Analyzing opening sequences

Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium 


The opening sequence tell you a lot about not only the content of the film but also in this case the target audience.The beginning when the ball bounces into a black background, creates the effect that this is an uplifting, colourful and happy film.

The titles are completely animated and are suited to a younger audience indicating that the film is based on childlike themes.  The credits themselves are bold and change style in each frame to accommodate the images the are placed with. This is cleverly done when the actors names are given that there are images that relate to the type of character they are portraying. For example Along side the name Jason Bateman shows a business man from the neck down, his foot is tapping impatiently and the credits are seen as handwritten in the form of a signature. Also when the credits for the production team are shown each member has an animation according to their job, for example photography the name was placed on an animated version of a Polaroid.

The animations are once the Emporium is lifted away by a hand seen as toys and although the style is not childlike it does convey the vibrancy of a child's imagination. It also conveys the magic that children see within their toys. The M that is seen on the Emporium is also important, the first impression it will create in the audience's mind is that Mr Magorium is on the inside still a child, an adult that has not fully grown up.

The sound that complements the bright and exciting imagery is creates a lot of curiosity in the audience as the music is fast paced and has both periods of high and low notes. This makes the titles a lot more mysterious as well as withholding the characters it also doesn't clearly define whether or not the film has a happy or sad tone. Throughout the title sequence music notes are seen to appear in all places, this could indicate the significance of music to the plot.

The end of the opening title sees the animations disappear into the emporium, but with a bit of a twist the emporium is a small building in between large skyscrapers. This not only makes the audience more aware of the setting, but also showcases the films unique selling point. The frame closes as a circle getting smaller and the last thing seen in the M on the front of the emporium, it creates a nice enigma for the rest of the film as well as giving the audience some idea of what to expect.