I'm sick, so you all get a rant.
I should probably apologize for everything I'm about to say after this and I even will apologize, slightly, to those who enjoyed Eragon because I'm about to trash the defense I see most often for that carbon copy of Star Wars: The similarities between Mr. Paolini and Mr. Lucas' works are not simply a matter of the "Hero's Journey". Before, any of you comment to say that I've never read "The Hero of a Thousand Faces", I have. Though, not for this reason. I wanted to learn all that I could about the hero's journey because I happened to be writing a novel with it at the time. There is nothing wrong with this trope and there's a reason why it's so beloved. It encompasses everything we want in a character: someone who is young and naive who becomes the savior of a group of people we learn to care about.
Here are three different versions of the "Hero's Journey": Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars. There are others, but these are probably the most recognizable. They each have the boy, the mentor, the mentor's death, the journey itself (whether that's a literal journey like in Lord of the Rings or more metaphorical like in Harry Potter), and the young man saving the day. They have trials, evil, and things to conquer. They are also three very separate stories. That's why you don't hear that Star Wars was coping Lord of the Rings as often and why Harry Potter is considered a success on its own. They all do have an "uncle", but it's different for each character, including Harry's less nice version. Uncle Owen knows that Luke is his father's son and tries to protect him from that destiny. Bilbo ends up leaving the ring to Frodo, but there's no knowledge really of just how important the younger hobbit will become. Uncle Vernon also knows about Harry's wizarding heritage, but unlike Uncle Owen, he doesn't want Harry to know because he hates magic, not to protect him. The mentors are also different. Obi-Wan is wise, but realizes that in the past he messed up with Luke's father. He's not above sending the young man to Yoda. Yoda, in his own way, is far more of a being than he lets on. Yes, he dies, but he doesn't seem to terrestrial to begin with. It's almost as if he's a manifestation of the force even when he's alive. (And I'm only talking about original series Yoda, not prequels Yoda) Luke looks up to them, but in terms of the other two series, he really doesn't know them that long. They have a more strict mentor/student relationship. Harry, on the other hand, gets Dumbledore who he grows close to in six books, almost seeing the older wizard as a grandfather type figure. There is still mentoring involved, but it's not as one on one as it was with Luke and his two mentors. Frodo, by contrast, had Gandalf who was a wizard, though not in the same way Dumbledore was a wizard. They had a friendship that wasn't a familial as Harry's but not as distant as Luke's.
Their quests, while similar, also managed to be different. Harry has to kill the wizard who is essentially Hitler and who killed his parents: revenge. Luke needs to kill the emperor, yes, but his story focuses on Darth Vader, dear old dad. He eventually goes from trying to save the galaxy by killing his dad to trying to save his dad: redemption. Frodo doesn't have a connection of Sauron at all other than through the ring. He's just trying to do the right thing because no one else can: duty. They go about their quests in different ways too: Luke joins the rebels, Harry spends most of his time at school learning, and Frodo gets to travel through horrible, horrible wastelands to destroy a ring. When they succeed, it's in different ways: Frodo barely manages. In fact, if Gollum hadn't bit off his finger and fell in, Frodo might not have succeeded at all. Luke convinces his father to help him and it's Darth Vader who throws the emperor off the edge. Harry had the good sense to know that death was inevitable, love is important, and having a really cool wand help out certainly helps matters so that Voldemort gets hit by his own spell.
Finally, the three mentors bow out in different ways. Dumbledore actually takes forever to bow out if you look at things. It took him six books while both of the other two died in the first book (or movie). Technically, he comes back a bit, but not as often as Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan dies in the first movie, helping Luke and the others to escape. He does, however, come back often as a spirit to help Luke at first and waves good-bye at the end. Gandalf did the same as Obi-Wan, but he comes back as Gandalf the White and stays away from Frodo. The little hobbit really did think his old friend was dead for the majority of the story.
So, if someone uses the excuse "it's the Hero's Journey", I'm hoping I've proved that that isn't an excuse to copy a set of movies and vaguely change characters. It means that you use the basics and create your own characters, world, and plot. It doesn't mean that you put it in the past, throw in a dragon, and call it good. And maybe things have changed in the past couple of books, I don't know. Quite frankly, I couldn't read much of the first and the movie disgusts me. I watched part of it and stopped. Then I watched all of it and groaned. And I tried to watch it again before doing this only to realize that I don't mind ranting, but I'm not watching a movie I hate. Again. If you liked the book or movie, please, come up with a new excuse.
Here are three different versions of the "Hero's Journey": Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars. There are others, but these are probably the most recognizable. They each have the boy, the mentor, the mentor's death, the journey itself (whether that's a literal journey like in Lord of the Rings or more metaphorical like in Harry Potter), and the young man saving the day. They have trials, evil, and things to conquer. They are also three very separate stories. That's why you don't hear that Star Wars was coping Lord of the Rings as often and why Harry Potter is considered a success on its own. They all do have an "uncle", but it's different for each character, including Harry's less nice version. Uncle Owen knows that Luke is his father's son and tries to protect him from that destiny. Bilbo ends up leaving the ring to Frodo, but there's no knowledge really of just how important the younger hobbit will become. Uncle Vernon also knows about Harry's wizarding heritage, but unlike Uncle Owen, he doesn't want Harry to know because he hates magic, not to protect him. The mentors are also different. Obi-Wan is wise, but realizes that in the past he messed up with Luke's father. He's not above sending the young man to Yoda. Yoda, in his own way, is far more of a being than he lets on. Yes, he dies, but he doesn't seem to terrestrial to begin with. It's almost as if he's a manifestation of the force even when he's alive. (And I'm only talking about original series Yoda, not prequels Yoda) Luke looks up to them, but in terms of the other two series, he really doesn't know them that long. They have a more strict mentor/student relationship. Harry, on the other hand, gets Dumbledore who he grows close to in six books, almost seeing the older wizard as a grandfather type figure. There is still mentoring involved, but it's not as one on one as it was with Luke and his two mentors. Frodo, by contrast, had Gandalf who was a wizard, though not in the same way Dumbledore was a wizard. They had a friendship that wasn't a familial as Harry's but not as distant as Luke's.
Their quests, while similar, also managed to be different. Harry has to kill the wizard who is essentially Hitler and who killed his parents: revenge. Luke needs to kill the emperor, yes, but his story focuses on Darth Vader, dear old dad. He eventually goes from trying to save the galaxy by killing his dad to trying to save his dad: redemption. Frodo doesn't have a connection of Sauron at all other than through the ring. He's just trying to do the right thing because no one else can: duty. They go about their quests in different ways too: Luke joins the rebels, Harry spends most of his time at school learning, and Frodo gets to travel through horrible, horrible wastelands to destroy a ring. When they succeed, it's in different ways: Frodo barely manages. In fact, if Gollum hadn't bit off his finger and fell in, Frodo might not have succeeded at all. Luke convinces his father to help him and it's Darth Vader who throws the emperor off the edge. Harry had the good sense to know that death was inevitable, love is important, and having a really cool wand help out certainly helps matters so that Voldemort gets hit by his own spell.
Finally, the three mentors bow out in different ways. Dumbledore actually takes forever to bow out if you look at things. It took him six books while both of the other two died in the first book (or movie). Technically, he comes back a bit, but not as often as Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan dies in the first movie, helping Luke and the others to escape. He does, however, come back often as a spirit to help Luke at first and waves good-bye at the end. Gandalf did the same as Obi-Wan, but he comes back as Gandalf the White and stays away from Frodo. The little hobbit really did think his old friend was dead for the majority of the story.
So, if someone uses the excuse "it's the Hero's Journey", I'm hoping I've proved that that isn't an excuse to copy a set of movies and vaguely change characters. It means that you use the basics and create your own characters, world, and plot. It doesn't mean that you put it in the past, throw in a dragon, and call it good. And maybe things have changed in the past couple of books, I don't know. Quite frankly, I couldn't read much of the first and the movie disgusts me. I watched part of it and stopped. Then I watched all of it and groaned. And I tried to watch it again before doing this only to realize that I don't mind ranting, but I'm not watching a movie I hate. Again. If you liked the book or movie, please, come up with a new excuse.