Pen Jen's Inkwell

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

MR. MIDNIGHT OWL synopsis

LOGLINE

A curious boy determined to uncover the truth behind Yosemite’s legendary talking owl finds himself face-to-face with Mr. Midnight, a wise and mischievous bird whose midnight lessons teach him that wonder and wisdom often come hand in hand.

PITCH

When ten-year-old Chris Waitwell heads to Yosemite National Park with his family, he’s determined to prove that the campfire legend of a talking owl named Mr. Midnight is real. Rumor has it the mysterious bird flies through the night giving unsolicited advice about patience and wisdom to anyone who will listen. But when Chris finally meets the owl, he discovers that Mr. Midnight’s lessons are far more personal than he expected and that some things in nature are meant to stay free.

SYNOPSIS

Ten-year-old Chris Waitwell travels with his family to Yosemite National Park, where they’ve heard rumors about a mysterious talking owl named Mr. Midnight. According to campers, the owl appears after dark, quoting poetry and giving advice to anyone who will listen. While most visitors dismiss the stories as campfire legends, Chris is determined to find out if the tales are true.

As the Waitwells arrive at their campsite, the family settles in among the pines and mountain air. Chris’s father sets up camp, his mother worries about preserving the owl, and his younger sister Margaret focuses on roasting s’mores. Despite the peaceful setting, Chris senses that Yosemite is far from ordinary. That night, when the others go to sleep, he takes his flashlight and ventures into the forest, hoping to spot the legendary bird. High above the campsite, Mr. Midnight Owl awakens on a hidden branch. Before he can begin his nightly rounds, two park rangers, Scott and George, try to capture him. They hope to keep him in a zoo as a park attraction, but the owl refuses, mocking them and flying away into the moonlit sky. After escaping, he resumes his mission, finding campers in need of advice, whether they know it or not.

As Chris searches through the trees, he hears a deep, echoing voice reciting poetry about patience. The sound leads him back toward his family’s campfire, where the Waitwells awaken to find the talking owl perched nearby. Quoting philosophers and poets, Mr. Midnight teaches the family about patience, wisdom, and kindness. The park rangers arrive in their truck, nets ready, but before they can trap him, the owl lands briefly on Chris’s shoulder, sharing one last piece of advice: “Let patience have her perfect work.” Chris writes the quote in his notebook as the owl takes flight, disappearing into the forest. When the rangers question the family, Chris denies seeing anything, knowing that the owl doesn’t belong in a cage. Later that night, he dreams of wings and moonlight. In the morning, he wakes to find a single feather beside his notebook and hears a faint hoot echo through the cliffs. Chris smiles, certain that Mr. Midnight is still out there and that their paths will cross again.

HAPPY SNAIL synopsis

LOGLINE

When Happy Snail is left behind on the journey to a new garden, his slow pace leads him to unexpected friendships and teaches everyone that slowing down helps you see life’s most beautiful moments.

PITCH

Happy Snail may be the slowest in his family, but when they move across town, his slow journey leads to cloud-watching, unexpected friendships, and a joyful reunion that proves good things happen when you take your time.

SYNOPSIS

Happy Snail lives in a flower garden and spends his days watching clouds, enjoying the weather, and moving at his own slow pace. His brother Grumble and sister Mingy criticize him for being so slow, bragging about how much they accomplish. Happy insists that going slowly helps him enjoy life, but they remain impatient. Happy’s routine is disrupted when Grumble says he overheard the Gardener planning to uproot the garden and move it across town. Mingy confirms that the Gardener will take the flowers with him. Grumble warns Happy that he will never keep up on the long journey, especially when they must travel through busy streets. Happy stays cheerful and says he will enjoy the journey no matter how long it takes.

As the Gardener begins digging up the plants, Happy grows sad but tries to stay positive by watching the clouds. His family starts the move and quickly crawls far ahead of him. Grumble taunts him, saying he will arrive long after summer ends. Happy continues at his own pace until he loses sight of his family altogether. Along the way, Happy bumps into his friend Mr. Sloth and invites him to join the journey. Mr. Sloth agrees happily. As they continue traveling, Happy realizes he no longer knows the way but keeps moving forward.

Happy and Mr. Sloth meet Giant the Tortoise, who asks to come with them. Happy admits he may already be lost but welcomes the company. Feeling abandoned by his family, he takes comfort in his new friend. They soon meet Koala the Bear, Slug the Squish, and American Woodcock, each of whom asks to join the slow-moving group. Happy welcomes them all. The group wanders through several blocks, getting lost repeatedly but becoming close friends as they watch clouds together. Then, by chance, they stumble upon the new garden. It is full of Happy’s favorite flowers, leafy greens, and soft fruits and vegetables. Happy’s family has arrived only a few hours earlier but has made no new friends and missed the cloud show overhead. Grumble and Mingy admit they rushed too quickly and apologize for leaving him behind. Happy is simply glad to be reunited with them and grateful for the slow-and-steady friends he met along the way. The reunited group enjoys the new garden together.

THE CHRISTMAS TOY SOLDIER synopsis

LOGLINE

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

PITCH

When Miles Osborne, the Friendly Toy Soldier, loses his job as a security guard 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 soldier saves the toy store from looting and arson.

SYNOPSIS

The Friendly Toy Soldier, whose real name is Miles Osborne, is trying to keep the peace by standing in the doorway of the Toymaker’s Shop. It’s the most famous toy store in New York City. Dressed in his soldier outfit, he makes sure that the customers in the store behave and do not fight or quarrel with anyone. He does such a good job that nothing dangerous ever happens in the store. However, Mr. Cartwright, the store manager, tells him that the store is letting him go. According to Mr. Cartwright, 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 Friendly Toy Soldier fights back tears, he finds the courage to say that he understands. Then, he looks across the store full of ungrateful strangers that he has been 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. They plan to loot the store and burn it down. When Christmas Eve arrives, the Friendly 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 and tries 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 Friendly Toy Soldier bides his time and shuffles toys back to their shelves. Then, he locks the front door behind everyone, sits down in Santa Claus’ armchair, and watches the lights on the store Christmas tree flicker in the darkness. As the Friendly Toy Soldier falls asleep on the armchair, someone throws a rock through the front store window. He grabs his real gun from beneath his jacket and sounds the store alarm, which notifies the police of a burglary. Then, Bubba Joe and Big Jim jump through the broken window with giant flaming torches. The Friendly Toy Soldier aims his gun at them as they loot the store of toys. He tries to delay them until the police arrive. Then, he grabs the water hose on the toy 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 for a memorable Christmas behind bars. A squad of police cars with loud sirens and K9 police dogs fills the streets. By morning, Miles, the Friendly Toy Soldier, is the Christmas hero of the nation, the defender of Fifth Avenue in New York City. He also 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 12-year-old Nicola Claire feels invisible, she dreams that she shrinks into the gingerbread house that she's making on Christmas Eve. A shrunken Nicola then can’t find her way home from the dream. However, a gingerbread man named Cinnamon suggests that she eat the gingerbread house to return home. With each morsel, she grows in stature and tries to avoid the looming cats. She eventually eats the entire house and Cinnamon himself, only to return to her mother's kitchen table with the angel-like Christkind who gives her a stuffed gingerbread man named Cinnamon, her new best friend.

SYNOPSIS

Twelve-year-old Nicola Claire must make her gingerbread house before she goes to sleep on Christmas Eve. She lives in Nuremberg, Germany, “The Gingerbread Capital of the World.” Although her mom wants her to go to bed, she sneaks back into the kitchen to finish her project. 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. Nicola never feels like her mother understands her. She always tries to be good enough, but it never seems to be what her mother wants. Her father divorced her mother a few years ago. Sometimes, Nicola feels like she is invisible. She thinks if she lives in the gingerbread house by herself that she would not have the problems that she has with her parents.

When Nicola places her head on the table for a moment’s rest, she closes 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 hot tears, which melts 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 says with each piece she eats that she will become bigger, and the house will become smaller. He places a jug of milk on the table. As a warning, Cinnamon reminds Nicola of the looming cats in the neighborhood.

Nicola eats the gingerbread house one piece at a time. As she eats the home, she grows in stature. It becomes smaller, little by little. When the cats circle her, she tries to hide until they leave. She eats every last crumb of gingerbread, icing, and sugar. By the time she grows back into her real-life stature, Cinnamon is very tiny, and she picks him up to look at him. As a friend, she cannot possibly eat him, but he insists that she swallow him, too. He says 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 awakens back at her kitchen table in her family’s home on Christmas Eve. Standing beside her is the angel-like Christkind, admiring the gingerbread house that she half-built before dozing off into a dream. The Christkind hands her a stuffed gingerbread man as a Christmas gift named Cinnamon. Then, she finishes the gingerbread house before Christmas morning as a surprise for her mother, which they eat for breakfast. What a sweet Christmas!

HALLELUJAH CHOIR AND ANGEL ORCHESTRA synopsis

LOGLINE

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

PITCH

The Hallelujah Choir and Angel Orchestra get ready for a last-minute performance for the most important night in history: Christmas Eve. When the Melody Makers Choir falls through, the angels Comfort and Joy pull together their ensemble with their supervisor named Gloria. Although it doesn’t go exactly as planned when the shepherds are terrified by the song, Comfort and Joy find Mary and Joseph in the manger with a new baby boy, and the shepherds, three wise men, and animals are there as well. Just like God planned it, the shepherds spread the birth of the Savior all over the world.

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 Choir and 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. Some of them run for the hills.

At that, the sheep scatter, and the shepherds drop many of their crooks in the chaos of the event. Comfort and Joy finish the prepared speech, and some of the shepherds have stood still long enough to listen to the rehearsed song. Then, the shepherds run off as fast as they can and take a few sheep with them but lose 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 angel duo finds Mary and Joseph in the manger with the baby; the shepherds have just arrived. Comfort can hardly believe his eyes. He admires the gifts of three very wealthy wise men that sit next to the shepherds. The shepherds were listening to the angels’ speech and song after all, Joy realizes, laughing out loud. Then, out of nowhere, Gloria lands in the middle of the manger and says that God told her that they are right on track for their next big miracle. 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. Of course, the shepherds tell about the birth of a savior all over the world, just as God planned it.

CHRISTMAS FROST KING synopsis

LOGLINE

The Christmas Frost King allows the Polar Forest to be 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 love and compassion, it threatens the Littlest of Little Birds until three evergreen trees come to its rescue. The Christmas Frost King then banishes the Nasty North Wind to the South Pole, except for the winter months. He can never again pluck needles from the Evergreens, and the Little Bird sings in the court of the Christmas Frost King forever.

SYNOPSIS

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful forest that loved its king until a brutal wind thought he could destroy the trees and animals of the wood with its breath. The Nasty North Wind starts 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 have love for the Christmas Frost King and his animals. The Frost King says the Nasty North Wind may test the trees, but he cannot kill them. The Nasty North Wind is sure the trees will not care about the animals of the forest or their king. In outrage, the Frost King slams his magical ice scepter against the palace wall and sends rays of light into the North Wind, which causes him to shrink. He tells him to be gone and not to return until the test is complete. Furthermore, he is sure that the Polar Forest will pass the test and stand tall against the Wind. If the Polar Forest passes the test, then the Christmas Frost King says that the Nasty North Wind will be banished to the South Pole.

So, the Nasty North Wind sets out through the Polar Forest and sends 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 Birch Tree, the Oak Tree, and the Willow Tree try to save the Little Bird, but she loses most of her feathers, has a hard time flying, and can no longer sing with her sore throat. Then, the Spruce Tree, Pine Tree, and Little Juniper Tree shield the Littlest of Little Birds. By example, the Three Evergreen Trees cause 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, the Evergreens stand tall. The harder the Wind blows against the Evergreens, the more resolute the 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 the Polar Forest passed the test. 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 South Pole, except for the three winter months. Each fall when the season turns to winter, he may blow peaceful winds, but that is all. He will never again 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 sings 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 tries to use honey and icing to finish her puppets. As St. Nicholas arrives with his angel helper, the first thing he does is give Lena a jar of glue to finish her work. She is so excited and puts the play on to great success. St. Nicholas promises to return for her annual plays celebrating Christmas.

SYNOPSIS

On Christmas Eve morning, Lena Nowak worries if she has been good enough to receive gifts from St. Nicholas. The 11-year-old girl in Bolków, Poland wonders 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. She polished her shoes to leave them by the Christmas tree with high hopes for gifts. Then, all day, Lena works on painting and gluing puppets. She starts 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 Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, 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 her play after Wigilia, the Polish Christmas Eve dinner with twelve dishes to commemorate the Twelve Apostles. As she runs out of glue, there is no way to get more from the store on Christmas Eve. Her mom tells her not to worry, but it’s only glue and that St. Nicholas will love her puppets anyhow. She does the best she can and tries to use honey and icing to finish her puppets. Then, her family, friends, and neighbors gather for the Christmas celebration. By the time Christmas Eve dinner is finished, there is a sudden knock on the door, and the children cheer: “He has come!”

St. Nicholas walks past everyone else in the home straight to Lena with his filled sack. His angel helper with wings and golden robe stands by the door with more gifts. He waits for the perfect moment to give everyone their reward. Then, St. Nicholas hands Lena a new jar of glue, and she is elated. While Nicholas hands out the rest of the gifts, he tells Lena that she can finish her puppets, so that they can enjoy her production. She throws her arms around him with a hug. 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 her upcoming plays. Until next time, Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Merry Christmas!