Adam suggested changing the main character, as a CGI penguin would instantly be compared to any Pixar have already done, examples include; Surf's Up, Happy Feet, the Pixar short etc. Also, CGI isn't great for big wobbly characters and the anatomy of a penguin doesn't aloow for easy animation, ie short stumpy legs. From this, I sat down and from a list, which included sea horse and insects, decided to go with a lizard. Lanky, simple features and biped. The main character would take characteristics from a Mr Bean-esque character, the way he handles situations-viewing everything as a hindrance. Also the relationship Mr Bean has with his Teddy is an interesting point to look at. Just wants to get on with things his way, simple carefree. The Egg is the "hindrance". I like the idea of the Egg having a mind of it's own, rolling about inadvertently "demanding" attention, similar to the way young children do.
Here's what I have from this point till the actually formulation of the script.
One line synopsis of film:
A Lizard, who lives a carefree life, gets tied down when he has to care for an egg.
Overview of story:
- Opens the door one morning to discover an egg on his doorstep.
- Attached to the egg is a post-it note reading "This is Yours".
- Decides to look after it, albeit grudgingly.
-Tries to carry on with his usual lifestyle, but finds the gg interferes in one way or another;
"demanding attention".
- Loses his cool and lashes out at the egg, dropkicking it in anger.
- Panics, regretting his actions. Egg hits the floor and cracks. He runs to the egg.
- Crack gets larger. He fears for the eggs safety.
- The egg hatches, newborn curled up inside. He realises how much it meant to him and cherishes the newborn.
I wasn't sure how to develop the middle section of the story, just having mishaps was too vague, Rob suggested I brain stormed some ideas for situations that could occur. Here's what I came up with, simple ideas that were quick and delivered the message of being "tied down".
From this, I selected three scenarios I thought would work. I decided on;
- Attempting to fry an egg for a sandwich, but the Egg "guilts" the Lizard out of cooking. He sits
down looking disheartened with a bowl of cereal.
- Lying down to watch TV, however, the Egg rolls in and blocks his view. The Lizard moves his head
to see the TV, but the egg moves in the way "demanding attention".
- Pyramid of bottles idea. Have him stack bottles in an obsessive manner, and the Egg ends up
knocking them over somehow, thus being the final straw tipping the Lizard over the edge.
Talking to Nick, he suggested having the pyramid of bottles feature more, show him stacking bottles, that way the importance of the tower is clear. I liked this idea, making it seem like a hobby, collecting of empty beer bottles. (I heard all men are autistic in some way or another, the fact that they have to have a certain way of doing things, a form of order. All men collect something or other. An obsessive habit...Duno if this is true...who knows, anyway!) As the film goes on, the tower getting bigger and bigger, until the Egg knocks it over.
So then it's a matter of putting it in a script.
Next post: Aesthetic, visual references and similar things.
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