1. EXT. outside school -- morning ELINOR skips to school, <HUMMING> merrily. The sun is bright and the birds are <SINGING>. She greets everything she passes. Elinor Hello, bluebird! Hello, sunflower. Hello, other Elinor. She walks past a stream, waving to her reflection. She arrives at school. ElINOR (CONT’D) Hello school, hello playground, hello flat Elinor. She waves to her shadow, her shadow waves back at her. She arrives at the FRONT DOOR, peaks in. There’s nobody inside! EliNOR (CONT’D) Hello every-- Hmm, where is everybody? I’m running out of people to say hello to! She starts to look about, seeing further by balancing on her tippy-toes like a real rabbit standing up. OLIVE jumps into frame. Olive Hi, Elinor! Startled, Elinor falls down <OOF!> followed by a <GIGGLE>. Olive (CONT’D) Come quick , you’ve got to see this. Olive reaches out with her trunk and hefts Elinor to her feet . T hey skip away. All of Elinor’s classmates are st anding around the JUNGLE GYM, looking up, watching something and <CHEERING> the spectacle on. OlIVE (CONT’D) Ari’s in a staring contest ! Elinor is curious, she’s never seen a sta ring contest before! Excited, she nudges her way into the crowd. Olive reaches into her bag and pulls out a piece of paper, fashioning it into a megaphone and announces: OlIVE (CONT’D) Come one, come all! Welcome, everyone , to today’s st aring contest ! The crowd <CHEERS!>. Elinor is getting swept up in the enthusiasm. OliVE (CONT’D) A star ing contest is when two people stare into each other’s eyes until one of them blinks - like this ! Olive blinks deliberately to demonstrate. Olive (CONT’D) The last one to blink wins the contest! While everyone is excited, something seems to be catching Elinor's curiosity. oli ve (CONT’D) Introducing your current champion... Koa! KOA walks to the center of the ring (on top of Jungle-Gym), he’s very nonchalant, hands in his pockets. <GREETINGS WALLA: YO>. OlIVE (CONT’D) And his challenger, the bat with all that... Ari! ARI enters, walking with his legs astride like a cowboy. Things are about to get INTENSE. WESTERN SHOWDOWN MUSIC, we focus first on Ari’s unblinking eyes, then Koa’s little penny slits. A rubber ball bounces past like tumbleweed. It’s a good day for a stare-off! Ari I’ll win this thing in the blink of an eye. The crowd <LAUGHS>. Ari’s eyes narrow. Koa opens his little penny slits to REVEAL two tiny eyeballs. Olive Begin! She <TRUMPETS!> with her trunk. The crowd <ROARS>. Close up shots of Ari and Koa’s eyes. Each time we get closer and closer. Intensity increasing with every cut. Soon they’re both struggling. There are tears. We hold onto Koa, he’s REALLY struggling. Ari notices (all this still on their eyes, only) Koa is holding his eyes open. It’s genuinely intense, <SFX: heart pounding!> <MFX: Music rising!> Palms sweating! Throat lumping! We hold on Koa as we feel his whole world is about to break! We hold... And... <PLINK>! Koa’s little eyes blink with the sound of a toy xylophone. Ari has won, the crowd <CHEERS!>. Ari give s Koa a pat on the back as the crowd runs up to congratulate him. They all slide down the slide together celebrating. ARI Good game, Koa, good game. He flutters up in the air, just full of energy. Ari (CONT’D) Anyone else wanna play? 2. MONTAGE. I/C around school - Ari goes eye to eye with ALEJANDRO the possum. Alejandro BLINKS and Ari <CHEERS!>. PAN OUT AND AROUND to REVEAL both are hanging upsidedown from a tree while everyone watches. - Ari VS the GOAT TWINS. He zips back and forth, out-staring both of them. - Ari is intensely staring at... someone. REVEAL he’s challenging Mz. Mole through the school window, she blinks and continues to scrub the window with a towel. 3. ExT. schoOL PLAYGROUND - cONTINUOUS Ari is being hoisted up on his friends’ shoulders like Rudy. Ari “Eye” am the best! Get it? (pointing to his eye) Eye? Elinor and Olive are watching as Ari <CHEERS> and <HOLLERS> in B/G. ElinoR Ari’s so good at not blinking. OliVE Yeah. He’s the not-blinking king. Elinor But I wonder... Why did the others all blink? Olive What do you mean, Elinor? Elinor I mean, why do we blink at all? What’s blinking good for? OLIVE Huh. I’ve never thought about it before. She thinks about it for a beat and blink a couple of times, slowly and deliberately . EliNOR Hmm, that is sooooo interesting! OliVE Your eyes close when you sleep, maybe blinking is your eyes trying to go to bed? EliNOR But none of the kids in the contest seemed sleepy. (beat) Maybe it’s our eyes clapping because they like what they see? They <GIGGLE>. Olive No, that can’t be it, eyes don’t clap we’d hear them. EliNOR We need more observations ! The two of them scurry off. 4. EXT. stream BEHIND THE SCHOOL - DAY Elinor and Olive find a quieter spot to do some serious investigating. Elinor Okay, l et me watch you and see if you blink. They both stare at each other. They both blink, but neither notices because they were both blinking. Beat. They blink again. Unnoticed. Beat. Olive blinks. Elinor (CONT’D) You just did it . OliVE I did? Elinor blinks. olive (CONT’D) You just did it too . Elinor Really? But I wasn’t even thinking about blinking. olive I guess we blink without even noticing. It’s something our body does all by itself . Elinor Wow! Okay, let’s see what happens when we try not to blink. Elinor tries but soon finds her eyelids getting very heavy. She struggles, eventually giving in with an exhausted sigh. EliNOR (CONT’D) Wow, it’s really hard not to blink . OlIVE Yeah, it must be something our bodies have to do. ELINOR It’s a mystery. OLIVE It’s a blinking mystery! Ari flaps in, still on top of the world. ArI This is the best day ever, it’s even better than my birthday or pizza Fridays! I’ll never lose , I can just see it now. THOUGHT BUBBLE: Ari is in a stadium, the faceless crowd is <CHEERING HIS NAME>, waving signs with an eye symbol. Camera flashes, he’s a champion. Elinor, Olive, koa, Mz. Mole (chanting) Ari, Ari, Ari! OLIVE (o.S.) Ari? Olive’s interruption pulls Ari out of his daydream, his thought bubble literally bursts. ArI Watcha doing? EliNOR <GIGGLES> We’re learning everything we can about blinking . OliVE So far we learned that you blink without thinking and that it’s really hard not to blink. ArI Cool, this is awesome. If I know more about blinking I can win even more staring contests . Can I join you? ElinOR Of course. Ari flaps up in the air , looking very excited. Elinor and Olive shrug, then follow him. They walk beside the stream, Ari still overly excited. Olive notices something. OlIVE Look Ari, I think you have a new fan. They look into the stream. A FISH is floating there, watching Ari . ElINOR A fish! Oooh he’s so cute! It’s not cute at all. It burps up an air bubble. Ari Well bubble back to you too Fishy-fish, <SIGH> you shoulda seen me beat everyone today. They keep walking, the Fish is following Ari. OliVER Hey, Ari, I think it likes you. Ari tests this theory. He takes a couple steps back, the Fish follows. Then a couple steps forward, the fish follows again. ARI Hmm... Can you follow this!?! Ari quickly runs back and forth, the Fish follows. Ari does a spin, the Fish does a spin! The kids <LAUGH>. Elinor notices something. ElinOR Hey, Fishy-fish, you haven’t blinked once since we met you. The Fish just stares stoically. ArI You’re right! Fishy-fish, you’re the perfect challenger! OliVE I don’t know, it’s really good at not blinking. Ari Pfft. I could beat it with my eyes closed! Olive But your eyes need to be open. ArI (BEAT) ... oh yeah. That’s fine, I’ll still win. This contest is gonna be so tense you won’t be able to close your eyes! olive You’re not allowed to close your eyes. ArI (BEAT) ... oh yeah. Never mind, let the contest begin! Ari stares the impassive Fish down. On Ari. He’s curious. How good is this guy? On the Fish. Nothing. On Ari. It’s getting harder. Should he start to worry? On the Fish. Nothing. On Ari. He’s struggling. Tears coming. On the Fish. Cool as a cucumber. On Ari. This is the fight of his life! Aaaand.... ARI BLINKS. His first defeat. The Fish still staring, it releases some listless bubbles from its gills. Ari (CONT’D) That’s impossible! EliNOR Wow, that Fish doesn’t blink at all. ArI All right, rematch! Let’s do this. Ari leans over and intensely stares at the bored Fish. Elinor and Olive notice Mz. Mole. EliNOR Oh, hi Mz. Mole. Mz. mole Hi, Elinor. Hi, Olive. She see s Ari in an intense stare-off with the Fish. Mz. Mole (CONT’D) Hi Ari. Hi, umm, staring Fish. Mz. Mole heads to a nearby branch that has a towel draped over it , it’s directly in the sun. Mz. Mole (CONT’D) Ah yes, this was a good spot. Olive Whatcha doing, Mz. Mole? Mz. Mole I’ ve h ung my wet towel on this branch earlier . You see, kids, if you leave things out in t he sun it’s a great way to dry them out. She feels her towel. Mz. Mole (CONT’D) Ah yes, it’s already working. Elinor gives the towel a feel as well. ElINOR Hmmm. That’s so interesting. It’s drying out . Mz. Mole Yes, indeed. What are you kids up to? On Ari and the Fish. Ari’s eyes look like they’re about to burst, he’s being overdramatic and looks silly. Olive and Elinor <GIGGLE>. Olive We’re just thinking about blinking. ELINOR Because Ari’s in a stare off with this fish. Back on Ari struggling with the contest. He finally blinks. He’s defeated. He falls to his knees in dramatic fashion. Ari (breathing heavily) I can’t keep my eyes open! I HAVE to blink! You win, Fishy-fish. You’re... the champion. He walks over to his friends, wings dragging on the ground. Ari (CONT’D) I tried really hard to keep from blinking, but then my eyes felt scratchy like they were dry or something and then - I blinked! He gives them a rub. Elinor ponders on that. ElINOR Hmmm.... dry... She feels Mz. Mole’s towel again. It’s almost completely dry now. Suddenly, a light bulb goes off . Elinor (CONT’D) Maybe that’s it! Ari You think I need a towel to win? Elinor <GIGGLE> No, maybe when we keep our eyes open they dry out, just like Mz. Mole’s towel . Olive (opening her eyes) Yeah, it’s like you’re leaving them out in the open. Ari I think you’re right! He gives his eyes a nice long blink. Ari (CONT’D) When I close my eyes or blink, it does make them feel wetter and better . Olive (blinking) Yeah, every time I blink, it makes my eyes wet again. SCIENCE CLOSE UP: In on Ari’s eyes, when his eyelids blink it adds moisture to his eyeballs. Elinor Then that’s gotta be it! The longer we don’t blink the more dry our eyes get. Olive I wonder if that’s why the fish doesn’t have to blink. They look over at the Fish who still has the same blank expression, bubbles emerge from his mouth. EliNOR His eyes are always in the water so they can’t get dry. They’re always wet! Mz. Mole jumps in startling the kids with her excitement. Mz. Mole Oh my little scientists have done it again! Great observations, kids. You are correct. We blink to keep our eyes from going dry, every time we do it, it adds water to them. The kids react, <EXCITEMENT>. Mz. Mole (CONT’D) That’s why fish don’t need to blink . In fact most fish, like this one here, don’t even have eyelids because they don’t need them. Elinor/Olive Cool! Ari (accusing) I knew something was fishy about that fish! (to the fish) No wonder you won, you don’t even have eyelids . Mz. Mole Our bodies do a lot of things without you having to think about it, like breathing or blinking. It’s just your bodies way of making sure it stays safe and healthy. Ari So, our bodies are the real champions! Elinor We did it! We solved the mystery. Olive The blinking - mystery. She flutters her eyelids in celebratory fashion. O ur characters break into a song... 5. SONG MONTAGE. I/C different locations - The playground. Ari is in another stare off, this time against Elinor . Ari/Elinor/Olive ARI: Did you know you’re always blinking? Elinor blinks! Elinor: You do it without thinking. Olive appears between them. OLIVE: Take a minute, let that sink in ELINOR: It’s just sooooo interesting! - Ari in his bedroom, hanging upside down. ARI: Blinking in your bedroom He blinks (all blinks accompanied by a note that matches the song). - Elinor and co in class, listening to Mz. Mole. ELINOR: Blinking during class. She blinks. - Elinor running through flowers. ELINOR: Blinking when it’s playtime. - Grass, Olive rolls around. OLIVE: Or when you’re rolling in the grass. - Ari’s bathroom, Ari’s in the bath. ARI: It’s easier to see when your eyes are nice and wet, your body does it just so you don’t forget! Now Elinor pops up in the bathtub. ELINOR: You don’t want them to get dry! Olive emerges, the tub is barely big enough for all of them! OLIVE: Blinking is bath time for your eyes! - Stream, the gang singing together. ELINOR: So you see, you’re always blinking. ARI: You do it without thinking. OLIVE: Take a minute, let that sink in! ELINOR: Wow, that is soooo interesting! The song ends. 6. EXT. stream - continuous Ari Well, I guess nobody can keep their eyes open forever . MZ. MOLE That’s right, you don’t want your eyes to get all dry like my towel! OliVE Does this mean you retire as the staring contest champion, Ari? ArI Not yet, I still want to defeat my final challenger. ElINOR How are you going to do that? He looks down at the Fish. Ari I have an idea. Olive, may I have some paper and a crayon? She obliges from her satchel. Ari starts to draw something. ArI (CONT’D) Ta-daa! He holds up a crude/cute drawing of himself and hangs it on the branch Mz. Mole used for her towel. The Fish stares at it, and Ari eagerly stares back and forth between the sign and the fish. EliNOR I gotta feeling he’s gonna be there for a loooong time. Olive and Mz. Mole <GIGGLE> as we pull up into the sky and ... Fade OUT.

EWW137 "Thinking About Blinking" D2 22July19 .

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ELINOR Wonders Why EP 137 Thinking About Blinking By: Paul Moncrieffe Elinor's Question: Why do we blink? Logline: After Ari wins a staring contest, he and his friends learn everything there is to know about blinking. Curriculum Goals: LS2 . Understand that animals have different body parts that are used in different ways to meet their needs, and that plants have different parts that help them survive and grow: a. Identify body parts of animals and their function b. Identify the basic parts of plants and their function c. Compare how the external body parts of animals and plants are the same and/or different d. Explore how different external features of an animal help it survive in its environment (Elinor and her friends explore eyelids and how blinking protects the eyes). SEP6 . Constructing explanations: Use background knowledge, experiences, and data to construct reasonable explanations and theories of natural phenomena. (Elinor and her friends construct an explanation of the question, ("Why do we blink?") Main Characters: Elinor, Olive, Ari, Mz . Mole Secondary Characters: Koa Non-Speaking Character: Fish, Goat Twins, Alejandro Backgrounds - School playground, forest (stream) Props - Paper Megaphone, Towel OUTLINE: May 28th , 2019 FIRST DRAFT: June 27th , 2019 SECOND DRAFT: July 22nd, 2019 Elinor Oliver Olive Ari Mz mole Mz. Mole Koa Elonor/Olive Fish Elinor, Olive, koa, Mz. Mole (V.O.) (O.S.) (O.C.) (CONT'D) (SUBTITLE) INT EXT I/E 4 SCHOOL PLAYGROUND STREAM EXT. STREAM BEHIND THE SCHOOL 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.