1. EXT. FOREST NEAR ELINOR’S HOUSE - Day
ARI is trudging along, dragging a branch behind him. NOTE: We can see ELINOR, hopping around in the background, picking up small rocks. She stops when she sees something on a low branch in a tree and
<SFX:
GASPS>
ARI passes OLIVE who is busy piling a low row of leaves in a circle on the ground for the walls of her leaf house (mostly in her imagination).
Olive
(good-naturedly)
Careful, Ari. You almost dragged your stick through the wall of my leaf house.
She points at the leaves.
Ari
Whoops. Sorry about that, Olive. I’ll just get this out
of...uugh
,
urgh
.
He tries to back up with his branch, but it’s awkward.
Olive
(giggling)
You
could
just use the front door.
Olive smiles, gesturing to a gap in the leaves.
Ari
Oh, good idea!
Ari drags his branch over and knocks on the pretend door.
Ari (
CONT’D
)
Knock, knock, knock.
OLIVE
(sing-song)
Who is it?
Ari
It’s me, Ari.
Olive opens the pretend door.
OLIVE
(making door sound)
Rrrr
. Oh, hi, Ari! How nice to see you.
ARI
Nice to see you too, Olive. Would you mind if I dragged my stick through your leaf house?
OlIVE
Not at all. Let me open the back door for you.
Rrrrrr
.
Olive pantomimes opening the pretend back door (another gap in the leaves) and Ari drags his stick through.
ARI
Thanks, Olive!
OlIVE
You’re welcome Ari. Stop by any time.
WIDEN: Ari sets his branch in place close to where ELINOR is looking at something in a tree.
Ari
My stick house is
gonna
be AWESOME! How’s your rock house coming, Elinor? ...Elinor?
But Elinor isn’t working on her house. Something has caught her eye on a nearby branch. WIDEN: Ari and Olive share a smile.
OlIVE
She’s not listening. She’s probably found something interesting....
Olive and Ari approach Elinor.
Ari
What’s up, Elinor?
Their curious friend points to her latest discovery.
ElinOR
(in awe)
Look...
They follow Elinor’s finger to a nearby branch.
ELINOR (
CONT’D
)
Bubbles...
SCIENCE
CU:
The kids gaze at a small collection of bubbles resting on a nearby branch.
OLIVE
Wow. How did bubbles get on a tree?
Just at that moment the bubbles move a little.
Ari
<GASP!> Did those bubbles just WIGGLE??
The bubbles move again.
OLIVE
How can bubbles move on their own? They aren’t alive, are they?
ELINOR
We need MORE observations. Olive, magnifying glass please?
Olive takes Elinor’s magnifying glass out of her satchel and hands it to her.
MAGNIFYING GLASS
POV:
the bubbles move again then a little SPITTLE BUG crawls out.
Ari
<GASP!> A BUG!
OlIVE
So the bubbles weren’t moving, it was that little bug INSIDE the bubbles that moved.
ELINOR
(excited)
That is SO INTERESTING!
The spittle bug hears Elinor’s voice he retreats back into his bubbles.
EliNOR (
CONT’D
)
Uh-oh, the bug’s gone back inside his bubbles. Bye-bye bug.
At that moment RANGER RABBIT calls from the yard nearby.
Ranger Rabbit
Hey kids! Who’s ready for some snacks?
ArI
Did someone
say...SNACKS
!
Ari does a little flip of joy.
ELINOR
Coming Mom!
The kids run, hop and flutter OS.
2. EXT. ELINOR’S BACK YARD -- DAY
The kids rush up to the picnic table where Ranger Rabbit has laid out the snacks (veggies sticks, sandwiches and grape juice with paper straws).
ElINOR
Mom! Mom! We saw a bug that lives in bubbles!
They dive in and start
<SFX:
MUNCHING> on the snacks. Ari
<SFX:
SLUUUURPS>
his grape juice through a straw.
ArI
(to himself)
Ahhh
. Gotta love that grape juice.
RANGER RABBIT
Sounds like you found a spittle bug, Elinor.
ELINOR
A spittle bug?
Ranger Rabbit
Yes, it’s a bug that makes a little mound of bubbles and hides inside.
ELINOR
It’s true! We saw the spittle bug hiding, I wonder why he does that?
Ari
Maybe he hides to feel safe.
OLIVE
That makes sense. He hid inside his bubble house when he saw us because we’re so BIG to him.
ELINOR
(thinking)
Hmmm
, his bubble house,
eh
?
(gets an idea)
<GASP!> Guys! I just had a bubbly idea! Let’s make our own Bubble House - just like the spittle bug did.
This gets Ari and Olive’s attention.
ArI
A bubble house would be SOO COOL!
OlIVE
Only, we don’t have any bubbles.
ELINOR
Not yet, but I know just how to get some. All I need is…
BUBBLE WIPE TO:
3. EXT. ELINOR’S BACK YARD – MINUTES LATER
CU:
Elinor’s cute, excited little face.
ElinOR
…my
BUBBLE STUFF!
WIDEN: Elinor is all set up with a small pail, some dish soap, some water, and bubble wands.
ARI
Uhmmmm
. I don’t see any bubbles.
ELINOR
We have to make them, Ari, like this!
Elinor picks up the soap.
ELINOR (
CONT’D
)
First you mix the
goopy
soap with some water, then you stir it in.
She pours the water into a play pail and stirs it with her bubble wand.
ELINOR (
CONT’D
)
Then you dip this bubble wand in and BLOW!
Elinor
<SFX:
BLOWS GENTLY>. Out pops a bubble.
ARI
(amazed)
Cooooool
!
OliVE
Can I try?
ElINOR
Sure!
Olive
<SFX:
BLOWS HARD> and fails.
ELINOR (
CONT’D
)
You have to blow a little more gently, Olive.
OLIVE
Oh, okay.
Olive
<SFX:
BLOWS GENTLY> - and then blows a bubble.
Ari
That’s a PERFECT bubble, Olive!
The kids watch it float away.
OlIVE
Thanks, Ari. I can do another one.
She
<SFX:
BLOWS> a second bubble.
ARI
That one’s great too!
ElinOR
(thinking)
But...it’s
not a bubble house.
Olive
<SFX:
BLOWS> a third bubble, she’s really engrossed in what she’s doing.
Ari
True. What should we do?
OLIVE
Guys! Watch this!
Olive waves her wand around, making a whole bunch of bubbles.
ARI
Whoooaa
! You can make bubbles just by waving your wand around - who knew?
ELINOR
I know what to do! Let’s think up Bubble House ideas and try them out
while
we make bubbles.
ArI
Sounds like a plan!
So they dive in.
BUBBLE WIPE TO:
THE BUBBLE SONG
The kids are running around blowing bubbles and waving their wands (which also makes bubbles) as they sing:
Elinor, olive and ari
Bubble, bubble, bubble,
We’re
gonna
blow some bubbles.
Elinor: To build a Bubble House,
Olive: Like a Spittle Bug does,
Ari: And get inside!
They all make bubbles.
ALL: Bubble, bubble, bubble,
To build a Bubble House,
Olive: We’ll blow lots of little bubbles.
Elinor: A whole pile of little bubbles,
Ari: And try to get inside!
They have a pile of small bubbles (but not suds) but when Elinor touches them they
<SFX:
POP! POP! POP!>
ELINOR: (spoken, laughing) That didn’t work...
OLIVE: (spoken) Let’s try again!
Olive is bending the bubble wand to make it bigger - or maybe putting two together.
ALL: Bubble, bubble, bubble,
To build a Bubble House
Olive: Let’s blow A GIANT bubble.
Ari: A really
humungous
bubble
Elinor: And try to get inside!
They blow the biggest bubble possible but when Elinor touches it –
it
<SFX:
POPS!>
ELINOR (spoken, laughing) That didn’t work either,
ARI: (spoken, laughing) Now what do we do?
ALL Bubble, bubble, bubble,
We blew lots of bubbles
But we couldn’t make a Bubble House.
Like the Spittle Bug does.
To get inside.
BUBBLE WIPE
4. EXT. Elinor’s BACK YARD -- later
Bubbles are floating around the yard and
<SFX:
POPPING>. One <POPS> on Olive’s trunk. The kids
<SFX:
LAUGH>. At that moment, Mom comes out the back door.
Ranger Rabbit
How’s the bubble building going?
Ari
Well the good news is - we blew a TONS of bubbles! First we blew a whole pile of bubbles...
OlIVE
Then we blew a really ENORMOUS bubble!
Elinor
(disappointed)
But they all popped when we touched them so we couldn’t get inside.
(sigh)
I REALLY wanted a bubble house.
Olive puts her hand on Elinor’s shoulder.
OLIVE
Me too.
Ari puts his hand on Olive’s shoulder.
ARI
Me THREE.
The three kids
<SFX:
SIGH> with disappointment.
RANGER RABBIT
Hmmmm
. Sometimes, to learn from things in nature, it’s important to observe not just what creatures do, but HOW they do it.
ElINOR
What do you mean, Mom?
RanGER RABBIT
Well, HOW did the spittle bug build his bubble house?
ELINOR
Oooh
. I never thought about it that way before.
(energized)
We need even MORE observations!
5. EXT. FOREST NEAR ELINOR’S - DAY
The kids go back to the spittle bug tree.
ElinOR
There’s the bubble house.
ArI
But where’s the spittle bug?
OlIVE
He’s probably inside.
ElINOR
Let’s watch really, really quietly.
ARI
Right. We don’t want to scare him again.
ECU:
At that moment the Spittle Bug comes out of the bubbles.
Ari (
CONT’D
)
(excited, forgetting)
There he IS!
Elinor and Olive good-naturedly
<SFX:
SHHH>
Ari.
ARI (
CONT’D
)
(whispering)
Whoops, sorry.
Elinor
Let’s see what he does. Olive, magnifying glass please.
Olive hands Elinor the magnifying glass. MAGNIFYING
POV:
The Spittle Bug is blowing into the
goopy
liquid.
ElINOR (
CONT’D
)
Look! He’s making bubbles for his bubble house
ArI
But how? He doesn’t have a bubble wand or anything.
Olive
I looks like he’s blowing air INTO the
goopy
liquid
ElINOR
And that makes lots of really tiny bubbles, and they don’t pop when he crawls in...
(the penny drops)
Wait a minute. That’s IT! Come on!
6. EXT. ELINOR’S BACK YARD - DAY
Elinor, Ari and Olive run back into the yard.
RaNGER RABBIT
Well, what did you learn?
ELINOR
The spittle bug makes lots and lots of really tiny bubbles.
Ari
But he doesn’t use a bubble wand.
OLIVE
He blows right INTO his bubble stuff.
ElINOR
Right. But HOW are we going to blow air into OUR bubble stuff.
OLIVE
Good question.
Hmmmmm
.
At that moment, Ari finishes his drink.
<SFX:
Sluuuuurrrrp…>
ArI
Ahhh…
What?
Elinor is looking a Ari with a small smile.
OLIVE
I know that look, it means Elinor has an idea.
And she does.
ElINOR
Ari, let me borrow your straw, please.
Ari hands Elinor the straw. She puts it in the bubble stuff.
Ari
Wait, Elinor! Don’t drink the bubble stuff. It’s SOAP!
BLECH
!!
OLIVE
I don’t think she’s going to, Ari.
Elinor starts to blow air into the soapy mixture.
<SFX:
BLUB
,
BLUB
,
BLUB>
OLIVE (
CONT’D
)
Elinor's using the straw to blow air into the bubble stuff, just like the spittle bug did.
ECU:
A few bubbles froth up.
OLIVE (
CONT’D
)
It’s working!
ArI
Let’s help.
Ari and Olive grab straws and join Elinor blowing into the frothy liquid. Bubbles bubble up and over the edge of the container and start gathering on the ground.
OLIVE
Keep going!
Finally, they make a REALLY big mountain of suds!
ARI
Bubble-o-rama
!! Now THAT’s a Bubble House.
OLIVE
Try to get inside, Elinor.
Elinor crawls inside the mound of bubbles and pokes her face out the front.
ELINOR
<GASP!> We DID it!
Olive and Ari high-five
<SFX:
CELEBRATION WALLA>, then Elinor’s Mom joins them.
Ranger RABBIT
Wow, that’s some impressive bubble building.
ELINOR
Yep, we blew air INTO the bubble stuff.
OlIVE
And made a whole bunch of SMALL bubbles.
ARI
Just like the spittle bug did.
RaNGER RABBIT
Nice work, scientists.
ELINOR
Thanks Mom.
Then Elinor turns her attention to her friends.
ELINOR (
CONT’D
)
Hey Guys. Come on into our bubble house with me.
ARI
Don’t mind if I do.
OlIVE
But...where’s
the door?
ElINOR
Ooops
, wait a sec.
Elinor disappears for a beat, then pokes her face out the side.
ELINOR (
CONT’D
)
Welcome to our Bubble House.
ARI
(it’s obvious)
Oh, there’s the door.
OLIVE
(giggling)
I don’t know why we didn’t see it before.
All the kids
<SFX:
GIGGLE> Olive and Ari climb into the Bubble House. A beat then,
<SFX:
Pop! Pop! Pop!> Three cute faces poke out of the bubbles.
ElINOR
Peek-a-bubble!
RaNGER RABBIT
Awww
, look. Three cute spittle bugs.
The three kids
<SFX:
LAUGH>
THE END
EWW127 Bubble House D1 22May19
.
ELINOR WONDERS WHY
EP
Bubble House
By: Katherine
Sandford
Elinor’s Question:
How can we make a bubble house like the spittle bug does?
Logline:
Inspired by a spittle-bug Elinor, Olive and Ari decide to make a bubble house, but it’s not as easy as they thought..
Curriculum Goals:
·
LS5
. Begin to understand that animals and plants depend on other living things and nonliving things in the environment to meet some of their needs:
a. Distinguish between living and nonliving things based on background knowledge and
b. Identify the habitats of familiar animals and plants in the environment
c. Recognize that each kind of living things has a habitat that has resources to meet its unique needs (Elinor and her friends observe the spittle-bug’s bubble house, notice how he makes it (by blowing bubbles) and learn why (to hide inside).
ND3
. (
RTL
Crosscutting concept ‘Structure and Function’): Understand that structures and materials in the natural world can be used or can inspire the engineering of structures with similar function in the designed world. [Elinor and her friends are inspired by the spittle bug’s bubbles to make a bubble house of their own).
SEP1
. Asking questions (science) and defining problems (engineering)
b. Ask more complex questions about observable phenomena
c. Ask and/or identify cause and effect questions that can be answered by an investigation
d. Identify a problem that can be solved by the design of a new or improved object or tool
(Elinor and her friends ask questions about the nature of bubble house and how it is made, then they replicate the method the spittle bug uses (blow lots of small bubbles) to make a bubble house.
SEP6
. Constructing explanations (science) and Designing Solutions (engineering)
a. Use background knowledge experiences, and data to construct reasonable explanations and
theories
of natural phenomena (science)
b. Look for and describe patterns and relationships in natural phenomena (science)
c. Use and apply productive science discourse to support an explanation
d. Use evidence to support a theory or solution to a problem (engineering)
(Elinor and her friends observe the spittle bug, then design their own bubble house).
LINE COUNT: 117
MAINS: Elinor, Olive, Ari, Ranger Rabbit
LOCATIONS: Forest near Elinor's; Elinor's back yard
PROPS: Spittle bug, magnifying glass, pail, dish soap, bubble wands and lots of BUBBLES
FIRST DRAFT: 22-May-19
OLIVE
ARI
ELINOR
R
Art
Ranger Rabbit
END SONG
ElINOR and Olive
(V.O.)
(O.S.)
(O.C.)
(SUBTITLE)
INT
EXT
I/E
ELINOR WONDERS WHY
FOREST NEAR ELINOR'S HOUSE -- DAY-
ELINOR'S BACK YARD -- DAY
ELINOR'S BACK YARD – MINUTES LATER
THE BUBBLE SONG
FOREST NEAR ELINOR'S
ELINOR'S BACK YARD
DAY
NIGHT
AFTERNOON
MORNING
EVENING
LATER
MOMENTS LATER
CONTINUOUS
THE NEXT DAY
CUT TO:
FADE IN:
FADE OUT.
FADE TO:
DISSOLVE TO:
BACK TO:
MATCH CUT TO:
JUMP CUT TO:
FADE TO BLACK.
CROSSFADE TO:
BUBBLE WIPE TO:
BUBBLE WIPE