [Film]

The Elixir of Responsibility
● Take wider responsibility at the Return
● Giving up their loner status for a place of leadership
● Character’s center has moved from the ego to the Self

“With great power comes

great responsibility”

Spider-Man (2002) Directed by Sam Raimi [Film]

The Elixir of Tragedy
● Heroes die or are defeated brought down by their tragic flaws
● The audience learns through the errors made and the consequences of it

Braveheart (1995) Directed by Mel Gibson [Film]

Sadder but Wiser
● Taking a rueful look back at their wrong turns on the path
● The elixir bear away is bitter medicine, but it may keep from making the same
error again
● Warning to audience not to choose the same path

Click (2006) Directed by Frank Coraci [Film]

Sadder but no Wiser
● Hero is acknowledging that he is been a fool
● The worse kind of fool is the one who doesn’t get it
● The hero or someone else is doomed to repeat the ordeals until the lesson is learned

Seven (1995) Directed by David Fincher [Film]

Epilogue
● The story ends, but life goes on
● How the characters turned out

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)

Pitfalls of the Return
● Abrupt
● Unfocused
○ Starts out one way, finishes in
another
● Unresolved subplots
○ Each character should get an Elixir
● Too many endings
○ KISS system

The Karate Kid (1984)

Punctuation
● A story is like a sentence
○ Period
○ Exclamation point
○ Question mark
○ Ellipsis

Friday the 13th (1980)

 And so the Hero's Journey ends, or at least rests for a while, for the journey of life

and the adventure of story never really end.

The Elixir can be— wisdom, experience, money, love, fame, or the thrill of a lifetime.

But a good story, like a good journey, leaves us with an Elixir

that changes us, makes us more aware, more alive, more human, more whole, more a

part of everything that is.

The circle of the Hero's Journey is complete.

References
● Casablanca (1942) Directed by Michael Curtiz [Film].
● Click (2006) Directed by Frank Coraci [Film]
● Disney Beauty and the Beast (1991) Directed by Jeff Kurtti [Film].
● Elixir of Youth - (http://www.newsandpromotions.com/american-scientists-claim-discovered-youth-elixir-started-test-people/)
● Friday the 13th (1980) Directed by Sean S. Cunningham [Film].
● Healing Elixir - Skylanders [Video game].
● The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015 Directed by Francis Lawrence [Film].
● Illustrations from Christopher Vogler- A Writer’s Journey by Fritz Springmeyer & Michèle Montez
● Inception (2010) Directed by Christopher Nolan [Film].
● The Karate Kid (1984) Directed by John G. Avildsen [Film].
● Lord of the Rings- The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Directed by Peter Jackson [Film].
● Lord of the Rings- The Return of the King (2003) Directed by Peter Jackson [Film].
● The Chronicles of Narnia—The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) Directed by Andrew Adamson [Film].
● The Illusionist (2006) Directed by Neil Burger [Film].
● PK (2014) Directed by Rajkumar Hirani [Film]
● Dune (1984) Directed by David Lynch [Film]
● Spider-Man (2002) Directed by Sam Raimi [Film]
● Braveheart (1995) Directed by Mel Gibson [Film]
● Seven (1995) Directed by David Fincher [Film]
● Vogler, C. (1998) The writer’s journey: Mythic structure for storytellers and screenwriters. Third Edition edn. Michael Wiese Productions.
● The Thing (1982) Directed by John Carpenter [Film].
● Return Home - Charco [Artwork].
● Saw (2004) Directed by James Wan [Film].
● The Sixth Sense (1999) Directed by M. Night Shyamalan [Film].
● The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time (1998) [Video game].
● The Legend of Zelda - Majora’s Mask (2000) [Video game].