1. EXT PARK -- DAY
Open on Senor Tapir, with his guitar, in the park of Animal Town, sitting on a tree stump at the edge of a pond. A group of kids sit at his feet, including Elinor and Silas Cheetah.
SENOR TAPIR
Let’s sing a song about SPEED. Who knows what the word speed means?
Elinor’s hand shoots up. She doesn’t wait to be called on.
ELINOR
Speed is how fast or slow something goes.
Silas cheetah
I can go fast!
Silas suddenly bolts off screen and disappears.
SENOR TAPIR
You sure are fast!
(
shouting
a little louder)
But you might want to come back to hear the song.
Silas
(from far away) Coming!
Silas runs really fast back to sit down as Senor Tapir starts to strum his guitar and sings. After a line or two, we transition to a simpler style of animation that describes what he is singing.
SENOR TAPIR
Have you ever watched a train rolling down the track,
And looked at the shape of its nose?
The scientist
Eiji
Nakatsu
did,
And this is how the story goes.
2. EXT. JAPAN -- DAY
Eiji
Nakatsu
(a Japanese Macaque) watches the
Shinkansen
bullet train with a round nose zoom past on a train track.
SENOR TAPIR (CONT’D)
He helped design a bullet train
For people in Japan to ride,
He looked for ideas to make the train better,
By watching the birds outside.
Eiji
Nakatsu
watches a kingfisher bird dive from the tree branches down into the water to catch a fish. We see a close up of the bird’s beak, which is long, pointy and wedge-shaped.
He saw the diving kingfisher bird,
Its long, pointy bill so unique!
He decided to change the bullet train’s nose
To be shaped like a kingfisher beak.
We see the original shape of the bullet train’s nose (which was long and round) change to the shape of the kingfisher’s beak. The train goes through a tunnel and fast down the track. We see the shape of the train’s nose compared to the shape of the kingfisher’s beak. The train continues down the track, past trees, mountains, cities, houses, etc.
He got to
choo--choo--choose
the shape of the train
And make the train better than before,
So he
use--use--used
the shape of a bird
And the train went faster than before! Once more!
(
sung
even faster)
He got to
choo
--choo--choose
the shape of the train
And make the train better than before,
So he
use--use--used
the shape of a bird
And the train went faster than before! Once more!
(
sung
even faster)
He got to
choo--choo--choose
the shape of the train
And make the train better than before,
So he
use--use--used
the shape of a bird
And the train went faster than before!
3. EXT PARK -- DAY
senor tapir (CONT’D)
Whoah
that song makes me want to go fast!
Silas
Let’s all go fast! Follow me!
Silas runs fast off screen, Senor Tapir tosses his guitar on the grass to follow, and all the kids run fast after him off screen.
<SFX:
KIDS CHEER WALLA>
ELINOR WONDERS WHY
109 interstitial: senor tapir
Written by
LAURA
SAMS
FOLLOWS:
“SPEED RACER”
CONNECTION: Shape is important for speed
CURRICULUM: Señor Tapir sings a song about
Eiji
Nakatsu
, who loved birds and designed the bullet train to match the shape of the Kingfisher bird.
SEP:
Design solutions (engineering).
ND3:
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 (
ND3
).
FIRST DRAFT: 03-08-19
SECOND DRAFT:
SENOR TAPIR
Kids
ELINOR
SALLY BEAVER
Silas
(V.O.)
(O.S.)
(O.C.)
(CONT'D)
(SUBTITLE)
INT
EXT
I/E
1
FOLLOWS: "THE AMAZING EXPANDABLE CLUBHOUSE"
EXT PARK -- DAY
DAY
NIGHT
AFTERNOON
MORNING
EVENING
LATER
MOMENTS LATER
CONTINUOUS
THE NEXT DAY
CUT TO:
FADE IN:
FADE OUT.
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FADE TO BLACK.