LEWIS THE CHRISTMAS BEAR synopsis

LOGLINE 

Lewis is a magic teddy bear that can bring healing and happiness to any child who hugs him. Now if only Santa Claus would take him out of the bag on Christmas Eve and give him to a child so he can fulfill his special mission.

PITCH 

There once was a brown bear named Lewis who was sewn together by Mrs. Santa Claus, with magic healing power in his nose. Any child who has sickness or loneliness would only have to hug Lewis to be well and happy. But at one house after another, Lewis remains stuffed in Mr. Claus’s big red bag because he thinks Lewis is last year’s model. Lewis wonders with a sigh if he will have to wait until next year to meet any children. On the last roof of the night, Lewis spies from a hole in the sack and realizes they are in a hospital ward. After jumping from Santa’s sack, Lewis tells a sick 10-year-old girl named Bernice that he has Christmas magic healing power in his nose. In the morning her parents cry tears of joy at her complete healing. By Christmas evening, Bernice makes sure that Lewis hugs all the children in the hospital ward, sharing the Christmas magic in his nose. She keeps the magic a secret from the grown-ups and promises to visit the hospital ward with Lewis every month, rubbing his nose on children’s cheeks. She is Lewis’ girl, and he is her teddy.

SYNOPSIS 

Once upon a time, there was a brown bear named Lewis who was made by Mrs. Santa Claus. No one but Mrs. Claus knows that she has sewn magic healing power into his nose. Mrs. Claus has a laundry list of essential duties to keep the toy factory running and prepare for Christmas, but she knows that the world needs at least one magic Christmas teddy a year to spread healing. Any child who has sickness or loneliness would only have to hug Lewis to be well and happy. 

On Christmas Eve, Mrs. Claus sneaks Lewis into her husband’s big, crimson toy sack. At one house after another, Mr. Claus jumps down the chimney, and Lewis remains stuffed in the bag. He thinks Lewis is last year’s model. Lewis sits on the bottom of the sack, wondering with a sigh if he would have to wait until next year to meet any children. The last roof of the night is a hospital ward. Lewis hears a girl crying and praying. The teddy bear jumps from the sack, tiptoes over to her bed, and crawls into the pale, sickly, 10-year-old girl’s tiny arms. Lewis tells her that he has Christmas magic healing power in his nose. Her body tingles from head-to-toe, and she becomes warm all over, like a big cup of cinnamon apple cider. In the morning, doctors and nurses and her parents gather at Bernice’s bedside, full of joy at her complete healing. 

By Christmas evening, Lewis has rubbed his magic nose on every child’s cheek in the hospital ward. Bernice makes sure that all the children are well and keeps the Christmas magic in his nose a secret from the grown-ups. The day after Christmas, she goes home with Lewis tucked in her knapsack, promising to feed him rice pudding. Every month after that, Bernice visits the hospital ward with Lewis, rubbing his nose on children’s cheeks. She is so glad to be his girl and for him to be her teddy; she will love him forever.

Copyright 2022 Jennifer Waters

Series of Lewis the Christmas Bear stories:

1.     Lewis is sent to the rest of the world through Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, and he arrives in a hospital ward to help heal a sickly British girl named Bernice. Then he spreads Christmas tingles through his nose everywhere he goes, trying to bring healing to the world. 

2.     Lewis builds an igloo in Bernice’s front lawn, and he explains it’s his new home-away-from-home. Bernice’s family and the neighbors would rather he live inside Bernice’s house like everyone else in the neighborhood, especially because his little castle will melt during the summertime season. 

3.     Eager to give gifts during the wintertime lull, Lewis wraps random things in Bernice’s parents’ house and gives them away to neighbors and friends. Bernice’s parents try to explain to Lewis that it is no longer Christmas, and they want to get their belongings back, but they aren’t very successful at reclaiming their possessions. All-the-while everyone has a good laugh, and Lewis continues to heal everyone he meets with tingles in his nose. 

4.     Trying to be helpful, Lewis cooks rice pudding in Bernice’s kitchen, and he makes a terrible mess, breaking kitchen dishes and burning the pudding. Bernice’s parents are very upset, but instead of fighting with Lewis, they teach him to cook the rice pudding properly, so he can eat it anytime he wants, not just Christmas Eve. 

5.     Lewis discovers a London toy store with Bernice, and he is sure that Mr. Claus made all the toys in the store, and he is temporarily captured by the toy store owner who insists that Lewis is for-sale, but then Bernice rescues Lewis, and they decide to never go into a toy store again. Instead, Lewis is determined that the toys are given to the children of the world for free, so he asks Mr. Claus to take the toys back from the store and give them to children mid-Christmas season.

6.     Lewis visits a library with Bernice, and he reads stories about other famous bears, and he insists that a book must be written about him to spread Christmas cheer. So, he sets about writing a picture book about himself. The librarian doesn’t accept the book at first, but then she gives up when he brings her some rice pudding as a bribe, and Bernice promises to bring extra friends to weekly story-hour.

7.     Lewis learns to play the piano in attempt to play Christmas carols for holiday sing-a-longs. So he practices the piano day-and-night, and Bernice’s family has to wear ear plugs and sleep with their heads under the pillows. Once Lewis starts playing the piano, he won’t stop for anything other than eating rice pudding. He also sings along with his piano playing. His singing is sometimes off-key, but he is sure he is ready for Christmas sing-a-longs during the upcoming season. 

8.     Eager to keep Christmas all year long, Lewis decorates Bernice’s house and insists that the decorations not be taken down. Any decorations that Bernice’s parents take down, Lewis puts them right back up until Bernice and her family give up. They decide that it’s easier to go along with Lewis’ enthusiasm instead of arguing with him. They just ask if he could at least rotate the decorations to the proper holiday season, according to the normal calendar year. 

9.     Lewis turns on the TV for the first time to find all kinds of troublesome programs, but he enjoys the 24-hour Christmas music station, which he now plays constantly and recommends to all his new friends with his own advertising campaign. Bernice introduces him to the pop songs on the radio, but he thinks they are boring compared to holiday jingles. 

10.  Lewis mistakes the washer and the dryer as devices that he can use to wash and dry himself. He invites the dogs and cats in the neighborhood over to give the machines a try. His favorite is the dryer because it is so warm and cuddly, and he can fluff himself up and look his best, tying a red Christmas ribbon around himself when he is clean. When he asks Bernice to try hopping in the washer and dryer, her parents have a fit, and Lewis is banned from using the machines again. 

11.  Lewis borrows the family car and takes a spin through the London neighborhood, accidentally denting the bumper and getting ticket the police. Bernice’s parents think she decided to drive the car illegally, and she is grounded until Lewis humbly apologizes for his wrong doing. He promises to get them a new bumper for Christmas and pay the police fine.

12.  Lewis explores London as a tourist and gets stuck on the clock hands of Big Ben. He goes round and round the clock face until the British police free him and send him home to Bernice and her family who had been looking for him all day. He simply explains that he was counting the minutes until Christmas. 

13.  Lewis goes grocery shopping with Bernice and her mom, and he enjoys the dessert section too much, eating up the whole aisle, thinking it was a pre-Christmas feast, and Bernice defends him to the grocery store owner until her mother can calm the owner down and write a check for the gobbled-up desserts. 

14.  Lewis opens the ice box for the first time and loves it so much he wants to sleep there because it reminds him of the North Pole. Bernice’s family can’t get him to sleep in a bed with a pillow again, and they are worried that he will freeze to the ice box with the ice cubes and frozen meat. After getting a bit frost bitten, he warms himself with the hair dryer and cuddles with Bernice. 

15.  Lewis bonds with the new family dog that he tries to ride like a Christmas reindeer. He even dresses him in antlers and a Christmas sweater until Bernice explains that a dog is not a reindeer and Lewis, and her new dog must be friends. 

16.  Almost lit by a birthday candle, Lewis bursts out of a birthday cake for Bernice at her 11^th party, telling her that birthdays are the closest thing to Christmas, and he plans to help celebrate birthdays all year long. 

17.  Lewis dumps bubbles into the bathtub and hops in for a soak when he forgets to turn off the faucet and water runs out the bathroom into the hall. After looking at the mess, he decides it’s never too soon to clean up for Christmas. He undertakes a huge house cleaning, and Bernice’s family is shocked and thrilled at the results.

18.  Lewis rides the Tube, asking the passengers what they want for Christmas, especially the children, because he says that their requests should be filed with Mr. Claus by the end of summer at latest. He gets kicked off the Tube for soliciting, but he thinks he’s done enough good to spread the word. 

19.  Lonely, Lewis writes Mr. and Mrs. Claus a long letter, explaining that London is more difficult of a place than he expected, and if Mr. Claus could bring some back-up friends during the next Christmas Eve run, Lewis would very much appreciate some help in England. He done all he can do but feels that Bernice and her family might be more enthusiastic about celebrating Christmas if Mrs. Claus could send him some friends. In the meantime, he starts Christmas shopping for Bernice and her family. 

20.  After much turmoil with a terrible winter storm that almost cancels Christmas, Mr. Claus arrives at Bernice’s house late on Christmas Eve with new five friends for Lewis and Bernice that were handmade by Mrs. Claus: a Christmas girl bear named Joyful, a Christmas donkey named Rascal, a Christmas lamb named Kindness, a Christmas dove named Blue Eyes, and a Christmas elephant Big Ears. Although the sleigh ride was tough, Lewis welcomes his new friends with rice pudding around the fireplace with Bernice and her family.

Copyright 2022 Jennifer Waters