RALF
RALF
EXT. OUTER SPACE - MARS AND EARTH, DAY A red planet brightly shines with a thin veil of amber gases glowing around it. In the background Earth is half covered in a shadow and appears to be very far away. EXT. LESOTHIANA CITY, DAY Tall ultra-modern buildings all made from glass and iron surround an enormous mud lake. RALF (V.O.) This is Mars. It was once beautiful. Now it’s a chaotic wasteland. INT. RALF’S LIVING ROOM, DAY An oval television screen hovers in the living room. Sudden news flash accompanied by ’DUN DUN DUN’. Screen shows: A tubby hippo creature in a respectable black suit poses rigidly. He is holding a translucent computer tablet with his bulky hand. The other hand touches an ear piece. He stares directly at the camera. The screen to his left is showing the destruction of the city: civilians are charging at the authorities holding weapons. TEXT on screen scrolling along the bottom: ’Last night scenes of violence gripped the city of Akiva as its energy levels reached zero’ NEWS ANCHOR (Posh accent) We are now going live to Akiva with Jenny Kulas. Jenny can you explain to us here in the studio what has been happening since last night’s events? Ralf’s mother ANITA (45) is a large-breasted, stocky hippo creature with blonde curly hair. She walks into the living room area from the connecting open plan kitchen. She stands beside Ralf with her hands on her hips.
(CONTINUED)
CARRIE BELLAMY
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2. ANITA Ralf don’t listen to that rubbish, turn it over!
She picks up the remote and changes the channel. ANITA (muttering to herself) Typical, you’re only interested in the crazy news stories. She walks back to the kitchen. The channel changes back to the news. NEWS ANCHOR As George Bulmer is still missing, his brother and Vice President Benjamin Bulmer has assumed power and has been making controversial changesANITA (O.S.) (mumbles to herself) All rubbish! RALF (15) is a slender hippo creature with no belly and less chunky features. He has a small tuft of black hair spiked into a mohican, and he is wearing a band T-shirt with four male hippos on it which reads ’MUD PISTOLS’. He is sprawled out on the sofa with one leg hanging off the edge, surrounded by empty chocolate bar wrappers and dirty dishes. RALF Yeah Mum, got any choc-rocks? Two bars of chocolate hurtle towards him and smack him square on the forehead. Ouch!
RALF
Ralf’s plumpish grey hand rubs his head as he eats with another simultaneously. The sound of a doorbell. ANITA (O.S.) Ralf! Door! The doorbell rings again.
(CONTINUED) RALF
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3. ANITA (O.S.) Ralf for flamingo’s sake answer the door.
Ralf grunts as he slowly raises his limbs one by one. EXT. RALF’S HOUSE, DAY GORDON (16) is an overly plump hippo creature; he has extra chubby cheeks and a wide grin with pearly white teeth. He greets Ralf at the door. GORDON Yeah boy! Look what I got. His chubby hand is holding a computer game called ’Assassins Sludge’. No way!
RALF
Ralf grabs him by his T-shirt and pulls him inside at such a speed his body becomes invisible. INT. RALF’S HOUSE, DAY The two boys’ heads are situated directly in front of the hovering screen. They are engrossed in the game. The screen turns black. GORDON What the hell! ANITA It’s just a blackout boys. Something is wrong with the southern energy grid, Mpower said this could happen for the next few days. RALF But the power is controlled by the orb reactor? ANITA I’m sure they know what they are doing son. Both boys chuck down their controllers, lean back and sigh. Ralf turns to Gordon. (CONTINUED) 3
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4. RALF It’s a joke, why does no one care about this planet? GORDON The planet’s fine Ralf, you’ve got to stop reading those conspiracy theories.
Ralf turns away from Gordon. GORDON Come on, let’s head down to Zulu Creek? Gordon nudges Ralf. RALF UURH one day someone will listen to me! Okay then. See ya later Mum. ANITA Okay. Be back by seven and rememberRALF (sarcastically) Don’t go past Mud Slime Mountain. Ralf grabs his backpack and slings it over his shoulder. The front door slams. EXT. LESOTHIANA CITY, DAY Ralf and Gordon plod along at a fairly slow pace through the suburban-looking street. The roads are a burnt orange grit and the pavements are slightly raised sand mounds the same reddish colour as the mountainous terrain in the background. Ralf reaches into his backpack and pulls out a choc-rock. He squeezes the wrapper. It is squishy, not solid. WHAT THE-!
RALF
Ralf looks down at his hands. He continues to squeeze the melted wrapper repeatedly. They turn right and cross the road until they reach a small mud lake. The lake is buzzing with teenage hipponians sailing, sunbathing and paddling. (CONTINUED) RALF
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5.
Ralf continues to eat his choc-rock whilst his eyes scan the lakeside. A group of male hipponians struts towards them, ANDY (17), wearing a football T-shirt and shorts, amongst them. ANDY (sniggering) Oooh, look who it is! A skinny little excuse for a hipponian. Andy walks into Ralf’s shoulder and knocks him clean off his feet. He is followed by the pack of lads behind him, all laughing. GORDON Sorry mate. I shoulda stepped in but he’s picking the footie squad next week. VALARIE (16), a curvaceous young hipponian wearing a white T-shirt, dungaree shorts, thick rimmed glasses and a geeky rucksack, bounds towards them. VALARIE Ralfy! Are you okay? Ralf’s face is covered in chocolate. He jumps up and as his feet hit the ground they create a loud bang. Dust flies everywhere. He snarls and shows his teeth. He licks his entire face with his tongue until it is clean. RALF (grumpily) Yeah. Let’s get out of here. Ralf marches ahead out towards the desert. Valarie and Gordon look at each other then follow. VALARIE Where are you going Ralf? RALF To the forest. Green Watch says the forests are dying. VALARIE The forests can’t die! Nature is protected by the orb. You know that.
(CONTINUED) 5
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6. RALF That leads me to my next theory! VALARIE No no no, I’ve had enough of your theories.
Valarie rolls her eyes. VALARIE Why do you believe such rubbish! RALF Fine! Come with me and prove me wrong. VALARIE I’ll have to, you will never survive without me. Valarie playfully shoves Ralf. Sand starts to spiral upwards from the ground in a circular motion creating a orange gritty tornado. They all look at each other. GORDON RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN! Clouds of sand rise up around them. Gordon is in the lead. His foot stamps down and a crack appears underneath it. He takes another step but is swallowed into the ground, shortly followed by Ralf and Valarie. CUT TO: INT. MARS’ CORE, DAY Mars’ core is a million metres below the surface of the planet. It appears a lot like a burning cave. The stone walls are tinged with a red glow. Steam shoots out from various cracks. BENJAMIN BULMER (40) is a heavily built hipponian with a handlebar moustache, wearing an immaculate black pinstriped suit, blue tie and shiny black shoes. BENJAMIN BULMER No one would ever think to look for you here, isn’t it genius.
(CONTINUED) RALF
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7.
PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER (45) is a moderately built hipponian with scruffy hair and slight stubble. He is wearing a dirty white shirt and scuffed black suit trousers. The top button of the shirt is undone and the sleeves rolled up. Sweat is dripping off his face. PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER You shall never have the power of the orb. George looks over at a luminous blue orb half encased in the cave wall. The half of the orb that is visible has flickers of electrical energy coming off it. BENJAMIN BULMER Your weakness is repulsive. You have never taken on the orb’s energy for your own. Benjamin walks towards the energized orb and gently places his hands around it as if it is warming him like a fire. His hands move a little closer to touching the orb and start to tremble. BENJAMIN BULMER I can feeeeeel the energy. Smiling, Benjamin grabs the orb. He pulls it out of the wall only to find that the other half is missing. BENJAMIN BULMER (angrily) The power from the orb can only be released when it is whole. WHERE IS THE OTHER HALF? Benjamin growls. PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER Somewhere you will never find it! INT. UNDERGROUND TUNNEL, DAY As the dust clears Gordon and Valarie are in a pile, Valarie lying directly on top of Gordon. They look at each other for a moment. URGH!
VALARIE
Gordon pauses for a split second. (CONTINUED) 7
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8. GORDON URGH! Get off me.
They both jump up, debris flying everywhere. They search around for Ralf. Ralf! Ralf!
GORDON VALARIE
Rustling comes from the left of the rubble. Ralf’s head pops up. He shakes it at a super speed to get all of the muck off. GORDON (sarcastically) Great job Ralf! Gordon smacks him on the head. VALARIE How on Mars are we going to get out of this? This is so much worse than the time we got stuck in the doughnut swamp. RALF S’alright. We got out of there didn’t we? GORDON Where the hell are we? Valarie examines the walls of the tunnel around her. VALARIE Looks like one of the old underground tramlines, before hover-shuttles and space stormers. GORDON Which way do we go? They all glance to the left and then to the right. RALF Let’s go this way.
(CONTINUED) RALF
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9.
Ralf forages around in the rubble to find his rucksack. He opens it and looks inside. We see an entire bag of choc-rocks. His eyes are gleaming and he smiles as he hugs his backpack. He points to the right and walks that way, trying to avoid stepping on unstable rubble. VALARIE How did you even make that decision? RALF I smell something good this way. Smells like pancakes and CHOCOLATE CAKE! Valarie rolls her eyes. VALARIE You’re mad! Gordon lightly touches Valarie on the shoulder as he walks past. GORDON Relax, Val. If it leads to nothing we can just turn around. Sweat drips off Ralf’s snout. He leans against the tunnel for support. RALF It is so hot in here. Valarie chucks him a bottle with the label ’S-LUSH juice’. Ralf fumbles but catches it eventually. Cheers!
RALF (O.S.)
Valarie and Gordon continue on but they stop when they hear a noise. ZEANON (O.S.) (singing) Oh, oobee doo, I wanna be like you, I wanna walk like you, talk like you. Gordon places a plump finger over Valarie’s snout. GORDON (Whispering) Shh. Is that? Is that someone singing? (CONTINUED) 9
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10. VALARIE (whispering) But who would be down here?
Ralf finishes the bottle of juice as he comes up behind Valarie and Gordon. He chucks the bottle behind him and burps so loud that the tunnel shakes. Valarie and Gordon both put their hands over his snout, creating silence and stopping the tunnel from shaking. The ceiling falls in on the section behind them. VALARIE (whispers angrily) What have you done? Ralf looks from side to side innocently and shrugs his shoulders. Nothing.
RALF
He smiles. The ground starts shaking and the sound of footsteps gets louder and louder. The three teenage hipponians move as close to the rubble as possible, as if that can protect them from whatever is coming their way. They all look at each other. VALARIE What could thatThere is a ferocious growl from offscreen. The footsteps get louder still. All three friends huddle closer and closer together. A gigantic shadow fills the stone tunnel in front of them: the enormous shadow creature is wielding a weapon of some kind. RALF (quivering) We’re done for! It gets bigger and bigger until a huge fluffy hippo walks around the corner in a pink frilly apron holding a spatula. ZEANON (105) is in the shape of a hippo but is very hairy, almost like a bear. His hair is messy and tangled. He walks hunched over with a massive belly.
(CONTINUED) RALF
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11. ZEANON (in a slow husky voice) Hello.
Zeanon grins. The three teenage hipponians remain stiff. ZEANON You no speak? (laughing) A man I knew long time ago. He no speak either. Zeanon turns and starts to waddle back to where he came from. ZEANON (O.S.) I make pancakes now. Ralf’s snout rises with the smell of food. He sniffs repeatedly and then turns to Valarie and Gordon. RALF Well I don’t know about you guys but I’m definitely going to investigate that. Ralf walks snout first. Valarie puts her arm out in front of Ralf to stop him. VALARIE (desperately) It could be a trap? Ralf walks off following the smell of pancakes. Gordon shoots a sympathetic smile at Valarie and then follows him. Valarie huffs and follows. INT. ZEANON’S CAVE, DAY The three teenage hipponians are sitting wearily at a makeshift wooden table. Zeanon is whistling. He wiggles his bum to the tune as he flicks pancakes from the pan straight to the plate. The pile grows to twenty pancakes high in less than five seconds. ZEANON Pancake time! Zeanon turns around, bringing over the plate of pancakes. Valarie and Gordon fidget. Ralf’s gigantic tongue licks his lips and he reaches out for the pancakes. He demolishes the plate before the others even have their first bite. (CONTINUED) 11
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12. ZEANON Someone hungry?
Valarie glances at Ralf then back to Zeanon. VALARIE He’s always hungry. ZEANON My name Zeanon, what yours? GORDON I’m Gordon. Gordon smiles at Zeanon. VALARIE Valarie, but you can call me Val. Ralf chews. VALARIE And that’s Ralf. ZEANON I am friend of President George. Zeanon smiles proudly like a child. RALF (while chewing his food) You mean the one that’s missing? Zeanon stands up and launches the table at the wall. Ralf, Valarie and Gordon remain still in their seats. ZEANON No, no. What I do with special light box now? Ralf looks around to his mates and his eyebrows furrow. Light box?
RALF
Zeanon jumps up and leans directly over Ralf. He looks down at Ralf, his eyes becooming darker. ZEANON (angrily) You try steal it from me? Ralf squirms and looks to Valarie and Gordon for support. (CONTINUED) RALF
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13. RALF I don’t even know what it is, why would I try and steal it from you? ZEANON Did his brother send you here? President warn me. RALF I have no idea what you are talking about. Benjamin Bulmer? The guy who is in charge?
Ralf turns around to look at his friends for support. VALARIE (laughing) Is that bad? Zeanon roars and stomps over to her, putting his arms against the walls and boxing her in. ZEANON (Furiously) It be you! Valarie trembles. Gordon jumps in front of her. Zeanon stares into Gordon’s eyes and he growls. Saliva from his mouth drips down as he continues to snarl at them.
STOP!
RALF (Yelling)
Zeanon turns his head. Saliva is flung at Gordon’s face and slowly drips down it. EWWW!
GORDON
RALF Listen, do we look like we would work for the Vice President of Hipponia? Mhh.
ZEANON
Zeanon’s face relaxes. ZEANON Is President really missing? (CONTINUED) 13
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14.
Yes!
RALF
Gordon wipes the slime off of his face. GORDON Can we move now? Zeanon moves backwards and looks down at the ground. ZEANON I protect the light box, is pure energy. I keep it safe. Zeanon slumps down onto the floor. RALF We will help you. Marching sounds from above the tunnel are heard as cracks in the ceiling start to appear. CUT TO: INT. OPENING OF THE TUNNEL, DAY Hipponian officers wearing basic black military uniform and holding coconut rifles march in unison. INT. ZEANON’S CAVE, DAY Dust falls onto Gordon’s head. ZEANON Oh no no. They are coming. Zeanon shakes his head erratically. The sound of heavy footsteps is getting closer. Then an EXPLOSION is heard. ZEANON I will stop them. Take orb. Zeanon rips off a painting from the wall, revealing a hole behind it. He hands Ralf a rusty box: a glimmer of blue light escapes from the hinges of the box. He turns the painting over revealing a map, and hands this to Ralf. ZEANON Follow to the core. If his plan is taking core’s energy for himself it will kill the planet. He will be (MORE) (CONTINUED) RALF
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15. ZEANON (cont’d) looking for this so he can harness the power for himself. RALF He is trying to steal the planet’s energy?
The FOOTSTEPS are loud, as if they are just around the corner. ZEANON No explain. You go now! Run, follow the tunnel, go right till you reach the mountain’s core. A HIPPONIAN OFFICER dressed in black, holding a semi-automatic coconut rifle, barges around the corner and aims his gun. HIPPONIAN OFFICER Sir! I’ve got them. Zeanon leaps forward.
RUN!
ZEANON (in mid air)
RALF We can’t leave you here. VALARIE We don’t have time to waste! Let’s go! NOW! Valarie drags both Ralf and Gordon away. The military hipponian is squished to the ground by Zeanon and fires his weapon. More military hipponians rush in. HIPPONIAN OFFICER #2 What have you done? HIPPONIAN OFFICER He jumped me. Four more military hipponians run in and lift Zeanon up together. HIPPONIAN OFFICER Some kids ran that way. The military hipponian points in the direction they ran.
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16. INT. TUNNEL JUNCTION, DAY GORDON Two bloody tunnels? VALARIE He said the right one. Gordon walks ahead a little. The ceiling starts to crumble, the walls cave in and Gordon is trapped on the other side. VALARIE Gordon! Are you okay? GORDON (O.S.) (coughing) Yeah I’ll live. VALARIE What are we going to do? Valarie turns to Ralf. Dunno.
RALF
Valarie turns to the rubble. VALARIE The tunnels might meet up? We’ll walk to the end of this one and try and find you. GORDON (O.S.) Okay guys, be careful. They walk through the left tunnel. Ralf puts the box in his bag. Valarie is marching at a greater speed than Ralf. Ralf’s belly rumbles. He sits down against the wall. Valarie turns to look at Ralf. VALARIE RALF, now is not the time. RALF But I’m wasting away. He pulls out a choc-rock from his bag. It is in liquid form now. As he grabs it the top bursts open and a chocolatey liquid shoots out from it all over his face. (CONTINUED) RALF
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17. RALF Ahhh, now it’s completely melted!
Valarie turns around and laughs hysterically. RALF We gotta sort this out Val, it’s getting serious now. Valarie rolls her eyes as Ralf licks his face clean. VALARIE Get up and get a move on then. The tunnel starts to become noticeably brighter. RALF Can you see that? It’s light. We are at the end. Ralf turns the map upside down then back round again. Valarie stands beside him. VALARIE Where are we then? Errr.
RALF
Valarie grabs the map from Ralf. They continue to walk. It gets brighter and brighter, and they have to squint. EXT. ABANDONED WASTELAND, EARLY EVENING Valarie looks at the trees in the distance. VALARIE Where is the other tunnel? Where’s Gordon? Ralf’s bag begins to glow. They continue to walk until they reach a forest. All of the trees are bare and leafless. VALARIE Look at all the trees. They’re dying. RALF I told you! I told you something was going on! (CONTINUED) 17
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18.
A small army plane flies overhead. Quick.
VALARIE
Ralf grabs Valarie’s arm and yanks her into the forest. They crouch under a large tree behind some rusty coloured shrubbery until the sound of the plane stops. They both exhale. RALF That was close. From behind the shrubbery a small, round red being jumps up and down. Its hair is made out of fire. It is letting out a high pitched squeak. It bounces up. Hi.
JUMPING JACK
It bounces down. Ralf and Valarie jump and look at each other. It bounces up. Hi.
JUMPING JACK
It bounces down. Then back up again at super speed. JUMPING JACK Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. It bounces over the shrubbery and onto Ralf’s face. RALF Urgh get it off, get it off! Ralf wriggles as Valarie laughs hysterically. The dead-looking TREE that they used as a shelter leans down and a face appears on the trunk. TREE (deep booming voice) This is no place for you. Valarie and Ralf jump to their feet immediately, the perfectly round Jumping Jack stuck to Ralf’s face. The Jumping Jack jumps down and bounces chaotically. (CONTINUED) RALF
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19.
The box in Ralf’s bag is shining bright. The bouncing red ball jumps up and down so fast that it becomes a blur. Ralf pulls out the rusty box from his bag. Ralf opens the box. The light seeps out onto the tree and brings it back to life. RALF Woah, incredible! Valarie holds out the map. She points to the mountain and follows where they have come from with her finger on the page. VALARIE The tunnel that Gordon is walking through brings him to the entrance of the core. If we go this way we can meet up with him. Valarie points in the direction they are facing. INT. TUNNEL, NIGHT Gordon is walking through the tunnel. GORDON Ahhh hippo hell! He kicks the dirt aggressively in front of him as he waddles forwards through the tunnel. The tunnel then splits in two. Gordon stops in his tracks, looks at the right tunnel then at the left and back again. GORDON Of course it gets worse! He looks at both tunnels again and then walks through the left one. EXT. FOREST, NIGHT Ralf and Valarie are creeping through the shadowy forest. The dying tree branches dangle in front of their faces. VALARIE If we just go rightRalf turns around to look in the direction they have just come from. (CONTINUED) 19
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20. RALF Did you see that?
Valarie continues staring at the map. VALARIE I’m sure it was just the wind. Flashlights and laser beams are visible in the distance. RALF Er ValarieVALARIE (angrily) What is it? Ralf starts walking at a fast pace. RALF We have got to get out of here. Valarie glances backwards. Valarie and Ralf start running and bounding over rocks. VALARIE Look, there! Valarie points to a large hole in the ground. Ralf looks back at her and they both pick up speed, their bodies moving in sync as they slide across the ground leaving large hippo-sized grooves in the dark orangey terrain. They disappear into the ground; only their eyes remain visible. OFFICER DRAKE (17), a young hipponian in full uniform, is searching amongst the trees. Ralf looks at Valarie. He inhales as if to sneeze. Valarie grabs his snout and glares at him. Officer Drake’s head turns to the sound of ruffling in the opposite direction from Valarie and Ralf. He starts to walk in that direction. Ralf and Valarie look at each other. Ralf nods so Valarie removes her hand. RALF Ahhhchhooooooooooooooooo! Ralf’s sneeze into the dirt is so powerful that mud sprays back in his face. Valarie stares at Ralf. Neither of them move a muscle. (CONTINUED) RALF
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21.
The hipponian officer darts directly to the hole in the ground and shines his light in. Ralf and Valarie stare up at him. HIPPONIAN OFFICER DRAKE Oh yeah I am getting promoted for this. He smiles and reaches for the laser gun on his utility belt, when out of the sky a Jumping Jack jumps onto his face and bites his snout with its sharp teeth. HIPPONIAN OFFICER DRAKE (panicking) Ahhhhhh! Valarie and Ralf jump up out of the ditch. Ralf grabs Officer Drake’s laser gun from his holster. He stands with his legs apart, holds the gun with both hands and points it at the hipponian officer. RALF Hold it right there! The Jumping Jack leaps off and starts giggling hysterically at a high pitch. A small amount of blood is dripping down Officer Drake’s snout. VALARIE Ralf, are you out of your mind? That’s a criminal offence! RALF Let’s tie him up and put him somewhere they won’t find him. Valarie takes the officer’s handcuffs, pulls both of his arms behind him and handcuffs him. Done!
VALARIE
RALF He might call out for help! Valarie rips off one of the officer’s sleeves and ties it around his mouth. VALARIE Can we please try and find Gordon. Valarie and Ralf walk off. Valarie is holding the map and points to where the tunnel they suspect Gordon has gone down meets the mountainside. (CONTINUED) 21
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22. VALARIE This is where the core meets the underground tunnel.
EXT. FOREST, NIGHT Five flashlights are searching in the woods. HIPPONIAN GENERAL Officer Drake! ALL HIPPONIAN OFFICERS Officer Drake! The officers are all walking in a line, shining their lights from side to side. HIPPONIAN OFFICER DRAKE (O.S.) (muffled) Help! Help! HIPPONIAN GENERAL (shouting) Quiet! HIPPONIAN OFFICER DRAKE (O.S.) (muffled) Help! Help! All the officers run in the direction of the muffled noise. They shine their lights into the pit where Officer Drake is lying tied up and gagged. A little, energetic red Jumping Jack is bouncing enthusiastically and laughing hysterically next to him. The hipponian general shoots his laser and stuns it in mid air. HIPPONIAN GENERAL (chuckling) How did you find yourself in there boy! The group of officers all laugh and snort. HIPPONIAN GENERAL Get him out of there. Two officers jump into the ditch.
(CONTINUED) RALF
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23.
The hipponian general walks off, reaching for his mini tablet device. He holds the screen in front of his face and clicks ’Accept’ on the touchscreen pad. Benjamin Bulmer is visible on it. BENJAMIN BULMER (angrily) Have you retrieved the other half of the orb? HIPPONIAN GENERAL No sir, but we are close. BENJAMIN BULMER You better be. I wouldn’t want Margaret and Lilly to be hurt because of your incompetence. No si-
HIPPONIAN GENERAL
The screen goes blank. The general yelps and chucks the pad on the ground, shattering it. HIPPONIAN GENERAL (roaring) Someone get me a new tabcom. INT. TUNNEL CLOSE TO THE CORE, NIGHT Gordon is walking through the tunnel. PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER (O.S.) (mumbling) You’ll never find it. Gordon pauses and gazes down the tunnel. He starts to walk with lighter footsteps. He peers around the corner of the tunnel. BENJAMIN BULMER (O.S.) Don’t worry, I will. And once I have it you will never be able to stop me. Gordon leans so far forward balance. He sways forwards, propellers trying to regain head first onto the ground. rock fall off the walls.
that he starts to lose his swinging his arms around like his balance, but finally falls The ground shakes and bits of
(CONTINUED) 23
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24. CUT TO:
INT. MARS’ CORE, NIGHT Benjamin’s head snaps to the left. He snarls, revealing his teeth. He stomps in the direction of the noise. Waving his hand in the direction he is going he signals to two armed guards to follow. He stomps around the corner. INT. TUNNEL CLOSE TO THE CORE, NIGHT Gordon scrambles up and turns to run in the opposite direction. Hold it!
BENJAMIN BULMER (O.S.)
Gordon freezes with one arm in the air and one foot off the ground. He pivots around using the the foot still on the ground, then slowly relaxes his arm and his foot. Get him!
BENJAMIN BULMER (O.S.)
The two armed guards run towards Gordon, grabbing an arm each. GORDON What are you doing! Gordon tries to resist, swinging his arms about. GORDON (angrily) You can’t do this! The guards grab a tighter hold and pick him up off of the ground. They follow Benjamin back to the core. INT. MARS’ CORE, NIGHT BENJAMIN BULMER Someone to keep you company dear brother! The two armed guards throw Gordon onto the ground next to George. George rushes to him. Gordon clutches at his right arm and his face scrunches up in pain. (CONTINUED) RALF
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25. PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER Are you hurt?
George reaches out towards Gordon’s arm. GORDON (nervously) No Mr President sir. It’s nothing. BENJAMIN BULMER Isn’t this sweet! PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER Come on Ben, let him go, he’s an innocent boy! BENJAMIN BULMER (furiously) I’ll decide who stays and goes! Not you! Benjamin’s eyes bulge and his snout scrunches up in anger. He walks towards one of the guards. BENJAMIN BULMER Get me the tech team! I’ve had enough of waiting. The guard nods. Yes sir.
GUARD
EXT. BETWEEN THE FOREST AND THE MOUNTAIN, MORNING Valarie is holding the map, turning it around until she is satisfied it is facing the right way. Ralf is rummaging around in his backpack. Valarie nudges Ralf with her elbow. VALARIE Ralf, could you at least pretend to help me! AHUH. Ralf!
RALF VALARIE
(CONTINUED) 25
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26.
She shoves him so hard he falls flat on his face. His bag goes flying and lands on the floor a metre in front of them. The rusty box falls out and the lid opens. A bright light blinds Ralf and Valarie. A blue semi-spherical orb shoots out of the box and hovers in front of Ralf. It starts to whiz around in front of his face until Ralf goes cross-eyed. It then starts floating forwards. RALF Quick, we gotta follow it! Urghhh.
VALARIE
Ralf looks at Valarie. RALF Come on, I think it knows how to get to the core. Ralf’s eyes follow its every move. The ball of energy glides along until they reach the edge of Mud Slime Mountain. VALARIE How do we even get in? RALF Hold on to my hand. Ralf holds his hand out to Valarie. RALF Trust me Val. Valarie takes Ralf’s hand. Ralf moves closer to the half orb and then gently places his hand on it. As he does so the blue glow surrounding the orb extends around his hand; his hand starts to shine with a blue tinge. This process continues, the blue glow creeping up his arm until he is completely covered. Then it moves through him onto Valarie until they are both fully illuminated. They both walk through the mountain walls.
RALF
26
27. INT. INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN, DAY Valarie’s eyes widen. She looks at Ralf and he smiles back at her. RALF We need to get this section of the orb to the president and re-energize the planet. Ralf lets go of the half orb and they slowly de-glow. The orb begins to move at quite some speed. Ralf and Valarie start to run after it. Ralf is running at full speed and his hefty limbs are flailing about all over the place. The half orb makes a sharp stop as the tunnel starts to widen into an open space. Ralf doesn’t stop quick enough so he slams straight into the orb. The orb disappears into Ralf. INT. MARS’ CORE, DAY Ralf looks around to see the president and Gordon tied up and sitting down against a wall. Gordon stands up.
Ralf!
GORDON (excitedly)
RALF You alright? Ralf runs to Gordon and leans down to help him. BENJAMIN BULMER (aggressively) GET HIM! Two armed guards run towards Ralf. Ralf turns around to face them and his hands start to shimmer as he performs some martial arts. He kicks the first guard in the stomach so hard that the guard shoots across the room, his gun falling onto the floor. Ralf then twists, changes his stance and does the same with the other guard. GORDON HOW DID YOU DO THAT? RALF I have no idea.
(CONTINUED) 27
CARRIE BELLAMY
CONTINUED:
28.
Benjamin lunges for the half orb in the cave walls and grabs it with both hands. The glow takes over his body, turning from blue to red. Benjamin raises his hands and holds them in front of the muddy waterfall until it starts to come off the walls. He then moves his arms in the direction of Ralf. VALARIE (shouting) RALF LOOK OUT! Ralf puts his arms over his head and kneels down a little. The mud gets within an inch of his body but a blue veil protects him. He slowly peeks through his fingers to see that nothing has hit him, then removes them from his face entirely and stands up. He puts his arms up and the mud starts moving back towards Benjamin. BENJAMIN BULMER NO! How is this possible?! The mud slowly starts to harden, as if it is being frozen by the blue energy, until Benjamin relaxes his arms and the frozen mud falls to the ground. PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER Because you are not good the energy is weaker! You never could understand. You abuse power. You think this planet would let you take its power and not put up a fight? NOOO!
BENJAMIN BULMER
Benjamin tries again by waving his hands around, shooting rocks at Ralf. Each time the rocks are deflected off Ralf’s blue protective shell. CUT TO: INT. MARS’ CORE, DAY Valarie runs towards Gordon but before she reaches him one of the armed guards grabs her and picks her up to stop her. The President turns his back to Gordon.
(CONTINUED) RALF
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CONTINUED:
29. PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER Untie me quickly and then turn around.
Gordon unties the president’s hands and then turns around and is untied himself. The president tries to reach Valarie but is stopped by the second guard, who punches him in the face. The president smiles at him. The guard tries to punch him again but the president ducks, grabs him by the waist and slams him down onto the ground. Gordon sneaks behind the first guard and smacks him around the head with a massive rock. The guard lets go of Valarie and falls to the ground. Valarie runs to Gordon and they hug. CUT TO: INT. MARS’ CORE, DAY Rocks are still bouncing off Ralf. Benjamin is moving closer and closer to him, trying harder and harder to break through his shield. BENJAMIN BULMER (angrily) AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER You must fight back boy! Focus, absorb all of the energy. Ralf’s face starts to turn pink. He stares directly into Benjamin’s eyes. The rocks that are flying towards him start to slow down and then drop to the ground. BENJAMIN BULMER What is- how did you? Ralf stares at him, not breaking eye contact, not blinking. Suddenly the cave starts to shake viciously. Ralf grabs Valarie and Gordon and runs to the edge of the cave, sheltering them from the falling rocks. President George Bulmer points to the exit tunnel. PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER Go that way! You have to get out now! (CONTINUED) 29
CARRIE BELLAMY
CONTINUED:
30.
The president darts back to Benjamin. PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER We have to leave now brother! The ground below Benjamin starts to shake and crack. BENJAMIN BULMER I want the full power of the orb. Benjamin pushes the president away from him. A large crack appears between them, preventing Benjamin from escaping the core. EXT. OUTSIDE OF MOUNTAIN, DAY The president stumbles out of the mountainside covered in dust and debris. RALF Mr President! Ralf and Gordon run to the president’s side. PRESIDENT GEORGE BULMER I’m okay, no need to worry boys. The blue aura around Ralf starts to fade and re-materializes as a blue ball of energy in front of him. It then floats back into the side of the mountain. They all walk out towards the forest. EXT. FOREST, DAY Zeanon runs towards Valarie, Ralf and Gordon and scoops them up into his arms, hugging them tightly. The forest looks healthier: flowers are starting to bloom, shoots of leaves are appearing and everything seems greener. RALF (V.O.) This is Mars. The most beautiful planet in the galaxy. FADE TO BLACK.
THE END
RALF
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CARRIE BELLAMY