When Batman kicks butt, no words are needed. Justice League and all related characters are trademarks of DC Comics © 2001. TM & © Warner Bros. and TM & © 2001 Cartoon Network. An AOL Time Warner Co.

The Purpose of Dialogue
When Batman kicks butt, he doesn't need a lot of dialogue to dump the dumbdumbs. At its best animation is all about action and movement; it explores space and time. You want to show, not tell, your story. There are cartoons with no dialogue at all! But three dialogue blocks per page and no more than three short sentences per block are normal. Generally, in animation dialogue should be used only after you've tried all other methods of communication. Silence can accompany discoveries, revelations and deep emotions. Dialogue is used to reveal the characters. It provides direction, moving the story along and advancing the plot. It discloses information. It provides conflict. And it sets the spirit or mood of the story, whether it's a comedy or drama.

Revealing Character
Sometimes only dialogue can expose the real motivations and secrets of a character in all their complexity. It's especially effective when it exposes the character in an entirely new way from what we as an audience expect. We use dialogue to establish relationships. Dialogue reflects feelings and attitudes. Be sure you know your characters. Each character has his own agenda, often hidden. What is really being said? Which character is driving each scene? Your characters can be driving the action directly or indirectly. Direct dialogue drives people apart. Indirect dialogue draws people together. Characters may talk around a problem as we often do in real life. There may be subtext. But because younger kids probably won't understand subtlety, writing targeted at preschoolers should say what it means. Writing will also be more direct in shorter cartoons, as there simply is not time for many shadings. A longer story digs deeper. To do this try using questions in order to get beneath the surface. Dialogue should never be interchangeable between characters. It should be dialogue that only that character would say. The words should be words that this character would use. Each character should have a different rhythm, perhaps a different sentence length. Dialogue reveals education, cultural and ethnic background, age. Use wording and colorful expressions that are individual to that one character. Unique phrases can serve as a character signature.

Moving the Story Along
A good animation story has to keep moving. Dialogue shouldn't slow it down. It should serve the plot. Dialogue is one way to tell the story, but the dialogue should always disclose tidbits that the characters must tell each other, not just information that you as a writer want the audience to know. Characters make discoveries about what's happening and discover secrets about each other.

Information and Conflict
All the exposition doesn't have to come right away. We want to know what happened before the story started that's motivating our characters now. But information can come out throughout the story. Conflict in dialogue or tension between views is a good way to get information out and keep it interesting. Do be clear enough so that your young viewers understand, but don't say everything. Leave enough unsaid that the audience becomes involved and wants to know more.

The Mood of the Story
Set the tone of the story right away. This is especially important in comedy, so that we know that it's OK to laugh. The type of dialogue must be appropriate for the genre of that specific series.

Characteristics of Dialogue
Good dialogue has a beat, a rhythm, a melody. It's affected by time, place, the weather, etc. It's intangible, like mist, and it depends upon your characters and who they are, their relationships, the situation, the genre, the world of that series, the target age of your audience, the length of the script, and who you are as you're writing the dialogue. Keep it simple; less is more. For young children keep the words simple enough that they'll understand. Dialogue sounds like real talk, but it isn't. It's the essence of real talk with thematic content and an ongoing exchange of power. It must always be easily understandable and clear. You might want to repeat important story points, especially for preschoolers, but repeat with a twist.

Comedy Dialogue
The best comedy comes out of character. Be sure you have funny, exaggerated characters, reacting to a funny situation, and speaking in a funny way. Reactions are all-important to comedy. And so is timing! Try to avoid straight lines wherever you can. Use dialogue that plays off the situation. If there's a fire, "Let's hot foot it out of here!" Then play the next line off of that. A straight man can serve as a foil for the one-liners. Insults can be funny. Comedy dialogue develops with a setup and then a surprise punch line. The punch line comes at the end of a speech. Comedy scenes usually go out on a laugh line (a button).