Vladimir Propp's Character Theory

Propp is a Theorist who believed all stories/movies had the same characters in them: hero, villain, donar, helper, princess, princess' father, dispatcher, false hero. 

Character Types	Definition	Examples
The Hero	Generally leads the narrative Story of the hero usually looking for something As the audience we generally want the hero to succeed	Shrek
The Villain	Struggles against the Hero and is morally bad Turns audience against him and drives them to support the hero Serves to highlight the goodness of the Hero	Lord Farquaad
The Donor	Gives the hero something special, such as a weapon or wisdom or clue The gift enables the Hero to complete their journey Maybe combined with that of a helper	Dragon
The Helper	Supports the Hero at critical moments to provide a helping hand May be a support role throughout They may have limitations which highlight the Hero’s defining characteristics	Donkey
The Princess	Deliberately sought after by the Hero or she could be the reward Maybe seen very little in the story or may even be seen as an important character	Fiona
The Princess’ Father	Gives the task to the hero  and is a key figure for the hero to persuade as the Father is protective May be in competition with the Hero for the princess’ affection	The King
The Dispatcher	Sends the hero on his mission, this can be a family member like the princess’ father Gives the hero a set of quests to be completed before the hero can claim his award	Lord Farquaad
The False Hero	Appears to act heroically but may be initially mistaken for the real Hero Will try to steal the real hero’s thunder and will grab the credit	Prince Charming

Why the Theory is useful?

It avoids treating characters as if they are individuals and reminds us they are merely constructs. Some characters are indeed there just to progress the narrative.

The main criticism for Propp's Theory. . .

Propp’s theory of narrative seems to be based in a male orientated environment (due to his theory actually reflecting early folk tales) and as such critics often dismiss the theory with regard to film. However, it may still be applied because the function (rather than the gender) of characters is the basis of the theory. E.g. the hero could be a woman; the reward could be a man.

Critics argue that Propp’s strict order of characters and events is restrictive. We should rather apply the functions and events randomly as we meet new narratives. E.g. the hero may kill the villain earlier than Propp expects. Changing the traditional format will change the whole way the text is received.

Some critics claim there are many more character types than Propp suggests and we should feel free to identify them. E.g. the stooge in a sci-fi film, who is usually nameless and usually killed early on to suggest the power of the alien force, is a typical modern character type.