No Halloween This Year (Script)

FULL SHOT - THE FRONT OF A HALLOWEEN PARTY INVITATION

After a few seconds, it turns over to reveal the title:

OPENING TITLE: “NO HALLOWEEN THIS YEAR”

EXT. TOWN SQUARE - DAY.

Chucker and Basher, the Poltergeist twins, are excitedly jumping up and down over the fact they’re invited to a Halloween party. Both the twins stuff the invitations into their hats for safe keeping, and float out of frame.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. COSTUME SHOP - DAY.

Chucker and Basher enter the costume shop to find Charlotte, a six year old girl with magical powers, Luella and Six sorting through various dress up clothes, deciding what they want to be for the party. The two Poltergeist twins float up to the girls, who notice them.

CHARLOTTE

Hi, Chucker! Hi, Basher!

SIX
Are you excited about the Halloween party happening tonight?

Chucker and Basher nod.

LUELLA

What are you going to go as?

Chucker and Basher look at each other, then slowly shake their heads to say, “I dunno”.

LUELLA

Well, I’m going to go as a fairy. I’ll be much better than that thuggish fairy called Twinkle, he never shaves or washes under his arms!

SIX

(grossed out)

Eeeeewww…

CHARLOTTE

And I’m going as a witch.

LUELLA/CHARLOTTE
(in unison)

WFFs forever!

The two laugh, and once their laughter has settled, Charlotte asks Six:

CHARLOTTE
What are you going to go as, Six?

SIX

I think I’ll go as a lion, because I’m tough and strong.

CHARLOTTE

(sarcastically)

You always are strong towards my friend Sybil.

SIX

That’s because I’m her cousin. It’s my job.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. COSTUME SHOP - CHANGING ROOMS. DAY.

Chucker and Basher wait outside as the girls are heard putting on their Halloween costumes. After a while, each one emerges: Luella as a fairy, Charlotte as a witch, and…Six in a Rainbow Dash dress. Luella and Charlotte laugh over this. Six notices, and laughs too.

LUELLA

I thought you were supposed to be a lion.

SIX

Sorry, but my little cousin is into My Little Pony.

CHARLOTTE
Now, you two, what are you going to go as?

Chucker points to the lion costume that Six refused to wear, and Basher points to the cowboy costume hanging with the other costumes.

DISSOLVE:

INT. COSTUME SHOP - CHANGING ROOMS. DAY.

We hear Chucker and Basher changing into their costumes from inside the changing rooms, and then they emerged, dressed up in their costumes.

LUELLA/CHARLOTTE/SIX

(O.S.)

Oooh!/Wow!

CHARLOTTE
(O.S.)

Well, no time to explain. We have to get ready. See you at the party!

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. CHUCKER & BASHER’S HOUSE - KITCHEN. AFTERNOON.

Chucker and Basher sneak into the kitchen while their mother, a Poltergeist wearing a boater hat, is cooking something. Chucker whispers into Basher’s ear, ala Sooty with Matthew Corbertt, and Basher nods, getting out a lasso. He twirls it over his head and lassos his mum, who drops her wooden spoon on the floor.

CHUCKER & BASHER’S MUM

I don’t know what has come over you two boys. Don’t lasso me while I’m cooking - you almost disrupted my bolognese sauce I’m making for dinner tonight. Now, about the Halloween party. Can you show me the invitations?

Chucker and Basher pull the invitations out of their exposed pockets and hand them over to their mum, who gasps at the time the party has started: 10PM?! I don’t believe it!

CHUCKER & BASHER’S MUM

10PM?! No no no no no, that’s way past your bedtime. I can’t have you going to that Halloween party just so you can fake staying up late, I have scaring duties tonight. And by the way, Thomas is coming to babysit in three hours, so I want you looking your spritely best for him.

Chucker and Basher run upstairs to get ready. We have a MONTAGE of Chucker and Basher in the bathroom taking a nice, warm bath (complete with a yellow rubber duck), drying themselves and changing into their clean pyjamas.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. CHUCKER & BASHER’S HOUSE - HALLWAY. AFTERNOON.

Chucker and Basher stampede down the stairs and sit on the steps to wait for Thomas, their babysitter. There is silence for a minute. Chucker stares at the clock above the dresser, and puts his exposed head on Basher’s exposed shoulder.

CLOSE UP - HALLWAY CLOCK

It now reads quarter past 4.

MATCH DISSOLVE:

It now reads 6 O’Clock.

INT. CHUCKER & BASHER’S HOUSE - HALLWAY. EVENING.

Chucker and Basher’s mum answers the door to see Thomas, an adolescent dog wearing a footie shirt and with brown and orange fur.

CHUCKER & BASHER’S MUM

Thanks for coming by to look after my dear little Poltergeists.

THOMAS
No worries, mate, it’s my pleasure.

CHUCKER & BASHER’S MUM

Help yourself to anything in the fridge. Bedtime is 9 O’Clock. And by the way, they aren’t going to the Halloween party tonight. Will you find something to keep them occupied while I’m out?

THOMAS

I’ll find something.

CHUCKER & BASHER

Good.

(to Chucker & Basher)

Be good for Thomas! Bye!

Chucker and Basher’s mum exits and shuts the door behind her. Chucker and Basher hop off the stairs and trudge slowly into

INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS. EVENING.

Chucker and Basher slump down on the sofa, and Thomas sits next to them. There is a moment of silence. Then, Thomas puts a paw on Basher’s exposed shoulder.

THOMAS

Look, mate, I know your mum has told you a thousand times about attending that Halloween party, but sometimes the real fun can be found at home.

Chucker and Basher shoot upright in amazement - WHAT?!

THOMAS

Why don’t you draw what the Halloween party looks like?

I.B.F.Fs: No Halloween This Year

Ed and Fred, the ghostly brothers, were fed up. It was Halloween, and every year their relatives go out for their annual haunting procession, which meant scaring people all around the world. But this year, their mum couldn’t go out because they had nasty colds, and their sneezing was causing everything in their house to scatter everywhere. “Oh dear, your room is a mess,” said Mum. “Tell me about it,” said Fred, “Our room doesn’t look the same since green snot crawled out of our exposed noses.” Ed just sneezed, for he didn’t talk. Instantly, a whole shelf of books came flying, and Mum had to duck! “I should put a peg on your nose to keep out the snotty bogely-ness.” she said, tutting and shaking her head. The brothers laughed. “Now, you two stay here while I go and get you a nice glass of milk and a spoonful of Nyquil.”

Off she went downstairs to prepare the milk and medicine, and while she did that, Ed and Fred tried hard not to sniff hard or sneeze. No matter how long they held in their sneezes for, their noses just kept running with snot. At last, Mum came up with a tray of medicine and milk. “Here, take a spoonful each. It’ll make you feel better.” Mum fed the medicine to Ed and Fred. “Urrggh!” said Fred, “It tastes of drowned mice in chocolate peanut butter.” “That’s ghoul-approved medicine.” reassured Mum. “No wonder it tastes of petrol!” said Fred. “By the way, I wonder if cousin Bertram is out on scare patrol this year? At least he’s not ill.”

As if on cue, the tablet on Ed’s bedside table began to ring. “Oh! I thin you spoke too soon,” said Mum. She picked up the tablet and answered it. It was a video call from cousin Bertram himself! “Ah, Bertram, thank goodness you called. Out on scare patrol I see?” “Sure, and I’m out on my first round to little Fiona’s house right then and there.” said cousin Bertram. “May Ed and Fred talk with you please?” “I’m sure they’d love to!” said cousin Betram. Mum handed the tablet over to Ed and Fred. “Hi, you two!” cried Bertram, “Sorry to hear you’re not well.” “That’s okay,” sniffed Fred, “We’re coping really well.” He turned to Ed. “Don’t get snot on the tablet, you mind.” Ed nodded. Bertram laughed. “Watch carefully, you two, I’m going to demonstrate how real scarers take a scare in the hand!” Ed and Fred watched excitedly as Bertram crept into Fiona’s bedroom. He waited until Fiona was sound asleep, and then he tiptoed into the room and shook her awake. As Fiona woke up, she was shocked to see a surprisingly spooky ghost! It roared at her like a million lions with shockwave power! Fiona screamed, and Bertram dropped his tablet.

The footage on the tablet began to glitch out and turn off. The video call had ended. Ed and Fred were most upset. Ed was in tears, and Fred began to hug his mother. “I wonder if Bertram’s alright? Did he scare Fiona in the end?” he sobbed. “I’m sure he did. But while we wait for another video call from Bertram, I think I may need to get you both settled into bed.” “We have a collection of plastic bats and moons Alice gave us, plus some string and some sticks, and some lullaby powder too. We’ll make it happen with the power of a cold-friendly lullaby!” So that’s exactly what they did.

Ed, Fred and Mum took the plastic bats and moons and tied the string around each one. They then tied the string around the sticks and hung it off a coat hanger. “Now, close your eyes,” said Mum, “I’m about to use the lullaby powder.” Ed and Fred shut their heavy eyes tight as Mum threw the pink, powdery stuff over the mobile, which began to spin round slowly and play Brahms Lullaby. Ed and Fred were so sleepy in fact that they instantly settled down to bed. “Goodnight, my little phantoms,” said Mum, and she switched off the light and headed out the door. These ghouls got just the sleep they deserved, and it was all thanks to the power of a lullaby…

…but you never know, some other ghoul may be watching them from the corner of the room…

THE END.

No Halloween This Year

Chucker and Basher were very excited. They were invited to a Halloween party over at Luke, Resus and Cleo’s house! Since they were Poltergeists of very few words they didn’t have any time to express what they think of such a momentous event, but I have one word to express it: spooktacular. And after the party, they were going trick or treating! They had their trick or treat buckets armed and ready, and right now they were going to the costume shop to choose a costume for the party.

Whilst searching through endless varieties of costumes, they met up with the girl squad - Charlotte, Luella and Six. They were searching for costumes for the party too. “Luella and I are going as a fairy and a witch - we’re sure to outsmart everyone with how magical we are at this year’s party!” said Charlotte, using levitation to bring forth a witch costume from the other side of the shop. “I’m the fairy, she’s the witch,” said Luella. “And that makes us Magic Buddies, right?” said Charlotte. “You bet!” said Luella. “I think I might go as a lion, because I’m as strong and tough as one.” Chucker and Basher were totally inspired by the girls’ costumes. They watched minutes later as they emerged from the changing room wearing their costumes - except Six, who was instead wearing a Rainbow Dash Halloween costume. Luella and Charlotte laughed and laughed. The Poltergeist twins laughed too, but their laughter could not be heard. “I thought you were going as a lion!” cried Charlotte. Six blushed. “Sorry, but I have a secret liking for ponies.” That gave Chucker and Basher an idea: they could go as a lion and a cowboy!

They huddled into the changing room with their chosen costumes and emerged, their invisible bodies covered with the most colourful lion and cowboy costumes you have ever seen. “Ooh, wow!” gasped the girls. “Now you’re definitely ready for the party.” said Six. “You look fabulous!” swooned Luella. “I wonder what my dark angel will be going as? A prince, perhaps. A prince of my heart.” “You’ll be perfect for the party,” said Charlotte, “Luke and his siblings will be impressed.” Chucker and Basher looked at each other in concern. “What’s the matter?” asked Charlotte. “I think they’re worried about whether their mum would approve,” whispered Six. “Oh! Thanks! Er…so, you guys better ask your parents.” said Charlotte.

When Chucker and Basher got home they saw their mother cooking in the kitchen. She had a boater hat on her head to represent how motherly she was to them. Basher twirled his cowboy lasso in the air and threw it over his mother. “Hey! What gives?” cried Mum, and the Poltergeist twins were chuckling silently under their breath. “Don’t go lassoing people like that, not when they’re cooking dinner,” she said. “Now, about the Halloween party. Can you show me the invitation?” Chucker and Basher held up their black and orange party invitations. Mum took it from them and groaned. “10PM. That’s way past your bedtime. And Thomas is supposed to come here to babysit! I don’t want you wandering off to a late night Halloween bash when Thomas is supposed to be looking after you!” Mum was overprotective to Chucker and Basher. She didn’t want them going outside even if it’s way past their bedtime. Thomas on the other hand was an orange and brown dog who was Chucker and Basher’s babysitter for the evening. “Now go and get dressed into your pyjamas. Thomas will be arriving at 6PM.”

Chucker and Basher were bathed and in their pyjamas as quick as a wink. As they went downstairs, they looked at the clock and saw it was 5:55PM. That was only a few minutes until Thomas got here! They sat on the first step of the staircase and waited…and waited…and waited…until they heard a knock on the door. Thomas had arrived! And it was nearly dark outside! “Goodbye, darlings,” said Mum, giving each of her little Poltergeist twins a kiss. “Now I hope you’re going to be good little ghosts for Thomas.” She turned to Thomas. “Bedtime is 9 O’clock. Remember, you two, I love you!” She shut the door behind her and flew off.

Chucker and Basher sat in the living room looking cross and unhappy. Their exposed faces didn’t reveal that. “Now, now, why is it that you can’t go to the Halloween party?” Chucker and Basher held up their invitations. “10PM?!” said Thomas, “Oh my, I think you’re far too young to be going out to Halloween parties. Tell you what: why don’t you draw what the Halloween party looks like?” Chucker and Basher were so excited they ripped their invitations to shreds and jumped up and down excitedly. “Well, that’s Poltergeist twins to you,” said Thomas with a smirk.

Chucker and Basher got out some paper and some crayons and began to draw what the party looked like. They drew and they drew and they drew, until finally, when their work was done, they showed it off to Thomas. The picture looked a right beautiful sight - there they were, dressed as a lion and a cowboy, with Luella as a fairy, Charlotte as a witch and Six as Rainbow Dash all around them. “Don’t forget to sign your names,” said Thomas. The two signed their names at the very bottom of the paper using a black crayon and an orange crayon. “Now then, I’ll put it up on your bedroom wall so you won’t forget it. How’s that?” Chucker and Basher jumped up and down in celebration again.

As Thomas put the picture up on the wall, Chucker and Basher had already brushed their exposed teeth. They dragged their weary poltergeist bones into their bedroom and slumped back into bed. Thomas tucked them in and they both snuggled down under the covers. “Good night,” he said. “Happy Halloween.” As Thomas left, he took one last look at the Poltergeist twins, snug and safe in their little bed. Thomas left the room, whistling softly to himself. With a new picture on the wall and nothing to worry about at all, Chucker and Basher learnt that a good time was to be had by all - even at home.

THE END.

My Little Force

I.B.F.Fs: Sisters Of The Snow

Once upon a time, my Egyptian mummy sister Zura and I lived together in the Arctic as sisters. It wasn’t too hot or too cold for us, so we liked it just the way it is, and played together in the snow every day. We’d swim in the open seas  with polar bears. We’d roll down snowy hills. We’d have snowball fights, although it was clear that Zura always won. But best of all, we liked sliding on the ice together. No matter how much fun it was, we always liked sliding across the icy pond towards the other side. It was so much fun that we always tumbled and slid into the snow banks. We’d always emerge laughing and try to get up onto the ice, but we always slipped and landed in a heap.

One day, Zura and I were playing on the ice pond as always, sliding across the pond and crashing into the snowy bank on the other side. As we emerged, we were laughing until we couldn’t stand up - on literal ice. “Wow, that was great!” I cried. “You’re right, Sophie, it’s always fun to play together in such an icy, quiet paradise.” said Zura. “Yeah, just us two, no one else, on ice.” I smiled. Zura tried to get up, and I did too, but we slipped as always and landed atop one another in a heap. We were laughing so loudly that we almost didn’t hear voices calling for us. We looked up, and saw a young human boy (in real life, I know him as a werewolf) and a young vampire. Their names were Fang and Luna.

“Hi, you two! You come from the nearest ice tribe to play with us?” I asked. “Yeah, sure,” said Fang, “You girls are playing ice sliding! Mind if we join you?” “You bet!” said Zura and I together. We lined up at the edge of the pond, and Fang and Luna were boasting. “Bet we can slide all the way to the other side faster than you can!” laughed Luna. “Bet you can’t slide all the way to the edge of the ice!” I giggled. Fang playfully punched me. “I’m going to go even faster than you.” “Want a race?” asked Luna, and he was about to jump into action when Zura grabbed him by the scruff of his tribal coat. “No!” she cried. “Let me teach you.” “Actually, I’ll teach them first.” I added. “I’m an expert slider.” So saying, I leapt onto the ice and slid like I never slid before. “Wheeeeeeeee!!” I cried. BOOF! I landed into the snowy bank. Zura cheered for me, but Fang and Luna looked at each other, annoyed.

“Come on, guys, it’s fun!” I called. “Alright,” said Fang, but Zura stopped him and insisted it was her turn next. Zura leapt onto the ice and slid across, yelling in joy, until she collided with me and landed in the snowy bank. We emerged, hugging and laughing. “Our go!” called Fang. “Wait! Luna has to wait his turn first!” I shouted. “Who cares?” asked Luna, “We can both have a go!” Luna and Fang slid across the ice and landed head first into the snow. They emerged, laughing and high-fiving. Zura and I were astonished! “What? You…” I began, but Luna just pulled a face and Fang jeered, “We’re much better than you!” “Why?” I asked. “Because boys are better at ice sliding than girls. Girls stink! Boys rule!”

These words hurt us so much that we turned and walked away. I was crying softly over what Fang and Luna said. “There now, sometimes people say hurtful things, but I’m sure the boys will learn their lesson sometime soon.” “You mean you will punish them for what they’ve done?” I asked. “Like this!” said Zura, and she pinched my ear gently, causing me to giggle. “Still, we shouldn’t have invited them into our game, they’re far too boyish for our taste.” Meanwhile, Fang and Luna were sliding across the icy pond continuously. “Yeah! Woo!” called Fang. “Now watch me!” Fang leapt onto the ice, but it was too late. The ice began to crack and divide, and Fang fell off his ice floe and into the cold water. He was struggling for his life, and Luna was on the edge of the pond, worried for him. “Help! Luna!” he cried. “Don’t worry, Fang, I’m coming!” called Luna, and he leapt into the water. But soon after he dived in and held onto Fang’s shoulders, he was struggling too! “Help! Help!” they both cried.

Who should hear their cries for help but us. “Oh no! Fang and Luna are in trouble!” I cried. “Perhaps they’re wrong, girls CAN do anything. This is why we need to rescue them.” Zura and I raced towards the pond and leapt into the water. I grabbed Fang, and Zura grabbed Luna, and we both dragged them towards the edge of the water, dragging them onto dry land again. Fang and Luna coughed up water and looked up at us. “Oh thank Drac, you saved us!” said Luna. “You’re both right,” said Zura, “Girls AND boys are good at sliding along the ice.” “Then we’re sorry we didn’t believe you were good. All the slipping and sliding and everything, we thought you weren’t good at it. We thought us boys ruled.” said Fang. “Yeah, sure, but now we’re both wrong.” sobbed Luna. “Cheer up,” I smiled, wiping Luna’s tears away from his soft, pale face, “I think we could slide down icy hills together.” “Why?” asked the boys all at once. “Because that’s what both genders do together.”

“Everyone ready?” I asked a few minutes later as we lined up at the top of a snowy hill. “Sure!” my friends cried. “Three, two, one, GO!” I called, and off we went downhill, until we landed head first into a snowbank, laughing all the way. This continued for the rest of the day, until Fang and Luna had to go back to their Eskimo tribe. Zura and I returned home to our cave too, and as we disappeared into the swirling snow, we vowed we’d play with Fang and Luna someday soon again.

THE END.

Sisters Of The Snow

Once upon a time, Cleo and I lived in the Arctic together as sisters. The cold didn’t bother us one bit, so we were used to playing in our icy, frozen paradise we called home. Every day, we’d race out of our cave and spend all day playing in the snow. We’d slide down snowy hills and roll about in the snow, and sometimes the occasional snowball fight was added in for good measure. Every day was a splendid day - not too hot or too cold. There was one thing we were forbidden to do by our father Niles, though - we were never to swim under the ice. Legend has it that there were divers who swam under the ice before, and those who couldn’t make it to the surface drowned. We were forbidden to go anywhere in the sea, because it was too dangerous and we could be frozen to death. No matter how hard we tried to ignore it, thoughts of the sea just came back to us like the tide washing up a message in a bottle.

One day, we were out walking when we came across the edge of an ice floe. It leads all the way out across the sea. Cleo and I saw that there was a seal swimming under the ice, so we decided to slide on our tummies towards where the seal was swimming. We learnt from penguins how to slide like that, and to be honest, it was actually quite fun. We slid so fast that we didn’t notice an icy pond just nearby. We slipped off the ice and fell into the water straight under the ice. The water felt quite cold, but it was really quiet under the sea, almost quiet enough for a pin to drop. We had no choice but to explore the ocean ourselves. It was really beautiful. Our eyesight was indeed blurry because we couldn’t see underwater, but wow, it was lovely. Fish swam past us and tickled our toes, and we swam past mighty whales singing ambient whale songs. The ambience reached our ears, and we could hear correctly even though we are underwater. There was water blocking our ears, but we didn’t care. We just swam along until we came to a cave in a giant glacier.

We swam into the magical crystal depths of the glacier and looked all around us - we couldn’t believe what we saw. We could see our own reflections painted like a work of art in the glass ice, and some of the sharp spikes down below were a little dangerous, but we kept on swimming. That is until we reached a huge ice passage leading out of the cave and into another cave, with water up above. We felt like two fish who have reached their landmark and were ready to crawl out into a new world. But when we looked up again, we realised that it wasn’t water, it was ice! And there were so many passageways we didn’t know which one lead out. Desperately, we tried other caves, but they just lead to icy walls which blocked our path, and we had to go back into the cave again. 

By that time, we were losing air, and were on the verge of drowning any second. With the last of my air bubbles coming out of my mouth, I took hold of Cleo’s hand just in case I wanted to tell her ‘I love you’ again…but as we sank down to the bottom of the cave, a huge shadow swam in and took us onto has back…

Minutes later, we woke up on the surface again, and found ourselves looking into the eyes of a friendly polar bear. We coughed up water and tried to get back onto our legs in a wobbly kind of manner, but we were helped up by our new friend. “Thanks for saving us, Mr Polar Bear.” I sighed. “We thought we were going to drown, but you saved us.” said Cleo. The polar bear just rumbled out a groan in acceptance. “We promise never to swim under the ice again, I think it really is too dangerous.” I coughed. “I think so too,” said Cleo, “I think the ice is a dangerous swimming ground for us.” The polar bear agreed with one last grumble, then leapt into the water and swam off as we waved goodbye to our friend.

And so we went off back to our icy home, through the wind and the swirling snow, all whilst we disappeared without a trace.

We are nowhere to be seen now.

THE END.

Furaha In A Tizzy

I.B.F.Fs & The Rocket

It was one of those days where Zura, Fang and Luna and I felt like doing nothing at all. In fact, we were quite bored. Everyone else had something to do, why couldn’t we pick something exciting to do? All while we were sitting in our bedroom feeling bored, something was being mixed up like a potion inside my head. An idea was forming. I could envision a rocket being launched into the depths of Space. Then it hit me. “I know! Why don’t we do a bottle rocket experiment?” I piped up. “That’s a great idea, Sophie!” said Luna. “All we need is some pencils, tape, vinegar, baking soda and a plastic bottle.” “We have an empty Coke bottle about to go to the waste disposal, maybe we could use that!”

So we collected all the things we needed and dashed outside. We taped the pencils around the bottle and unscrewed the lid. We filled the bottle rocket with baking soda and vinegar, and then ran back. We watched as the bottle rocket soared into the air. We yelled in joy to see it, but next door Nick was outside enjoying the sunshine. The bottle rocket landed with a bonk on his head! “Sorry, Nick!” I called. “We were doing a bottle rocket experiment.” “That’s very nice of you to do that, but would you do it in a place where I don’t want to be disturbed?” asked Nick, “I’ve got a splitting headache.” Returning to the garden, we thought and thought about what to do next. Suddenly, it was Fang’s turn to have an idea. “Let’s launch a rocket for real.” he said.

We got Luna’s toy rocket Sharalanga 21.0, a rope and some matches and went over to the park to test it out. Remember, this is a story, so no one must try this at home. Fang lit the fuse and stood back to watch. We held hands as we watched for the rocket desperately, my teeth biting into my lips hard.

Lost In The Rain (Script)

FADE IN:

INT. FOREST. A RAINY NIGHT.

It is a dark, haunting atmosphere. The rain pours heavily, thunder crashes and lightning flashes. With one flash of lightning, the title appears:

OPENING TITLE: “LOST IN THE RAIN”

THUNDER FLASH.

CUT TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

EXT. MEADOW. A WARM SUMMER’S DAY.

A butterfly flutters past, and this leads us to a small path in the meadow. In walk Sybil, Luke, Resus, Cleo, their pets Dig and Lulu and all their parents, who are going on a walk this fine Summer’s day. Sybil looks around and sees all the beautiful sights: the flowers growing in the meadow and butterflies fluttering around. It is very sweet and peaceful.

SYBIL

It’s such a nice day. You could smell the fresh perfume in the air!

CLEO

I quite agree. It is the perfect day to be outside in the clean air.

SYBIL

It’s also a time to be around the flowers!

(to her offscreen mum)

Mum! Mum! Can we play amongst the flowers for a while?

SYBIL’S MUM

(O.S.)

Well…

SYBIL/LUKE/RESUS/CLEO

(altogether, innocently)

Pleeez?

MIKE WATSON

Well, they do have a point. They’ve been in nature before.

MUM

(O.S.)

Alright then, you kids run off and play.

LUKE/SYBIL/RESUS/CLEO

(in unison)

YEAH!

Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil run out of frame.

EXT. MEADOW - CONTINUOUS. DAY.

BEGIN MEADOW PLAYTIME MONTAGE:

A). Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil run into the meadow and begin throwing petals up into the air in joy.

B). They race across the meadow playing tag. Luke tags Sybil first, then Cleo and Resus tackle them to the ground. They lie in a heap, laughing.

C). Sybil and Luke prowl across the grass towards Cleo, who is making a flower crown. As they leap onto Cleo, she throws her flower crown high into the air, causing a shower of purple petals. Luke and Sybil tickle Cleo, who screams with laughter.

D). Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil roll down a green, grassy hill together.

E). Sybil makes a flower crown and places it atop Luke’s head. REVEAL: Resus and Cleo, wearing flower crowns too.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. MEADOW - SUNSET. A FEW MINUTES LATER.

END MONTAGE.

Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil lie head to head in a circle on the grass, and gaze up at the tangerine sky. It is a peaceful moment.

SYBIL

We’ve had such fun today, haven’t we?

LUKE/RESUS/CLEO

Yeah right./For sure.

RESUS

There’s nothing I like better on a warm Summer’s day than to lie back and watch the sky change its lovely colours.

SYBIL

I quite agree.

LUKE

Where have all the clouds gone?

SYBIL

I guess they fade away by the time night falls. It’s a shame we lose our clouds, then we’d have no shapes to look at.

CLEO

But clouds form shapes in our minds.

LUKE
They’re called thoughts, Cleo.

CLEO

Oh! Yeah, right. Thoughts.

Sybil sits up and looks at the sun setting in the distance. She motions for her siblings to get up:

SYBIl

The sun’s going down. We must get back to our parents. They might be wondering where the heck we are.

LUKE

Race you back!

CLEO

(laughs)

Ha-ha, never catch me!

Sybil, Luke, Resus and Cleo race across the meadow back to the path they went from, laughing.

FULL SCREEN - SKY

Grey clouds slowly begin to cover the darkening sky, signalising it’s about to rain.

EXT. MEADOW - PATH. EVENING.

Sybil and her siblings make it back onto the path they went from before, cheering and high-fiving. Sybil calls:

SYBIL

Mum! I won, I wooooon!!

(suddenly worried)

Mum?

Sybil’s mum isn’t there. Neither are Luke, Resus and Cleo’s own parents. Desperate and worried, Sybil begins to call:

SYBIL

Mum? Mum?! Muuuuuuum!!

The worry spreads to Luke, Resus and Cleo, and they too start to call for their parents:

LUKE/RESUS/CLEO

(worried)

Mum!/Dad!/Where are you?

Suddenly, lightning flashes and thunder crashes. Sybil runs to hide behind her big brother Luke, screaming in fright. It begins to rain heavily. Sybil slowly emerges from behind her brother’s legs, and looks up at the sky.

SYBIL

Oh great. Now it’s raining.

RESUS

And we’ve been left behind.

CLEO

What are we going to do? I wish we’d never gone on this walk.

SYBIL

Save it for when we find a solution to the problem, Cleo. All that matters for us is sticking together. When I reached the age I am at now, I swore to always have your back. Now, we search for our way home.

Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil trudge through the heavy rains of the meadow to find their way home. We have a MONTAGE of Sybil, Luke, Resus and Cleo trying to find the path back home, but as they progress, they get sicker and sicker, until their noses begin to dribble with snot and they start coughing and sneezing.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. FOREST. THE SAME RAINY NIGHT.

Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil trudge through the forest, feeling really sick and sneezing and coughing. Sybil is the most upset of all.

SYBIL

That’s what comes of being out in the rain for too long.

RESUS

Yeah, you get so wet and cold and miserable that-

(sneezes)

AAAATCHOOO!! You get a cold. Now I’ll really have something to say to Dr Skulley.

LUKE

Talk about all the times you got sick, Resus. When was the last time you faked sick?

RESUS

Never! I never did!

CLEO

You’re certainly not-

(sniffs)

-faking it.

SYBIL

Now how are we going to get home? We’re going to have to stay here forever!

LUKE

And it’ll be so cool! We’ll build a camp and wear animal skins and play together in the forest all day.

HUNTSTRIKE

(O.S.)

I don’t think that’ll be possible.

Luke, Resus and Cleo look in the direction of who’s speaking.

ZIP TO:

Huntstrike and Shystalk, two lionesses who Sybil and her friends first met on their camping trip. Shystalk is a shy grey lioness, while Huntstrike is a tannish-brown, mysterious lioness with no eye pupils. Sybil is delighted to see her old lion friends.

SYBIL

Huntstrike! Shystalk!

Sybil runs up to Shystalk and gives her a hug.

SHYSTALK

Hey now, hey, hey, you’re getting germs all over my fur.

HUNTSTRIKE

It’s okay, Shystalk, they’re suffering from a simple illness.

SHYSTALK

Suffering? I didn’t know that.

HUNTSTRIKE
It’s about time you knew.

(to Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil)

You can’t stay in the forest forever. Should you get sick, you die.

LUKE/RESUS/CLEO/SYBIL

(shocked)

Oh no!/We can’t die!

SYBIL

We need to find a way home. How do we know where the path home is?

HUNTSTRIKE

Now you mention it, I know of a place somewhere in this forest. It’s home to the tallest tree, and shining down on it is a special beam of sunlight. It’ll create a path that’ll guide you and your friends back home.

CLEO

Oh, thank you, Huntstrike, we definitely needed your advice. Our illnesses are getting worse.

HUNTSTRIKE

Think nothing of it.

(backs away into the darkness)

And remember, to look for the light, search for the tallest tree…

Huntstrike backs further and further away into the darkness of the forest, until her eyes are shown. Her mysterious eyes begin to close, and Shystalk just scampers away into the bushes. Sybil coughs loudly.

SYBIL

Shame we haven’t got any tissues. But there’ll be time for that later. We have to find the tallest tree in the forest.

Sybil leads Luke, Resus and Cleo across the forest. We have another MONTAGE of Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil trying to look for the tallest tree, only to end up in wrong paths. The MONTAGE finishes and we see Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil in the middle of the forest, calling for help.

SYBIL/LUKE/RESUS/CLEO

(calling)

Help!/Help, somebody!/Can somebody hear us?!

DISSOLVE TO:

FULL SHOT - FOREST. NIGHT.

Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil are tiny dots in the distance, calling for help.