1. INT ARI’s LIVING ROOm / DAY nice first draft - this will be visually beautiful too I really enjoyed this one! "Line count - 122 (cut two lines) Elinor - 22 Olive - 20 Ari - 50 Ms. Mole -25 Mr. Bat - 9 Deputy Mouse - 2" We open on a wooden toy block being held under another block. As we pull out, we see that it’s being held up by ARI. The camera pulls out further and rotates to reveal that he’s hanging upside down from the living room chandelier (can we add a chandelier to the living room?), holding a block with one hand while trying to place another one on top of a teetering tower of ~10 blocks. (If the height still doesn’t work, we could put the block tower on top of the coffee table?). Ari narrates to himself like a golf commentator. Description at top of script - Yes we can add a chandelier as we havent finalized the living room yet (hasnt been seen in an episode) ARI (comically loud WHisper) Here we go folks. If Ari can place these last two blocks... He slowly readies to place the first block. ARI (CONT’D) ... this will officially be the tallest block tower IN THE WORLD! He gingerly places the block. ARI (CONT’D) Stay right there, little block. No falling. The tower teeters for a moment. ARI (CONT’D) Uh oh. But the tower doesn’t fall. ARI (CONT’D) Phew! One more block for the WORLD RECORD. He reaches out to place the next block. <SFX: MIRI OFFSCREEEN BABY COOING> Ari reacts, pulling back his arm as Miri crawls near the base of the tower. just a thought...maybe in "animal town" instead of the 'world' to make it slightly more believable that it could be improved ARI (CONT’D) Hi Miri. Be careful, I’m trying to build the tallest block tower in the world. Miri gestures that she wants to play too. ARI (CONT’D) Oh, I know you want to help, but this is really important. It’s for the world record. Ari reaches out and puts the last block on the unstable looking tower. The tower teeters. are we concerned with having baby miri in the scene as this tower is teetering back and forth then eventually falls over? perhaps we see her exiting the room? ARI (CONT’D) funny Uh oh. The tower starts to lean one way. <SFX: GASP!> Ari flies down. He hovers on the side that’s falling and blows desperately on the tower to keep it up. The tower teeters the other way. Ari flies to the other side and blows on it again. It sort of looks like it works, but then: PLOP. The tower falls on him, showering him comically with blocks. Miri <SFX: GIGGLES>. also - having the tower fall on Ari - S&P? ARI (CONT’D) I might have the tower fall the other way then the side Ari and Miri on. Yeah, I know. It’s kinda fun when it falls down. He gets up and assesses the fallen blocks. ARI (CONT’D) I guess I’ll have to keep trying! MR. BAT (OS) Ari, are you ready for school? It’s time to go. Mr. Bat appears in the doorway. ARI Aww , can I build one more tower? Pleaaaase ? MR. BAT You can’t be late. Remember, today is a special day: it’s your class field trip! Ari gets very excited, does a little celebration dance as Miri crawls over to Mr. Bat. ARI YES! Field trip! Wooo hoo ! Ari flies over to the kitchen table, where Mr. Bat has Ari’s hat and is packing his lunch. He puts the hat on Ari’s head. ARI (CONT’D) Did you pack my extra snacks? Field trips make me extra hungry. MR BAT I know. I’ve been your dad for a few years now. Mr. Bat calls out the snacks as he packs them. MR BAT (CONT’D) Here’s your morning snack, your bus ride snack. The mid-morning snack. Lunch snack. Afternoon snack. ARI Wait, what about the emergency back up snack?! MR BAT On it. He puts one last snack in. ARI Thanks, Dad! You’re the best. Bye Miri! He grabs the lunchbox with his feet and flies towards the door. The over-stuffed lunchbox pulls him to the floor as it goes over the edge of the table. ARI (CONT’D) Don’t worry. I got this. He comically drags it out of the kitchen. 2. EXT SCHOOL YARD / BUS - DAY The class kids are gathered outside the school where a school bus sits waiting for everyone to arrive. Ari arrives carrying his lunchbox . His friends ELINOR and OLIVE are already there, hanging out by a nearby tree. The two girls have their arms wrapped around the tree, linking hands and <SFX: GIGGLING> as Ari walks up to them. perhaps Ari is already eating one of the snacks here 'his morning snack' Ari Hi, Elinor! Hi, Olive! Uh, what are you doing? Olive (giggles) We’re hugging a tree! I really love trees, so I wanted to give this one a hug, but my arms couldn’t reach all the way around. Elinor So I helped her! And now we’re playing ring around the tree. The girls do a turn around the tree and let go, <SFX: GIGGLING> as they dust themselves off. olive Ari, are you excited for our field trip today? Ari Yeah! Although... it did keep me from getting a world record this morning. Elinor A world record? ARI Yup , I’m trying to build the TALLEST block tower in the world. Ari raises one arm up as high as he can. ELINOR Ooooh . Olive Oh! Mz. Mole said we are going to see some TALL trees today for our field trip. I like anything tall' reads a bit odd to me - maybe ‘I do like tall things...’ Ari Really? Cool! I like anything tall. How tall do you think the trees will be? The kids think for a moment. Olive points to a nearby tree. based on our designs, the line should read 'they are even taller than the school' OLIVE The trees in the playground are already pretty tall. They are as tall as the school. again, based on the location design, elinor's tree outside her house is much taller than her house - so she wouldnt compare an even taller tree to it.  - we have a few thought bubbles later in the ep - suggest we cut this ELINOR Maybe the big trees will be even taller. Like as tall as my house! We see a thought bubble with the tree from the schoolyard, compared to the school. Elinor’s house appears and the tree pops and stretches to match its height. Ari That’s pretty tall. Olive Or maybe, they’ll be as tall as the town hall tower! In the thought bubble, we see the tree stretch up and the town hall tower appears next to it. ARI Whoa, now that would be TALL. Elinor looks puzzled. correction 'Hmmm, I never thought about it before. I wonder how tall can a tree get?' change to ' '..i wonder how tall a tree can get' ELINOR Hmmm , I never thought about it before. I wonder how tall can a tree get? At that moment, the bus gets started, and Mz. Mole calls them in. MZ. MoLE Alright , class! Who’s excited about going on a field trip?? The kids all shout positively <SFX: YEAH! WOO HOO ! WALLA>. Mz. Mole (CONT’D) Well, hop on board! The kids excitedly pile into the bus. As they climb up, they say hi to the conductor, DEPUTY MOUSE. <SFX: HI, DEPUTY MOUSE/HELLO! WALLA> may want to add a line number with dialogue from the 3 kids 'hi deputy mouse/good morning deputy mouse/ hello' so we get them recorded Deputy mouse Good morning, kids! 3. School BUS - DAY Inside, the three kids find their seats. Ari immediately opens his lunchbox . Ari Yes! Time for my bus snack! Just FYI fieldtrips to the supermarket are more common then you might think... MZ. MOLE Ok , Deputy Mouse, are you ready to drive us to... the supermarket? The kids react in outrage. we should be specific with whos talking here - so we know who to record Class No!/We can’t go to the supermarket for a field trip!/Mz. Mole! Deputy Mouse <SFX: CHUCKLES>. MZ. MOLE Just kidding! Deputy Mouse, please drive us to... the dentist! More outrage. <SFX: NO!/NOT THE DENTIST!/MZ. MOLE! WALLA>. ELINOR Mz Mole! Field trips are supposed to be fun! MZ. MOLE Ha ha. Just some old teacher silliness. No, today we are going to see something VERY SPECIAL. It’s a very tall kind of tree, called a Sequoia. OLIVE Sequoia. I like that word! could add a gag here - ari has trouble saying Sequoia - can trip over the word a few times. Olive leans in and says it properly since she just said she likes the word. Then ari repeats it and continues with asking mrs.mole his question ARI How tall is a Sequoia, Mz. Mole? Is it taller than the town hall tower? MZ. MOLE Why it’s the tallest tree IN THE WORLD! The kids <SFX: OOH / AHH /YAY!>. action in montage reads that kids sing - we would need to know what the song is but assuming we cant have them sing as we usually only have one song per episode. suggest we just add musical score instead DEPUTY MOUSE One Sequoia forest, coming right up! Deputy Mouse starts the bus (it purrs quietly, as it runs on green energy). 4. EXT. ANIMAL TOWN AND BEYOND -- DAY We see the bus roll out of Animal Town and over different landscapes. Slowly, the vegetation starts to look slightly different and more like Northern California, near the Sequoia forest. As the bus rolls along, we see a montage of the kids playing (while staying seated), singing, eating their snacks, reading, looking out the window, etc. <SFX: KIDS ON BUS LAUGHING AND MAYBE SINGING?> 5. EXT REDWOOD GROVE -- DAY The bus pulls up amid a grove of tall, thick trees (~2 times the height of the trees from their school, not giants yet). Elinor, Olive and Ari (polishing off an apple) get out and <SFX: OOH and AHH> . OLIVE Wow, these trees are so tall! again - the trees around the school are already taller - so this comparison doesnt work. maybe he says they are bigger than his cave ari They are much taller than our trees at home. They’re even taller than the school! Mz mole Alright everyone. Who is ready to see some tall trees? ELINOR Huh? Aren’t these the tall trees we came to see? MZ MOLE Ha! These are pretty tall, but they are just BABY Sequoia trees. The really tall trees are the ones in the forest! The kids <SFX: OOH and AHH> . MZ MOLE (CONT’D) Follow me to the giant Sequoias! They go for a little walk through the redwoods, enjoying the cool ferny climate, which is foresty but also different from home. We see Elinor and other kids happily looking around. They arrive at a small clearing, where there are some tall trees bigger than the first trees they saw. They have wide trunks, but the kids can see the tops of them from where they are. Olive Mz. Mole, are these the tall sequoia trees? ARI They must be! Look how tall they are. ELINOR Whoa... I think they’re taller than the town hall tower. On a wide view, we see that the trees are indeed several storeys high. Mz. Mole Nope! These are still young Sequoia trees. Let’s keep going! The kids <SFX: WHOA... WALLA> as they keep walking. Finally, they arrive at the main clearing. At first, the kids (in the show and at home), can’t tell they are next to a giant sequoia because it’s SO big that the base of it fills a whole side of the screen on a medium shot. Mz. Mole stretches her arms out. MZ MOLE Here we are, kids! What do you think? Pretty tall, right? The kids look around, a bit confused <SFX: HUH?/WHERE ARE THE TREES? WALLA>. ELINOR Where are the big trees, Mz Mole? MZ MOLE Right here! You’re standing right next to one of them! The camera pulls out to reveal that they are at the base of a giant sequoia. ARI That’s a tree? I thought it was the side of a mountain. ElinoR No, it is a tree. Look up! The kids look up. The tree is SO tall, they can’t even see the top. OLIVE SO... MUCH... TREE! Olive is in love. The kids are all astonished. ArI Now THAT is a tall tree! Elinor looks curious. ELINOR Mz. Mole, I have a question. MZ MOLE I knew you would, Elinor. ELINOR How tall is this tree? I can’t even see the top. Olive Yeah, without seeing the top, we can’t tell how tall it is. ARI That sounds like a job for everyone’s favorite bat. <pause> I’m talking about me. I’ll check it out! Ari takes off flying. "This action - having Ari fly all the way to the top - we would really have to have him out of breath as we've established as a young bat, he gets tired after a while. And this is certianly more than we've ever shown him fly. we will need to dissolve passage of time to cheat this as it would take an extremely long time to get to the top. Assets - we have many BG's/location designs needed at thois point. It'll be a challenge to show a super wide shot of the full view of this Sequoia - this would require a n incredibly wide shot creating an entire forest in one BG. we will need to be creative in how we stage these shots to be economical as well as visual story telling " MZ MOLE aside from the animation challenges I really like how these actions help give the perceptions of how tall the tree is. The time it takes him to fly up should be in direct relation to how tall the tree is! Be careful up there, Ari! We see Ari fly up... And up... And up. He passes some birds and keeps going... Up... and up... He goes through a small cloud... and keeps going! Finally, he gets to the very top. On a super wide shot, we get a full view of the scale of the tree. It’s about 300ft ( 90m ) tall. ARI Wowwwwww . Ari looks down to see his tiny class. There’s a short breeze, and his hat blows off and falls down. again - we'll cheat time otherwise it would take too long for the hat to fall all the way down Ari (CONT’D) My hat! We follow the hat down, down, down... The hat lands on Mz. Mole, followed shortly by Ari. ELINOR How tall was it, Ari? out of breath ARI So tall! But it also got thinner at the top. OLIVE It took your hat FOREVER to fall down. ELINOR Is it higher than the town hall tower? still out of breath ARI Way higher! I passed some birds on the way up! OLIVE Is it taller than the clouds? still slightly out of breath ARI I had to fly THROUGH a cloud to get to the top. The class kids all <SFX: OOOH WALLA>. OLIVE What was it like? ARI ( thinks for a beat) Mmm ... cloudy . The kids <SFX: GIGGLE>. Elinor looks up, curious. I was thinking she might wonder...do the trees just keep growing and never stop? Animals stop growing when they are adults...don't trees stop too? ELINOR I wonder... Why is this tree so tall? OLIVE Maybe it was planted by a giant? (Thought bubble of giant Olive planting a giant tree). ARI Or maybe it got stretched out by some birds? (Thought bubble of birds pulling on a tree). those are fun ideas' feels a bit old - maybe 'those are funny ideas' ELINOR ( giggling ) Those are fun ideas. I know, maybe it ate and drank a lot of water. ARI Wow. I don’t think I brought THAT many snacks. MZ MOLE Actually, you’re right, Elinor! This forest is perfect for these trees to grow in. They have just the right amount of water and sun so they just keep growing and growing. OLIVE Forever? MZ MOLE Some of these trees, like this one, are THOUSANDS of years old. General <SFX: WHOAAA> . ha OLIVE That’s older than my mom. MZ MOLE Ha! Yes, by quite a bit. ELINOR Mz. Mole, does that mean that WE will also get really tall when we get old? first she says 'I wish' and then says 'thank goodness' - seems to contradict herself MZ MOLE I wish! No, animals like you and me stop growing at some point. Thank goodness, or your parents would be super tall! They all <SFX LAUGH>. Olive goes up to the tree. OLIVE Look how wide the tree is here in the bottom. I probably can’t even hug it like I do our trees at home. Olive tries hugging the tree. Elinor I’ll help you, Olive! again we should be specific as to who we will have talking from the class and keep it consistant throughout the episode so we keep the number of kids recorded low Ari Me too! One by one, the whole class joins in, linking arms and making a circle around the tree <SFX: ME TOO! YEAH! WALLA>. MZ MOLE Ha ha, I love it! The kids form a circle, linking hands. Finally it takes the whole class including Mz. Mole. All the kids <SFX: GIGGLE> and enjoy this magical moment. ELINOR Wow. Why is the bottom of the tree so WIDE, Mz. Mole? thin from the very bottom to the top? MZ MOLE Hmmm , good question, Elinor. What do you think would happen if the tree was thin all the way up? The kids think about that for a beat <SFX: HMMM> . Ari leans back against a little sapling, which bends under his weight. ARI Woah ! This tree is really bendy . Elinor curiously tries bending the tree a little. Then she has an idea. She runs over to the base of the giant tree, pushes on it. It’s rock solid. ELINOR I know! If the tree was thin all the way up, it would be really bendy . And then it wouldn’t be able to stay up so tall. On a thought bubble, she imagines a really thin tall tree. The tree bends completely over. ARI It would fall over, just like my block tower! does Olive add new info from Elinors line 104? Maybe she can say it more like they are confirming their understanding that the base of the tree needs to be wide enough to so when the tree gets tall it does not fall over. OlIVE Maybe the tree has to be wide at the bottom so that it can be really tall at the top? the word "you" in this feels strange becuase she is talking about a tree and a tower Mz. Mole That’s exactly right, clever scientists! Being really wide at the bottom helps you be really tall without falling over. On their realization, the kids sing a song to recap: ELINOR/ARI/OLIVE Sequoias grow up, up, up Into the sky Sequoias grow big, big, big We wonder why How do these trees Grow so tall When the wind blows Why don’t they fall? These trees are tall and oh, so wide That helps them stay standing upright! Sequoias grow up, up, up Into the sky Sequoias grow big, big, big Tall and wide As the song ends, the kids marvel at the tree and run around the base of it. We fade out. 6. INT ARI’s KITCHEN -- DAY Ari comes in the door, bubbling with excitement. ARI I’m home! His father is feeding Miri. Mr. BAT How was your field trip? ARI Oh wow, it was awesome. I saw the tallest trees in the WORLD. MR. BAT Wow. Taller than me? ARI SO much taller than you. But also, it was really wide. MR. BAT Hmm. Wider than me? Ha! ARI A little bit. They <SFX: LAUGH>. "suggest 'But that gave me an idea on how to build my block tower. Miri, wanna help me?'" Ari (CONT’D) But that gave me an idea to build my block tower. Miri, wanna help me? 7. INT ARI’s LIVING ROOM / KITCHEN In a call back to the opening scene, we see Ari holding up Miri as she places the last block carefully. We pull out and see that Ari is also being held up by Mr. Bat. Miri places the block on a VERY TALL (~20 blocks) tower that is wider at the base. ARI Just like the tree, if you want to be tall, it helps to be wide at the bottom. Miri <SFX: GIGGLES>. ARI (CONT’D) Thank you, Miri! They stand back and admire the tower. Mr. BAT Nice job, Ari. But you know, the most fun thing about building a tall tower is... ARI Making it fall down! Miri knocks the tower over and they all <SFX: LAUGH>. END

EWW152 "Big Trees" D1 18Oct19 .

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ELINOR WONDERS WHY EWW152: Big trees Written by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson Question: How do I make my block tower tall? Logline: Ari wants to build as big a block tower as he can, but it keeps falling down until he gets some building inspiration from the sequoia trees. Curriculum: 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: 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 a plant or animal help it survive in its environment.(Elinor and her friends observe the size of the sequoia tree, especially the circumference of the base.) ND3 . ( RTL Crosscutting concept ‘Structure and Function’): Under-stand 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. (Ari decides to copy the structure of the big tree to help him build a more stable block tower at home). SEP1 . Asking questions (science) and defining problems ( engineer-ing ) a. Demonstrate curiosity about the greater world outside of their local environment 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 a new or improved object or tool (engineering) (Elinor and her friends observe the structure of the Sequoia, which Ari relates to the problem of his unstable block tower). SEP3 . Planning and carrying out investigations a. Identify and use a greater variety of tools to extend the senses for observing, measuring, and recording da-ta about objects and events b. Compare and contrast objects and events by describing similarities and differences in detail c. Demonstrate an ability to make and test predictions based on background knowledge and experiences d. With guidance, plan and conduct simple investigations using simple tools e. Design and build a solution to a simple problem (engineering) SEP5 . Using mathematics and computational thinking d. Use measurement tools to measure and quantify properties of observable phenomena and objects (Elinor and her friends measure the base of the tree by counting the number of kids it takes to encircle it) 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 that the Sequoia is more stable be-cause of it’s wide base, and Ari used that idea to make his block tower more stable). FIRST DRAFT: October 18, 2019 ARI MIRI MR BAT ELINOR OLive MZ. MoLE Mz mole Mr. BAT Deputy mouse Class ELINOR/ARI/OLIVE (V.O.) (O.S.) (O.C.) (CONT'D) (SUBTITLE) (comically loud WHisper) (to olive) INT EXT I/E 1 3 INT ARI'S LIVING ROOM / DAY EXT FOREST AND ANIMAL TOWN SCHOOL BUS 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.