Pen Jen's Inkwell: June 2019

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

TINY AND THE MAGNIFICENT ELEPHANT synopsis

LOGLINE

The circus coming to town costs one mother more than she bargains for.

PITCH

When the circus comes to town, 8-year-old “Tiny” Tina wants an elephant for a pet, so she befriends Charley, the Magnificent Elephant, and takes him home with the rest of the circus. After arriving home with the circus animals, Tina’s mother thinks she should sell tickets for the fiasco in her backyard to pay for the very large grocery bill. Her mother wishes she could send the animals back to the circus.

SYNOPSIS

Third grader “Tiny” Tina wants to join the circus, or at least watches a few shows. After all, her mother tells her the circus is coming to town to perform in a big tent. Of all the animals, the elephants are supposed to be the largest and the most fun. Since everyone laughs at Tina for being three inches shorter than she should be at 8 years old, Tina decides if she has an elephant for a pet, then everyone would be nice to her. So, her plan is to befriend the largest elephant in the circus as her new pet. As Tina approaches the elephant circus train car, she sees a purple tail sticking out the door. She climbs up the steps on the train car and tugs at the tail until the elephant wakes up. She asks the elephant to come with her because she could use a new pillow at night. She wants to walk through the fields in the day, and he can lift her to pick apples from the trees. The elephant wants to know if she has a big backyard. In fact, she has a whole acre where they can play. The elephant decides that he’s tired of riding bicycles for cheering crowds, and he doesn’t like standing on his head. He especially doesn’t like balancing balls or jumping through rings of fire. He thinks the girl is much nicer than the nasty Circus Trainer who cracks his whip at him. The elephant roars and stamps his feet on the train car, shaking the entire train on the tracks.

Tina pulls the elephant’s tail again. She names him Charley, the Magnificent Elephant, and declares that they will be best friends. Charley swings open the train door with his snout and lifts Tina on his back. He stomps out of the train car onto the ground, waking up all the other animals. The purple elephant looks left and then right, and the Circus Trainer is nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Charley decides the rest of the circus animals are coming with them. He just can’t possibly leave them there alone. One by one, Charley shakes loose the rest of the animals on the train, and Tina holds on tight. By the end of the night, the circus animals are behind Charley in a straight line. The circus marches two-by-two down the street: unicorns, horses, lions, giraffes, and tigers. Then come the camels, kangaroos, monkeys, seals, ostriches, leopards, llamas, and grizzly bears. When the circus reaches Tina’s house, all the animals except Charley creep quietly into the backyard. Instead, Charley slips through the window of Tina’s bedroom and lands right on her bed.

Then Tina crawls through the window and climbs on Charley’s back—he is softer than a pillow. Two seconds later, the entire bed crumbles onto the floor, causing a crack in the wall. Tina’s mother runs into the bedroom crying. Tina tells her that she set the elephant free from the circus. Her mother peers out the bedroom window to find the animals munching on her vegetable garden. Since the animals need a home with a nice family, Tina asks if they can keep them. Tina’s mother wishes she would have never told her that the circus was coming to town. Since the grocery bill is going to be so large, she imagines that her daughter should sell tickets and get their money back for the expenses. Once a circus, always a circus.

THE SANDBOX GIANT synopsis

LOGLINE

Monsters hide in the most unlikely places.

PITCH

When a sister and brother play in the sandbox, the dirt sucks her brother into its pit and out comes a Sandbox Giant. Despite the mother’s denial that nothing is wrong, the girl battles the Giant, trying to free her brother from the tormenter. Eventually, the water from the garden hose brings her brother back to life, and the Giant melts away after a fierce struggle.

SYNOPSIS

There is a sister and brother who like to play in the sandbox in their backyard. Their father has built the sandbox, and it is much better than digging in the dirt. They use their scoops, shovels, and pails to build castles and sculptures galore. Until one dark night, a thunderstorm comes that is unlike other thunderstorms. It shakes the house, and the lights go out; there is no electricity for hours, only candles. The mother tells the children: “We should go to sleep early tonight. The sun will come out tomorrow.” The sister tries to fall asleep, crawling into bed, counting backwards from one hundred. Her brother is already fast asleep on the couch, as if he had never even heard the storm.

Sure enough, the next morning, the sun is shining strong and bright, not a cloud in the sky. The two children head to the sandbox with their shovels and pails. Then the girl noticed sandy footprints in the grass. The boy thinks it was just the storm from last night, and he fills up his pail with moist sand. As the girl puts her feet in the sand, a fierce wind blows through the tree behind her. The sky becomes black and a loud clap of thunder fills the heavens. Then the sandbox begins to swirl and whirl, pulling the boy into its grip until he disappears. Out of the sandbox comes a very large monster made of sand that roars and growls. His face looks just like her brother, but it wasn’t him at all. The creature looms high above the sandbox, almost as strong as brick-and-mortar. The girl yells at the monster, asking what happened to her baby brother. The Sandbox Giant reaches for the girl, but she escapes his grasp.

Although the girl yells for her mother to come quickly, her mom is inside cleaning the house and doesn’t hear her cries. The girl continues to yell at the monster, asking it what it wants with her brother. She throws her shovel at the monster. The monster growls back at the girl, saying it wants her brother to stop playing in the sandbox where he lives. Then the girl explains that the monster doesn’t live in the sandbox because her father built it. She tells the monster to go back to where it came from. From the corner of her eye, the girl notices the garden hose in the bushes. She dives to grab the hose, hoping she can melt the Sandbox Giant with water. As she grasps the hose, the monster lunges for her and almost catches her waist. Before he can strangle her, she sprays the water in his face. The Sandbox Giant tries to cover himself from the stream of water. As the monster screams, it slowly shrinks in size. The girl yells that she wants her brother back. Then, finally, her mother calls from the kitchen window. The daughter yells at her mother that her brother is missing, still spraying the monster with water. The mother says that the brother is just hiding. When the girl turns back around, her brother is sitting in the sandbox building a castle. He looks just like himself, and the awful monster is gone.

THE GREAT MAGICIAN’S FEATHER PEN synopsis

LOGLINE

If the Evil Squid Ink doesn’t steal the Great Magician’s story magic, Ink Fairies just might deliver a book to your beside from the Timeless Library.

PITCH

When the Evil Squid Ink wants to destroy the Great Magician and his storytelling, it takes twelve Ink Fairies with magic ink to combat the nemesis and keep him at the bottom of Lake Doom. Meanwhile, the rest of humankind can read all about his wiles in the latest story published on the Ink Press.

SYNOPSIS

When the Great Magician in the Kingdom of Reynes runs out of ink in his jar, he calls the Ink Fairies for help. Like all magicians, the Great Magician has a special gift that distinguishes him in the kingdoms—his is storytelling. In fact, whether or not people know it, he is responsible for writing all the stories in every kingdom of the world. After he writes the masterpieces, the Ink Fairies take his work and put them in the Timeless Library, where all stories are saved despite space or time. Then, when an author or scribe needs a story, the Ink Fairies deliver the book to his or her beside at night. When they wake in the morning, the story has been inscribed in their memory through the Magician’s spell. Of course, only the Great Magician and the Ink Fairies know this secret. If humans knew of the Magician’s power, they would be jealous and covet his magic, which they already think is their own.

As Pherenice the Fairy drops off the latest batch of fairy ink, the Great Magician checks off the names of the Ink Fairies as they deliver their full ink jars: Blossom, Cherry, Dewdrop, Euclea, Flutter, Glimmer, Moonshadow, Songbird, Twinkle, Veil, and Wonderspell. Upset about a threatening letter from Evil Squid Ink at the bottom of Lake Doom, the fairies tell the Magician that their enemy has been plotting to steal the magic ink and take over the Ink Press and Timeless Library. In preparation for a long battle against the Squid Ink Army, the Ink Fairies secure the Ink Press and call for the neighboring fairies to come to their defense. However, the Magician decides he must write about what’s happening in a story, so it gets published in the human world, then they can know the lies of the Evil Squid Ink. If the story gets published, the Evil Squid will stay at the bottom of the Lake Doom in hiding, fearful that the humans will destroy him. The story must make it to the Timeless Library by midnight of the last day of the month for it to be available to its author in the current season. Otherwise, it has no chance to get published until next year, so the Magician has three days to deliver the story to the Timeless Library and its author. The Evil Squid Ink only wants to use the Ink Press and Timeless Library to promote his own meaningless and dark stories.

As Pherenice and a group of fairies from neighboring kingdoms fly through the window to pick up the masterpiece “The Story of the Evil Squid Ink,” the Evil Squid Ink blows open the front door of the Great Magician’s chambers with an especially potent ink bomb. While the fairies take off to the Timeless Library with the manuscript, the Evil Squid Ink wrestles the Great Magician on the chamber floors. The Evil Squid Ink almost strangles the Magician with its tentacles until the Magician stabs him with his feather pen. The beast crawls away before the Magician can kill him, and it shrinks back into Lake Doom with his army.

THE CAR OF JUGGERNAUT synopsis

LOGLINE

They’re only ants! Who cares? But what if they’re covered in chocolate . . .

PITCH

Don’t run over the little people! When 11-year-old Jane Johnson tries to protect the ants in her driveway from being run over, she decadently covers them in chocolate as way to make them extra special. A chocolate ant farm makes even the smallest creatures sweet.

SYNOPSIS

Eleven-year-old Jane Johnson yells at her 12-year-old friend and neighbor, Raymond Rocky, to make sure he doesn’t run over the ant family. He says that they’re only ants and that he likes playing with her wagon, rolling down her driveway. The brightly painted red wagon is Jane’s birthday gift from Raymond, but she thinks he likes it more than she does. Jane tells him to remember the little people, scooping up the family of ants into the palm of her hand. She explains that there are such things as fire ants and honey ants. She also says she loves the beetles, and lady bugs, and grasshoppers, studying the driveway for more insects.

So, during the middle of the night, when her parents are fast asleep, she sneaks into the kitchen and gets all the chocolate out of the refrigerator: chocolate syrup, chocolate butter, chocolate bars, chocolate pudding, and chocolate powder. Then she dilly-dallies into the driveway and spreads as much chocolate as she can over the insects, especially the ants. She works on the chocolate driveway until the wee hours of the morning, until she decides to take the last bits of chocolate and cover the strawberries in the refrigerator. While eating the strawberries, she considers that her parents’ cars might get chocolate on their tires. As she slips back to her bedroom, she shuts her eyes until the sun shines through the bedroom windows.

In the morning, Jane’s mother thinks she ate chocolate the previous night as a midnight snack. Hoping her parents don’t overreact when they see the chocolate driveway, she suggests that her dad takes the bus to work. Once her father sees the chocolate all over the driveway, she explains to him that she didn’t want the ants to get run over, and she thought they would be considered more special if they were covered in chocolate. Her mother immediately runs to get a bucket of water to rinse the driveway. Jane tries to stop her and tells her that the driveway could just be the chocolate ant farm. She points out that the ants have already started to build a little hill by the side of the grass. Having a bit of compassion, Jane’s father bites his lip and says he will tolerate the chocolate ant farm until it rains. Mrs. Johnson says it better rain tomorrow. By the time the rains come, the ants have built up a castle in the driveway, never to be washed away. Jane only rides her wagon through the halls of her parents’ home with Pepper, where she is sure there are no ants. As for Raymond, he still runs over everything in his path, unless Jane stops him first, which is often.

THE BLACK AND WHITE STAGE synopsis

LOGLINE

Zavier the Zebra and Onyx the Horse combine musical styles for a perfect blend.

PITCH

When Zavier the Zebra needs a duet partner, he does auditions to the point of exhaustion, only to meet Onyx, a black mare, an unlikely choice for him as a zebra. Then a gray stallion taunts the couple as they perform, saying that Zavier should have a zebra as a partner instead of a horse. A black and white situation, almost like piano keys, no one should be judged by their color.

SYNOPSIS

The crowd calls to the stage of Zavier the Zebra, asking him to play them a jazzy tune. “Stripes” is known for his piano playing every Thursday night at the Black and White Stage on the banks of the Orange River in South Africa. Of course, one piano is not enough for Zavier; he plays two honky-tonk pianos at once with one hand over the other. The right hand plays the bass clef’s part on the piano to the left, and the left hand plays the treble’s part to the right. He wobbles on the piano bench with his black-and-white-striped legs stretched between the two pianos’ silver pedals. A fan from the crowd calls to Zavier as he played, pointing out that his stripes match the piano keys. By the end of the song, Zavier drips sweat onto the keys. Then he announces to the crowd that he needs a duet player.

Because of his disappointment, Zavier stops looking for a duet partner. Now just with that, a black mare walks into the music studio, who insists that he doesn’t need a zebra duet partner, but maybe a black mare. He says he usually only works with zebras, admiring his sleek black and white stripes. She says that her name is Onyx, she plays classical piano, and she can keep up with his jazz licks any day of the week. After realizing that she is a jewel, he asks her to play him her best number, and he only has a few minutes. As Onyx sits down at the piano keys, she straightens her radiant mane before starting to play flawlessly. As the audition number ended, Zavier decides that he better take her as his duet partner before someone else does. She only smiles at him as he is transfixed on her beautiful eyes.

After he claims her as his, he asks her to play with him that night at the Black and White Stage. When the duo takes the stage that evening, the audience cheers and applauds. However, a gray stallion in the audience chides that he should have a zebra as a partner, not a black mare. The stallion throws a big fat tomato on the front of the stage. It splats everywhere, landing on Onyx’s mane. With more dignity than most horses, she wipes it from herself and quietly decides to be the better horse. Another zebra from the crowd insists that the gray stallion stop saying such cruel things. A white horse insists that the gray stallion be escorted out of the building. With that, the crowd removes the gray stallion out of the Black and White Stage as the concert starts. Onyx has the opening number, an original classical piece that she has written by herself, and Zavier backs her up. Before the evening is over, Zavier and Onyx play the best duets that anyone has ever heard along the Orange River. The crowd rocks and rolls to the jazzy honky-tonk licks and sways and dips to the classical passages. Zavier tells Onyx that their performance should teach the crowd not to judge a zebra or a horse by his or her coat. Onyx kisses Zavier on the cheek and says it’s only black and white, no different than this piano.

OLD TIME RADIO HOUR synopsis

LOGLINE

What’s behind the curtain?

PITCH

When 10-year-old Rosalie Pinker isn’t invited to meet the guests on Uncle Frank Boyd’s “Old Time Radio Hour,” she sets out to figure out what is going on in his recording studio, only to find out that her uncle was faking the voices all along, and he never had any guests. He says he was only telling her what she wanted to hear to make her happy. As she gets older, she has her own national radio show with real guests and never fakes a thing.

SYNOPSIS

Uncle Frank Boyd runs his “Old Time Radio Hour” every Sunday night from the studio in his home. His niece, 10-year-old Rosalie Pinker, who is intrigued by the guests on his show, always tries to sneak on the set. This Sunday night is no different. Before she can whisk her way into the studio, the door slams shut. Returning to her house to listen to the show on the radio, she props her feet up on the sofa, turns on the living room radio, and positions a pillow behind her head. As Rosalie listens to the end of the show, she turns the radio off and runs next door back to Frank’s house. At the chance that she might meet one of the sensations leaving his home, she stands by the studio door.

For the next few weeks, Rosalie is so angry at Uncle Frank that he doesn’t let her meet the guests on his show, so she unplugs the radio and refuses to listen to one word of Uncle Frank’s “Old Time Radio Hour.” In fact, she sticks her fingers in her ears anytime she hears his voice. Instead, Rosalie starts to read. She loves a particular classic called The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Then, after months pass, Rosalie finishes reading all fourteen full-length Oz books by the famous author. One morning, she sits up straight in bed and determines that she will get to the bottom of Uncle’s Frank “business.” After having toast with butter and jam for breakfast, Rosalie creates a plan to outsmart Uncle Frank. She buys a dog at the puppy shop just like Dorothy’s dog Toto in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and names him Scarecrow after Dorothy’s friend. She trains him to stick his tail in the studio door, so that when Uncle Frank tries to lock her out, she can slip in after she starts recording.

After coming back from the puppy shop with her new dog Scarecrow, Rosalie spends days training him to stick his tail in her bedroom door. As Rosalie walks down into her mother’s kitchen, Uncle Frank eats strawberry shortcake from a bowl, explaining how he has secured L. Frank Baum for his next radio show. When the author supposedly arrives, Uncle Frank pops his head out of the studio door as Rosalie holds Scarecrow in her arms, and he explains that Mr. Baum is so sorry, but he just can’t possibly speak to her with a dog. Then, she peers through the crack in the studio door, looking at an empty guest chair. Rosalie wonders where he went. As he turns to shut the studio door, Rosalie drops Scarecrow onto the ground, and he runs to stick his tail in the door. Rosalie puts her finger in front of her mouth, motioning to Scarecrow not to bark. Then, she puts her foot in the door. She slips through with Scarecrow in her arms and discovers that Uncle Frank has been faking the voices of the guests on his show. He says he thought he was making Rosalie happy. Rosalie runs out of the studio with Scarecrow and slams the door shut. Her mother stands at the kitchen door with tears in her eyes. As Rosalie gets older, she studies broadcasting and had her own national radio show every Sunday night with real guests.

MR. MIDNIGHT OWL synopsis

LOGLINE

A well-meaning owl chased by nasty park rangers gives unwanted advice to visitors at Yosemite National Park.

PITCH

Patience is a virtue, according to Mr. Midnight Owl, the resident sage of Yosemite National Park, who gives unsolicited wisdom to campers until two park rangers try to unsuccessfully capture him time and again.

SYNOPSIS

Mr. Midnight Owl is wide awake at midnight, sitting on the edge of a tree branch in the moonlight at Yosemite National Park. Each night, he tries to give advice to visiting campers, but of course, avoiding silly park rangers. Before Mr. Midnight Owl can decide which way to fly, a flashlight glares in his face and blinds him. Park Ranger Scott warns the Owl to stay away from the campers. The Owl is not supposed to disrupt the tourists’ sleep with unwanted advice in the middle of the night. As Mr. Midnight Owl flies away, he plops owl droppings like pellets on the park rangers’ heads, and Park Ranger George threatens to lock him up in a cage if he catches him. Before getting back in their beat-up truck, the park rangers scrape the owl droppings from their hair and shoulders. Then, they wash their hands in Tenaya Lake, wishing for some soap.

In the meantime, the Owl sets off on his nightly flybys, where he looks for camp guests in need of help. Even if the campers don’t know that they’re in need of help, he’s sure he can identify those people looking for advice. Watching the park rangers approach with big flashlights, a sleepy little girl takes pictures of the moment. The father explains to them that the Owl has been keeping them awake by talking about patience for the last few minutes. Park Ranger Scott throws a lasso around the Owl without the bird realizing that the rope was even in the dark air. Park Ranger George grabs Midnight by the feet, explaining that he was clearly saving the campers' lives by teaching about patience.

With that, the park rangers wrap the lasso around the Owl, put the Owl in an iron cage in the back of their truck, lock the door, and throw away the key, but Mr. Midnight Owl whispers that he is patient enough to get out of any situation. As the truck pulls away, the park rangers taunt the bird. When they aren’t looking, Mr. Midnight Owl uses his beak to chew through the lasso and unlock the door. He pushes the door open with his wings and flies out into the night sky. Park Ranger George spots Mr. Midnight Owl in the dark sky, wondering how he got out this time. Park Ranger Scott threatens to quit if the Owl doesn’t stop tormenting them with his wisdom. Both park rangers decide that if they can only have patience, they will eventually catch the Owl, even if it’s not tonight.

HAPPY SNAIL synopsis

LOGLINE

The happiest snail is sometimes the slowest.

PITCH

When Happy Snail has to move across town, he does it his way. He moves at his own speed, makes new friends, and watches the clouds, even if his family makes fun of him for his slow pace. Who cares how fast you move in life, as long as you’re happy and enjoying every step!

SYNOPSIS

Happy Snail, the slowest of all the snails in his large family, loves to smell the springtime flowers and warm himself in the sunshine, waddling with his big shell. Even when it rains, he enjoys the tender rain drops on his tongue and washes his tiny body. In the winter freeze, he hides in the crevices of the garden, hibernating underneath a layer of slime. Now that it is spring, he is happier than ever, ready for summer and all the joy with it. More than anything, Happy Snail likes to watch the clouds, watching for a cloud that looks just like him. Despite all Happy’s kind rebuttals to his family, Meany threatens him that the Gardener who runs the garden is moving it across town, and Happy will be too slow to ever make it to the new garden. Happy says he will enjoy every minute of making his way to the new garden, and he’ll make new friends. As the days go by, the Gardener plucks Happy Snail’s favorite flowers, and he moves across town. Happy just decides to enjoy the journey, watching his entire family creep past him in the grass.

The Snail family ridicules Happy as he tries to make his way to the garden, saying summer will be over by the time he gets to the new garden, but Happy Snail has never been happier, dilly-dallying across town at his own speed. He bumps into his friend Mr. Sloth, watching the clouds, and asks him if he wants to come with Happy to the new garden. As Happy Snail and Mr. Sloth make their way across town, Giant the Tortoise catches up to them. He wants to come to the new garden, too. He says he hopes he can keep up and not get lost. Then the Tortoise joins the group, pointing out that Happy Snail’s family is not that much quicker than they are, creeping only a few inches in front of them. Let them think what they want if they are happy, Happy Snail says. He knows they never notice the clouds or make new friends. They’re trying to be so much faster than everyone, but they’re missing out on what makes them special. All of a sudden, Koala the Bear decides to the join the pack, because he thinks if you’re slow, you might as well love being slow. Slug the Slowest agrees, acknowledging that speed doesn’t do him any good—even if he’s on time, he’s still late. Of course, American Woodcock, the world’s slowest bird, fit right in with the Happy Snail. He loves being himself, and no one is really like him.

By the time Happy Snail, Mr. Sloth, Giant the Tortoise, Koala the Bear, Slug the Slowest, and American Woodcock made it across town to the new garden, they become the best of friends, finding each other’s faces in the clouds. The Snail family, of course, only arrives to the garden a few moments before Happy Snail and his sidekicks. However, they have no new friends and have missed out on the spectacular cloud show in the mid-day sky. Meanwhile, Happy Snail is happier than ever. If the Gardener hadn’t moved the garden, he would have never grown to love his new group of friends. He asks them to never walk faster than he does, because he needs all of them with him forever.

BOOK NOOK synopsis

LOGLINE

Zig Zag the Worm and Wooly Bear the Caterpillar get better with time like fine literature.

PITCH

When Wooly Bear the Caterpillar has to enter a cocoon to become Monarch the Butterfly in a French castle among many books, his friend Zig Zag the Worm stands by waiting for his transformation only to fly off into the distance together on Monarch’s new wings.

SYNOPSIS

Zig Zag the worm, who lived in the Book Nook hidden in the corner of the library in an abandoned French castle near the Rhine River, likes to worm his way through fine literature. Although there is an entire castle to explore, Zig Zag crawls through volumes of the world’s best stories. He has become an expert in kings and queens, princesses and knights, witches and ghosts, and even fairy elves. Along with fiction, he reads theses in education, health, science, the Arts, world history, and politics. One day, a fuzzy caterpillar named Wooly Bear wiggles its way into the library and opens The Encyclopedia of Butterflies. Wooly Bear asks Zig Zag how it is possible that he will one day be a butterfly. Zig Zag puts on his reading spectacles and scrunches his nose, paging through The Encyclopedia. Zig Zag explains that it seems like he enters a cocoon as a cave or sorts, and then he emerges, coming out with brightly colored wings. All of the fuzziness on the Caterpillar’s skin stood on edge, listening to the Worm, and the Caterpillar could not even feel his body, dreading the process of becoming new.

During the winter chill, Wooly Bear Caterpillar makes its home in The Encyclopedia of Butterflies. Despite all odds, it snuggles up against pictures of what it would one day become—a lovely butterfly. Zig Zag tells Wooly Bear he hopes to see him in the springtime, and Wooly Bear says that when he sees him to call him by his new name: Monarch the Butterfly. Wooly Bear’s cocoon grows sticky and quite uncomfortable for the Caterpillar, even when he’s not sleeping. Great magic goes on inside the cocoon, which the Worm has never read about in the pages of the Book Nook.

The Worm talks to the cocoon, wishing he could become a butterfly, too. He is so sad that he is aging, and his skin is drying up, and he wishes he could also become new. Of course, Monarch did hear Zig Zag and didn’t want him to die. When springtime approaches, one day the owner of the castle returns for its annual spring cleaning. He tromps and stomps all throughout the Book Nook, straightening the novels and making dust clouds. The Worm hides from the dustpan, knowing that Monarch has to make it out of the cocoon before he’s squashed in the cleaning. Zig Zag pushes The Encyclopedia of Butterflies under a large red curtain by the tall window and he tries to unravel the cave-like womb, asking Monarch to come out of the cocoon now. He warns him that the owner of the deserted castle has come back and is in danger of killing the soon-to-be-butterfly. Breaking lose from the cocoon, Monarch spreads his wings in an attempt to save his own life, as well as the Worm. The beautiful orange and black butterfly swoops out of the cocoon and grabs the Worm with its wing. Zig Zag and Monarch fly off into the sunset until they find a new home, a castle with many cocoons.

THE HEAVENLY TOY SOLDIER synopsis

LOGLINE

Keeping the peace has never been so dangerous than at Christmas!

PITCH

When the Heavenly Toy Soldier loses his job at the Toymaker’s shop in New York City, the manager insists that the company doesn’t need his skills anymore. After all, there has been nothing but peace in the store for years. However, as soon as the neighborhood finds out that the Soldier is fired, hoodlums plot to destroy the store on Christmas Eve until the irreplaceable hero saves the toy store from destruction and ruin.

SYNOPSIS

The Heavenly Toy Soldier is trying to keep the peace by standing in the doorway of the Toymaker’s Shop, the most famous Fifth Avenue toy store in New York City. He does such a good job that nothing dangerous ever happens in this store. On that day, Mr. Cartwright, the store manager, walks over to the Heavenly Toy Soldier and stands in front of him with a sigh, shaking his head. He tells him that the store is letting him go. Nothing bad ever happens in a store full of kids, and the salary for the soldier is a waste of money. The soldier’s last night will be Christmas Eve. As the Heavenly Toy Soldier fights back a tear, he finds the courage to say that he understands. Then, he looks across the store full of strangers he is protecting.

When word gets out that the customers have heard of the soldier’s departure, Bubba Joe and Brother Jim, two of the worst hoodlums in the neighborhood, happen to find out. Without anyone knowing, they plot to ruin Christmas and set the store on fire. When Christmas Eve arrives, the Heavenly Toy Soldier feels sadder than he lets the customers know. He has no idea where to find another job. Even still, the soldier keeps his chin up, trying to be thankful for the opportunities that he has had for years in the heart of New York City.

On Christmas Eve since the soldier is the last one in the store, he decides to spend the night. The Heavenly Toy Soldier bides his time, shuffling toys back to their shelves. Then, he locks the front door behind everyone, sits down in Santa Claus’ armchair, and cries while watching the lights on the store Christmas tree flicker in the darkness. Before the Heavenly Toy Soldier has a chance to get a tissue, someone throws a rock through the front store window. He grabs his toy gun and sounds the store alarm. Then, Bubba Joe and Big Jim jump through the broken window, with giant, flaming torches. The Heavenly Toy Soldier aims his gun at them and shoots his pellet gun. Then, he grabs a water gun from the nearest shelf, fills it from the hose on the store fire engine, and douses the torches before Bubba Joe and Big Jim can burn anything. With that, the New York City Police Department arrives and arrests Bubba Joe and Big Jim, who definitely have a memorable Christmas behind bars. A squad of police cars with loud sirens and K9 police dogs fills the streets. By morning, the Heavenly Toy Soldier is the Christmas hero of the nation, the defender of Fifth Avenue in New York City. Of course, he keeps his job for years to come, keeping the peace for adults and children everywhere.

HOLIDAY GINGERBREAD HOUSE synopsis

LOGLINE

A gingerbread man named Cinnamon helps a young girl find her way home by Christmas morning.

PITCH

When shrunken 10-year-old Nicola Claire can’t find her way home from a dream, a gingerbread man named Cinnamon suggests she eat the gingerbread house in her dream. With each morsel, she grows in statue and tries to avoid the looming cats. She eventually eats the entire house and Cinnamon himself, only to return to her parents’ kitchen table with St. Nicholas who gives her a stuffed gingerbread man named Cinnamon.

SYNOPSIS

Ten-year-old Nicola Claire must make her gingerbread house before she goes to sleep on Christmas Eve. As Nicola places candy pieces artistically on the house as a creative masterpiece, she says how much she’d like to live in the Gingerbread House. Then, she places her head on the table for a moment’s rest, closing her eyes for a second, which then becomes minutes until she is asleep. In her dream, her stature shrinks, and she stands as tall as the gingerbread men in the kit, which is much smaller than real life.

As the dream goes on, she wanders through the rooms of the gingerbread home and holiday candies enjoying the sweet-smelling house. She makes her way to the kitchen with a peppermint fireplace and meets a gingerbread man named Cinnamon hanging a sugar wreath. Cinnamon tells her that he hopes she will be able to find her way home by Christmas morning. Since Nicola is not even sure how she got where she is in the first place, she doesn’t know how to find her way home. She sits down on the chocolate bar floor and sheds tears, melting part of the ground. Then, Cinnamon tells her a secret: if she eats the Gingerbread house, it won’t exist, and she’ll soon be home. Since her stomach shrunk, she has no idea how to eat the entire Gingerbread House. Cinnamon suggests making herself bigger, so the house becomes smaller and fits in her stomach. He places a jug of milk on the table. Nicola wonders if she concentrates enough if she can swallow the house whole. Cinnamon suggests that it might be better to take small bites. As a warning, Cinnamon reminds Nicola of cats in the neighborhood that would attack her.

So Nicola sets about eating the Gingerbread House one wall at a time, then the roof, the chimney, the floor, the door, the windows, and the front porch. As she eats the home, she grows in stature, and it becomes smaller, little by little. When the cats circle, she tries to hide until they leave. She must be gone before they return. So, she eats every last crumb of gingerbread, icing, and sugar. By the time she grows back into her real-life state, Cinnamon is very tiny, and she picks him up to look at him. As a friend, she can’t possibly eat him, but he insists that she swallow him, too. He says that he is the last morsel she needs to eat before she returns home. He is a gingerbread man and made to be eaten by a lovely girl like Nicola. As she eats her gingerbread friend whole, she takes a big drink of milk afterwards. Then, she awakes back at her kitchen table in her family’s home on Christmas Eve, far past midnight. Standing beside her is St. Nicholas, admiring the Gingerbread House that she built before dozing off into a dream. St. Nicholas hands her a stuffed gingerbread man as a Christmas gift named Cinnamon. She says she will love him forever.

HALLELUJAH ANGEL ORCHESTRA synopsis

LOGLINE

There’s always time to sing praises full of Comfort and Joy!

PITCH

The Hallelujah Angel Orchestra is getting ready to perform for the most important night in history: Christmas Eve. Although it doesn’t go exactly as planned when the shepherds run for the hills taking the sheep with them, the angels Comfort and Joy find Mary and Joseph in the manger with a new baby boy. Eventually, the shepherds somehow make it to the manger after all, even if it doesn’t seem like they will ever find their way.

SYNOPSIS

The angels Comfort and Joy get orders from the higher-ups that they’re performing a last-minute concert over Bethlehem tomorrow. The occasion is none other than God decided to send his Son to live on Earth, and this is his entrance, or according to Gloria, the Hallelujah Angel Orchestra’s supervisor, it’s one of the most important evenings in history.

The Hallelujah Angel Orchestra practices into the wee hours of the morning and into the next afternoon. By the midnight hour on Christmas Eve, the angels are in place over Bethlehem. When Comfort and Joy appear in the sky with the glory of God, the shepherds stop in place, shaking in fear. They start to run for the hills.

At that, the sheep scatter, and the shepherds drop many of their crooks in the chaos of the event. By the time Comfort and Joy finish the script, some of the shepherds have stood still long enough to listen to the song. Then, the shepherds run off as fast as they can, taking a few sheep with them, but losing the rest in the terror. Gloria thinks the effort is a complete failure. Comfort and Joy fly across the sky to give Gloria a hug, and the rest of the angels stand in silence with disappointment. Then, Comfort and Joy fly to the manger to see if the shepherds made it, just in case.

The duo finds Mary and Joseph in the manger with the baby; the shepherds have just arrived. Comfort can hardly believe his eyes, admiring the gifts of three very wealthy men that sit next to the shepherds. The shepherds were listening after all, Joy realizes, laughing out loud. Then, out of nowhere, Gloria lands in the middle of the manger. Because she is so upset, she pulls the shepherds by the ears. Every year from that year on, Gloria takes her annual vacation at Christmas, and Comfort and Joy are put in charge to spread the Christmas spirit.

CHRISTMAS FROST KING synopsis

LOGLINE

The Polar Forest is tested by the Nasty North Wind until three evergreen trees save the Littlest of Little Birds.

PITCH

When the Nasty North Wind wants to test the Polar Forest’s loyalty, it almost kills the Littlest of Little Birds until the Three Evergreen Trees come to its rescue. The Christmas Frost King then banishes the Nasty North Wind to the Arctic, except for the winter season. Although he can leave the other trees naked, he can never again pluck from the Evergreens, and the Little Bird sings in the court of the Christmas Frost King forever.

SYNOPSIS

The Nasty North Wind is in a fierce argument with the Christmas Frost King about the Polar Forest. It wants to test the trees of the Polar Forest to see if they are faithful to the Christmas Frost King. Sure of the love and compassion of the Polar Forest, the Frost King says the Nasty North Wind may test the trees, but he cannot kill them, and only for the winter season. The Nasty North Wind is sure the trees won’t care about the animals of the forest or their king. The Frost King slams his ice scepter again the palace wall, sending rays of light into the North Wind, causing him to shrink. He tells him to be gone and don’t return until the test is complete. Furthermore, he is sure that the Spruce Tree, the Pine Tree, and the Little Juniper Tree will stand tall against the wind, and if the Frost King is wrong, then he will give his throne to the Nasty North Wind. However, if the North Wind is wrong, then he will be banished into the Antarctic never to return to the North.

So, the Nasty North Wind sets out through the Polar Forest, sending the worst storms in years with sleet, rain, snow, and ice. However, a creature like the Littlest of Little Birds can’t even fly fast enough to escape the wind to shelter. The Little Bird has lost most of its feathers by now, has a hard time flying, and can no longer sing with its sore throat. With that, the Spruce Tree, Pine Tree, and Little Juniper Tree pick their roots from the ground and walk forward through the Polar Forest, past the Birch Tree, Oak Tree, and Willow Tree, and shield the Littlest of Little Birds. The Three Evergreen Trees, who are green in every season, spread kindness in the Polar Forest, causing all the other evergreen trees of the Polar Forest to defend every large and small animal throughout the wintertime storms. Although the Nasty North Wind blasts gales and gusts, which are deathly typhoons, the Evergreens stand tall. The harder the Wind blows against the Evergreens, the more resolute the Three Trees become to defeat him. So, the Little Bird lives to see the springtime and sings a new song.

When the Nasty North Wind returns to the Christmas Frost King, the Wind cannot believe that he has lost the wager. The Christmas Frost King decrees that for the rest of his days he will not touch any spruce, pine, or little juniper trees on Earth. He is banished to the Arctic, except for the winter season. Each fall when the season turns to winter, he may wreak havoc on the other trees, especially the birch, oak, and willow trees. If he must, pluck their leaves and leave them naked. However, he will never pluck a needle from the Evergreens of the Earth. He will also never attack the Frost King’s palace again. Then the Christmas Frost King calls forth the Littlest of Little Birds. For the rest of her days, the Little Bird sang in the court of the Christmas Frost King, winter, spring, summer, and fall.

THE KING HEROD PLAY synopsis

LOGLINE

All the world’s a stage when St. Nicholas is in the audience.

PITCH

When 11-year-old Lena Nowak fears she hasn’t been good enough to receive Christmas presents, she decides to put on a King Herod Play for St. Nicholas. While crafting the stage and puppets for the play, she runs out of glue on Christmas Eve with no way to buy more from a craft shop until after the holidays. She weeps in disappointment. As St. Nicholas arrives with his angel helper, the first thing he does is give Lena a jar of glue to finish her work. Then Lena puts the play on to great success, and St. Nicholas promises to return for her annual plays celebrating Christmas.

SYNOPSIS

Lena Nowak worries if she has been good enough to receive gifts from St. Nicholas. The 11-year-old girl in Bolków, Poland, rolls over in bed, wondering if she had fibbed too much or not worked hard enough in school. At last minute, she decides to put on a King Herod Play for St. Nicholas and his angel helper. All day, Lena works to make hand puppets for all the characters of the traditional King Herod Play, a Christmas folk play. Although her grandmother is always in charge of the King Herod Play, she tells her mother that she wants to put on the play with her puppets in case St. Nicholas comes in person. The day before, she says she polished her shoes to leave them by the Christmas tree for gifts. All day, Lena works on painting and gluing puppets, starting with the wicked King Herod, who caused the killing of boy infants in Bethlehem when he heard that a child would be born as Messiah. Other characters in the play include an angel, a soldier, a village man and his wife, a cavalryman with his horse, a Field Marshal, the Devil, Death, and gravediggers.

As Lena’s father watches her make a small stage in their house, she jokes with her father that “the Herods are coming tonight.” He sets up chairs for everyone in the family, so they can enjoy it after Wigilia, the Polish Christmas Eve dinner with twelve dishes to commemorate the Twelve Apostles. As she runs out of glue, she is disappointed because she doesn’t think she will be able to finish her puppets in time. There is no way to get glue from the store on Christmas Eve. She runs into her room and throws herself on the bed, crying. Her mom tells her not to worry, but it’s only glue and that St. Nicholas will love her puppets anyhow. By the time Christmas Eve dinner is finished, there is a sudden knock on the door, and the children cheer: “He has come!”

In shame, Lena runs into the corner and cries, because she thinks St. Nicholas will surely overlook her efforts. St. Nicholas walks past everyone else in the home straight to Lena with his filled sack. His angel helper stands by the door with more gifts, waiting for the perfect moment to give everyone their reward. Ironically, St. Nicholas hands her a new jar of glue. While he hands out the rest of the gifts, he tells her that she can work on finishing her puppets, so that they can enjoy her production. She throws her arms around him and dries her eyes on his long white beard and red jacket. By the time everyone else has received their gifts, Lena has finished gluing the last touches of her puppets and stage. She invites St. Nicholas to sit in the front with his angel. The tenderness of the Christmas drama from the heart of the child warms everyone in the room, including St. Nick. St. Nicholas promises to return for each of her plays, expecting to be featured in them. Until next time, Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!

CHRISTMAS COOKIE synopsis

LOGLINE

Two is better than one during the holidays.

PITCH

When Cookie Roberts and Ernest Plum skate on ice, magic happens. Ernest has been in love with Cookie for years, and she has never agreed to marry him, despite his devotion. After he finally quits being her ice-skating partner, and she can’t find anyone who brings the same magic, he asks her one last time to marry him, and she says yes.

SYNOPSIS

Each Christmas Eve, the Rockefeller Center Skaters put on a spectacular ice show at the Rink at Rockefeller Center. Only steps from Times Square and the Broadway Theater District, visitors gather all month long for skating lessons until the 24^thof December. Then, everyone in New York City gathers on the plaza beside the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to enjoy the holiday event. This year, Cookie Roberts and Ernest Plum are the featured skaters in the festivities. However, the duo doesn’t always get along as one might expect, mostly due to Ernest’s unrequited love for Cookie. When Cookie hurts her foot and Ernest carries her to the emergency room, Ernest suggests taking Cookie out for dancing on New Year’s Eve when her foot is better. Cookie asks him to give up and says they have a business relationship as an ice-skating partner—that’s it. So he quits.

The next morning, Cookie returns to the Rink at Rockefeller Center, explaining to her coach that she injured her foot, but it will be better for the Christmas Eve performance. She explains that the bad news is that Ernest quit being her partner. The coach says she’ll have to skate with Roy.

By Christmas Eve, Cookie and Roy dazzle New York City in their white jump suits with silver sparkles on them. However, the performance has less heart and soul than when Cookie skates with Ernest. More than once, she almost falls. When she looks up, she sees Ernest watching her from the plaza. Before leaving the ice rink, Roy shakes Cookie’s hand and runs to meet his wife, giving her a hug with their son. After spending Christmas Day with her parents in Upper Manhattan, she spends the rest of the holiday week shopping. This year, unlike the past several years, she receives no gifts from Ernest. Sad about facing the New Year alone, she sulks in the bathtub alone. On New Year’s Eve, she hears a knock at the door. Cookie opens the doors, and Ernest grabs Cookie and kisses her. He asks her to marry him, and she finally says yes.

THE CHRISTMAS GOOSE synopsis

LOGLINE

When Christmas is coming, an old man who collects pennies in his hat—with the help of an angelic woman with long golden hair and a trail of diamonds—brings surprises to a sickly neighbor boy and his father.

PITCH

All because an old man with a hat asks for pennies on the street corner during Christmas, a small goose saves the life of a sickly little boy, and an angel with diamonds helps them do so. Secretly, the goose even lays golden eggs, a miracle that no one understands, but receives gratefully.

SYNOPSIS

An old man from a street corner near London’s Tower Bridge likes to chant riddles and collects coins in his hat. Several passersby drop coins into his hat to put toward Christmas dinner. In between asking for pennies, he belts out Christmas carols, thinking that it will attract more charity. Then, a beautiful woman with a glowing face and long, golden hair empties coins in his hat. A trail of snow that looks like diamonds seems to follow her as she walks, and the crystals blows in the wind. Now the mistake is to think that the charity was for him. In fact, it is for the family next door to him. Although the old man has no family, he is more concerned for his neighbors than he is about himself. The father has been out of work for more than six months, watching over his sickly son, who will likely die any day. The mother had passed away from tuberculosis a few years ago during a very hard winter, and the boy has lost hope. So, the old man has decided that a toy soldier and trumpet were not enough to give the child—there must also be a Christmas goose.

Then the old man grabs his coat and top hat and goes to Christmas Eve service at All Souls Church in Langham Place. The church towers next to the British Broadcasting Corporation, which plays Christmas carols on the radio all day. After the service, the old man spots his neighbors a few pews in front of him, looking less than festive. Placing his hat on the young boy’s head, he tells them that early Christmas morning he will visit them with surprises. The old man sits in the pew for a bit, admiring the sanctuary decorated with holly, candles, and garland. As he sits in the pew, the church empties—all except for the beautiful woman with long, golden hair and diamond jewels. Then she sits down next to him in the pew. She tells him that his generosity will save the boy’s life, and he will not leave his father alone at Christmas for the years to come. She says that the old man’s hat will protect him from the blistering winter wind, and the gift of the Christmas goose will be his new best friend.

The next morning, the old man wakes up with the sunrise and plucks the feathers out of the largest goose. Then he shoves him in the oven and seasons him. However, he wraps a bright red bow on the other golden goose and grabs the other gifts for the neighbor boy. The neighbor boy opens the door wearing the old man’s hat. As the goose waddles into the neighbor’s house, the deathly ill little boy throws his arms around him. Then the old man looks out the window and spies the beautiful woman from the church as she walks down the street in a trail of sparkling snow that resembles perfect diamonds. The wind blows the diamonds toward the old man. He catches them in his hand, at first thinking they were icicles, but puts them in his jacket pocket with a prayer of thanksgiving. In the weeks ahead that pass, the Christmas Goose and the little boy become such good friends that the little boy never feels sick again. The Goose lays dozens of goose eggs. And as legend has it, when no one is looking, the goose even lays golden eggs. As for the diamonds, they turn out to be real, and only an angel would know how that happened.

SWEDISH CHRISTMAS DANCE synopsis

LOGLINE

Prancer the Reindeer loses his way on Christmas Eve only to be found by the light.

PITCH

When Prancer the Reindeer gets lost, a 12-year-old girl named Lucia Johansson takes him in on Christmas Eve. While waiting for Father Christmas to find Prancer, the Johansson family dance and sing in celebration until they doubt that their Christmas gifts will ever arrive. In the wee hours of the morning when Father Christmas finds Prancer, he rewards Lucia for taking in a stranger to make sure Christmas is never late again.

SYNOPSIS

Prancer the reindeer hits a cloud, falls to the ground, and ends up in Sweden on Christmas Eve in the snow. Confused, he stands up, almost losing his balance, and kicks the snow. He wanders into the nearest village, feeling like a failure. He hopes Father Christmas comes back for him. He can’t be sure at all which way Father Christmas went or where the sleigh is now. As Prancer walks through the village, he notices Christmas trees decorated with white candles and silver ornaments that catch the starlight. Then, Lucia Johansson, a 12-year-old girl, notices the reindeer while admiring the glowing Bethlehem Star in her front window. She runs out in the snow in a white dress with a red sash around her waist. As she eats a lussekatt bun, a crown of candles sits on her head in a wreath of Lingonberry branches. She thinks that Father Christmas sent him. Then she gently touches his nose and examines his flying antlers, which are larger than antlers on normal reindeer. Prancer explains that he got separated from Father Christmas and his sleigh, and she invites him to spend the holiday with her family.

Lucia’s mother wonders what a reindeer is doing in their home. She and Lucia decide that the neighbors must have sent him for holiday fun. All of a sudden, Lucia’s extended family join hands while thumping their feet and start a ring dance, holding a lighted candle. The dancers sing. Prancer and Lucia go ‘round and ‘round the table and down the halls of the house. When the halls are danced, Prancer and Lucia go through each room and up and down each staircase. Lucia kisses Prancer on the cheek. Although Prancer thinks he messed everything up for Father Christmas, Lucia suggests watching out the window for him on his sleigh. A tear fills Prancer’s eye at the thought of never seeing Father Christmas or his reindeer family again.

As Christmas Eve goes on, Lucia’s family exchanges gifts and eats Christmas cookies and rice dessert. Although the family waits, Father Christmas never arrives. When every disappointed relative has left for the night, Lucia’s mother, father, and three sisters sit with Prancer at the tree. While Lucia’s parents and sisters go to sleep in their bedrooms, Lucia snuggles up with Prancer as he weeps. Then, early in the morning, when it seems that Father Christmas will never complete his rounds on Christmas Eve, there is a thud in front of Lucia’s house, and several whinnies and a large, red glowing reindeer light. Father Christmas knocks on the front door with a sack of gifts. Although Father Christmas has seven other reindeer, he says that he had to go after the lost Prancer until he found him. He flew all night and didn’t forget Prancer. As the story goes, Prancer makes sure to be especially alert when flying on Christmas Eve and never gets lost again.

YULETIDE THE CHRISTMAS GOAT synopsis

LOGLINE

When witches harass Father Christmas by threatening to steal children and their gifts on Christmas Eve, a goat braves a mountain to find a magic yule log.

PITCH

Yuletide the Christmas Goat travels to the peak of Vestfjellet Mountain to search for the Magic Yule Log that can defeat the witches attacking twelve-year-old Ingrid Danielsen and her Norwegian village. As Ingrid and her parents fight back the witches, they wait for the Christmas Goat to return with the Yule Log that must burn in their fireplace by midnight on Christmas Eve, so the evil witches lose their power and Father Christmas can visit the village with presents for the children.

SYNOPSIS

Twelve-year-old Ingrid Danielsen is worried there are witches in the Norwegian village of Vestfold. In fact, they come back every Christmas Eve. Her friend Yuletide the Christmas Goat knows the witches like to harass Father Christmas on Christmas Eve, threatening to steal the children and their presents. Although the witches have bullied the children before, they have never succeeded in actually kidnapping anyone until now. Ingrid watches another witch fly down, grab three of her cousins who are caroling, and fling them on her broom. Yuletide suggests clogging the chimney so the witches can’t fly down it. The witches are more determined than ever to undermine Julenissen and his Nisse, also known as Santa Claus and his gnomes. Then, Yuletide meanders to a large book on the side shelf and flips it open with his nose and points to a map. It reads: “There’s a Magic Yule Log, hidden on the peak of Vestfjellet Mountain, which is strong enough to destroy the witches.” Ingrid insists that they find the Yule Log and burn it in her parents’ fireplace, but it must be burned on Christmas Eve, not one second past midnight. So, Ingrid and Yuletide have twelve hours to succeed.

Despite her enthusiasm, Yuletide insists that Ingrid isn’t going in search of the Yule Log—he is. In the meantime, Ingrid huddles by the fireplace, building a large fire with the regular logs and twigs. While Ingrid and her parents fight back the witches and their spells for hours, Ingrid keeps hoping for Yuletide’s quick return. The clock on the wall tick-tocks closer and closer to midnight when the Magic Yule Log will no longer be effective. Just when Ingrid wants to give up fighting the witch, Yuletide marches in the front door with the glowing Magic Yule Log. The goat’s knees are bloody, and he hobbles through the front door as though he might collapse at any moment.

Ingrid runs to him in tears, grabbing the Magic Yule Log, and throwing it into the fireplace. Although there is already a small fire burning, she takes the last match in the box and strikes it to light the log. It causes a huge explosion to shoot from the chimney that stretched over the village, sending the witches into the oblivion. The kidnapped children riding with the witches fall from the brooms and magically land feet-first in the snow. At that, Ingrid’s family falls asleep by the fireplace with Yuletide, and Father Christmas makes his visit in the snow with presents, because a goat decided that he could overcome every evil spirit at Christmas.

WINTER MASQUERADING synopsis

LOGLINE

No one wears a mask at Christmas, especially when waltzing.

PITCH

When Margaret Bayard’s father wants her to marry someone other than her longtime love, James Miller, he sends her to the Christmas Masquerade Ball at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. After James proposes to Margaret, she hides it from her father until the Ball is over, where her father insists that she marry the mysterious cadet that dances with her. Later in the evening, the cadet reveals that he was James all along—only behind a mask.

SYNOPSIS

Margaret Bayard’s father wants to know if she has her dress for the Christmas Masquerade Ball. Mr. Bayard, a former United States Senator, has put marrying his daughter to an upstanding man on the top of his Christmas wish list. It is above a new, hand-woven stocking. After all, Christmas is more than just a stocking holiday. Margaret, 23, makes it very clear that she still has two weeks to buy a dress, and she’s already in love with her childhood friend James Miller. She doesn’t want to be presented to high society at Christmas by her father. If she has to attend, then at the very least she can wear a mask. James, a law student, was also in the marines, and Margaret is sure he could be a Senator one day. She picks up the golden invitation to the Christmas Masquerade Ball and puts it in her purse. Not only will the event be held in the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria on Fifth Avenue, but there will also be a week of parties leading to the Christmas Eve Ball. She will be escorted by one military cadet and one civilian, but neither of her choice. Despite all, Margaret tells her father that she will go to the Ball—only to prove him wrong—and she’s not telling James a thing about it. Her father hopes that by the end of the evening that she is engaged to someone else.

When Margaret arrives in Central Park to meet James, she finds him as it starts to snow. He kisses her, and the couple climbs in a carriage for a ride. Jingle bells jostle as the stately brown horse pulls the carriage through the winding trails of Central Park. Then, James pulls a small red box from his pocket and asks her to marry him. The heart-shaped diamond glistens in the winter sunshine. After saying “yes,” Margaret slips the ring on her left hand and enjoys the rest of the journey. She asks James to not tell her father until after Christmas. When a large gust of wind blows, the invitation to the Christmas Masquerade Ball blows from her purse onto the sidewalk. James picks it up and glances at the details, realizing why Margaret didn’t want to tell her father until after Christmas. She is so enamored with her ring that she can hardly speak, but she hides it from her father.

As Margaret arrives in a limo at the Waldorf Astoria, the men turn their heads at her astonishing beauty. When she enters the Grand Ballroom, she is escorted by two masked gentlemen: one military cadet and one civilian. During the dance with the cadet, Margaret feels more alive than she ever has in her life. In fact, she dances the entire night with the cadet. Near the end of the Ball, the cadet kisses Margaret and bows, never revealing his true identity. Margaret takes off her mask, hoping the cadet will do the same. Margaret’s father steps from the shadows and insists that she marry him, not James, as the cadet runs off with her mask. Returning home, she finds James, sitting in a tuxedo on the bench at the front door, holding her music note mask from the Ball. He also holds the white and gold mask of the mysterious cadet that she had danced with during the evening. James explains the mysterious cadet as him all along. By Christmas next year, Margaret and James are married, and they dance the Waltz in every spare moment.