The OUT OF THE BOTTLE Genre

In these wish-fulfillment tales, an ordinary hero’s life is changed by magic that either bestows a wish or a power or inflicts them with a curse. Whichever way, this magic changes the hero’s life and makes things difficult. The magic is resolved in the end, but the lesson—the moral of the tale—resonates with the hero… and the audience… forever.
The 3 elements of an OUT OF THE BOTTLE story are:
1) A wish asked for by the hero or another, and the clearly seen need to be delivered from the ordinary.
2) A spell, which we must make logical by upholding “The Rules.”
3) A lesson: Be careful what you wish for! It’s the running theme in all OOTB’s. Life is good as it is.
It’s a Wonderful Life Beat Sheet Analysis
See how the holiday classic, It's a Wonderful Life, hits the Save the Cat! story beats.
This Time Tomorrow Novel Beat Sheet Analysis
See the 15 Blake Snyder story beats of Emma Straub's This Time Tomorrow.
Practical Magic Novel Beat Sheet
See the 15 Blake Snyder story beats of Alice Hoffman's novel, Practical Magic.
The Midnight Library Beat Sheet
See the 15 Blake Snyder, Save the Cat story beats of the popular novel, The Midnight Librarian, by Matt Haig.
Soul Beat Sheet
See the 15 Save the Cat! story beats of the Disney Pixar film, Soul.
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Beat Sheet
See the classic's beats.
Doctor Who: “A Christmas Carol” (2010) Beat Sheet
Happy Holidays to you with this special Christmas story Beat Sheet!
11.22.63: “The Rabbit Hole” (Episode 1) Beat Sheet
The hulu pilot hits Blake's beats.
Aladdin Beat Sheet
We salute this well-structured story and the incomparable Robin Williams.
Liar Liar Beat Sheet
See how one of Jim Carrey's best movies hits the beats.
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