For your reference, the stages of Departure are:
~Call to Adventure
~Refusal of the Call
~Supernatural Aid
~Crossing of the First Threshold
~Belly of the Whale
Please include the book, movie, and/or series of the character(s) you choose to discuss!
Departure
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Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis
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Prof. Will Lestrange
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Re: Departure
The clearest example of Refusal of the Call I can think of is from Simba's journey in The Lion King (1994 movie). After Simba's childhood friend and future wife, Nala, informed him of the situation back on Pride Rock, Nala lets Simba know that he is the rightful king and should reclaim his throne from his uncle Scar.
Simba's refusal to accept this call is exemplified by him saying "No I'm not the king" - and a few scenes later (where Nala wants Simba to be "the king I know he is/the king I see inside" but Simba is ashamed of his past), Simba doubles down: "Nala, we've been through this. I'm not the king. Scar is." Eventually, Nala leaves - having failed to convince Simba of his destiny... and Simba continues on refusing the call until the mandrill shaman Rafiki shows Simba his father Mufasa in the stars.
So in this story, Refusal of the Call might be one of the most pronounced parts of Simba's heroic journey!
Simba's refusal to accept this call is exemplified by him saying "No I'm not the king" - and a few scenes later (where Nala wants Simba to be "the king I know he is/the king I see inside" but Simba is ashamed of his past), Simba doubles down: "Nala, we've been through this. I'm not the king. Scar is." Eventually, Nala leaves - having failed to convince Simba of his destiny... and Simba continues on refusing the call until the mandrill shaman Rafiki shows Simba his father Mufasa in the stars.
So in this story, Refusal of the Call might be one of the most pronounced parts of Simba's heroic journey!
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Emily Spencer
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Re: Departure
One of the best examples of supernatural aid is taken from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. In appearance, Father Christmas appears much like one would expect, complete with the requisite red suit, white beard, and sack full of presents. By his very nature, one could consider the character 'supernatural', but this goes beyond that and decidedly lands smack in the middle of the hero's journey.
He gifts the three Pevensie children not with toys, but with magical items that will help them in their fight against the White Witch, a most evil character who has caused the Long Winter, preventing Christmas from coming to Narnia. His presence is an indication that the witch's power is weakening and the Long Winter is coming to an end. Joy is returning to Narnia, but the White Witch will not give up so easily. Thus, he presents the following gifts:
Peter-a sword and shield
Susan-a bow
Lucy-a vial of healing potion
He gifts the three Pevensie children not with toys, but with magical items that will help them in their fight against the White Witch, a most evil character who has caused the Long Winter, preventing Christmas from coming to Narnia. His presence is an indication that the witch's power is weakening and the Long Winter is coming to an end. Joy is returning to Narnia, but the White Witch will not give up so easily. Thus, he presents the following gifts:
Peter-a sword and shield
Susan-a bow
Lucy-a vial of healing potion
Last edited by Emily Spencer on Tue Apr 07, 2026 6:06 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Amy Darvill
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Re: Departure
I think Rey goes through most of the stages of the Departure.
So our Call to Adventure, is when Rey encounters the droid BB-8 and tries to save him from scavengers. Finn also shows up, lying about being part of the resistance for his own safety. During the interrogation, both of them find out BB-8 is on a secret mission, and the scavenger camp is attacked by the first order, forcing them to escape. This ends up making her Refusal less a specific act, and more of a refrain for a good part of the first film, as she's insistent about getting back to the planet Jakku, where she's waiting for her parents. Her only goal is to get BB-8 back to the resistance so he can finish the mission.
Our Supernatural aid comes in the form of Han Solo. It was his old ship they had stolen to escape the attack, and he assists them with getting BB-8 back. He provides Rey with a weapon, but also informs her that many of the myths of the jedi and the force are real. Here we have another refusal, where she insists she'll have to go back to Jakku.
Now crossing the threshold and the belly of the whale to me are the same. When they land on Takodana, it's a new planet for Rey, who's never left Jakku before. So it's a physical crossing. But there's also a spiritual crossing, when she connects with the Force for the first time, wandering through the cantina/keep to a vault, and suffering visions of the past and future, which I also consider the belly of the whale. (This is based on knowing that much of her journey involves the force and Jedi). She refuses to take the lightsaber from the vault however, and leaves. Finn is given the lightsaber for safekeeping.
Now some people believe the belly of the whale moment is when she's captured by Kylo Ren, as it's in the course of escaping him and fighting that she comes to accept she has to be involved, plus it continues to push her forward to when she meets Luke. I could accept this as a spiritual belly of the whale moment, but I think the physical moment is the Takodana moment.
(I really hope this makes sense, I have a source for some of this, plus I'm rewatching parts of the films to remind myself, and I find myself arguing with the source.)
So our Call to Adventure, is when Rey encounters the droid BB-8 and tries to save him from scavengers. Finn also shows up, lying about being part of the resistance for his own safety. During the interrogation, both of them find out BB-8 is on a secret mission, and the scavenger camp is attacked by the first order, forcing them to escape. This ends up making her Refusal less a specific act, and more of a refrain for a good part of the first film, as she's insistent about getting back to the planet Jakku, where she's waiting for her parents. Her only goal is to get BB-8 back to the resistance so he can finish the mission.
Our Supernatural aid comes in the form of Han Solo. It was his old ship they had stolen to escape the attack, and he assists them with getting BB-8 back. He provides Rey with a weapon, but also informs her that many of the myths of the jedi and the force are real. Here we have another refusal, where she insists she'll have to go back to Jakku.
Now crossing the threshold and the belly of the whale to me are the same. When they land on Takodana, it's a new planet for Rey, who's never left Jakku before. So it's a physical crossing. But there's also a spiritual crossing, when she connects with the Force for the first time, wandering through the cantina/keep to a vault, and suffering visions of the past and future, which I also consider the belly of the whale. (This is based on knowing that much of her journey involves the force and Jedi). She refuses to take the lightsaber from the vault however, and leaves. Finn is given the lightsaber for safekeeping.
Now some people believe the belly of the whale moment is when she's captured by Kylo Ren, as it's in the course of escaping him and fighting that she comes to accept she has to be involved, plus it continues to push her forward to when she meets Luke. I could accept this as a spiritual belly of the whale moment, but I think the physical moment is the Takodana moment.
(I really hope this makes sense, I have a source for some of this, plus I'm rewatching parts of the films to remind myself, and I find myself arguing with the source.)