Story and Discourse

The Professor and the Bear is a story about how sometimes, there is more than meets the eye.

Story beats

1. Professor McCrispy, a piece of toast with a top hat and cane is happily strolling through the woods.
2. In the distance, Professor McCrispy sees a large brown bear nibbling on berries from a bush, so he walks up to introduce himself.
3. The bear, noticing the professor and seeing him as a delicious snack, prepares to gobble him up.
4. “Good morning, Mr. Bear, my name is Professor McCrispy. What might yours be?”
5. The bear, who is surprised to be in a conversation with a piece of toast, replies “Uh…I’m Poncho.”
6. “Well then Poncho, you wouldn’t mind giving me a lift to the end of the trail. I’m a bit stiff in the knees, you know how it is.”
7. Before Poncho can reply, Professor McCrispy is already on his back, out of reach of Poncho’s deadly claws. “Well come on then.”
8. Poncho, although surprised, silently agrees with a smirk on his face.
9. They begin their journey deeper into the woods, but before long, McCrispy notices that Poncho has gone off trail and the light has gotten dimmer.
10. “Poncho, I’m not sure we’re going the right way.”
11. “Oh…I know where we’re going.”
12. They continue to delve deeper in the darkness.
13. “I really think we should stop. The darkness, it…”
14. Poncho continues without a word.
15. McCrispy reaches his boiling point “STOP!”
16. Poncho stops to let McCrispy off of his back; this is what he’s been waiting for.
17. “Now see here, I-“ Poncho rear back to take a mighty swipe at McCrispy.
18. In an instant, something takes hold of McCrispy, and he becomes a savage monster, gobbling Poncho in a single bite.
19. McCrispy, dazed from the experience, continues his happy stroll through the woods.




Discourse

• The film will be animated in 2D to most easily portray the exaggerated expressions and movements of the characters. 2D is also my strong suit.
• From the beginning of the film to the end, the color pallet of the environment will change gradually to convey the growingly sinister atmosphere and mood.
• The beginning of the film will mostly consist of light blues, warm greens and browns. I want the audience to feel warm and comfortable when they join Professor McCrispy so that they can easily connect with him.
• By the end of the film, the environments will consist of a pallet of blue-greens and dark greys; cooler colors to invite a creepy atmosphere.
• The shape and style of the plants will change from the beginning of the film to the end.
• From the beginning, the plant life will be rounder and friendlier with a lot of lush leaves.
• By the end, the plants will be more jagged and the trees will have less leaves on them.
• The music score will tie in with the mood of the color pallet.
• The film will lead in with a light bouncy tune as the audience joins McCrispy.
• The score for the introduction of Poncho will be deep with the sounds of tubas and trombones. I want the music to introduce Poncho as awkward, but dangerous.
• The music will be low and creepy and will play with the sound of crickets as the two venture into the darker part of the woods.
• The art style will be soft and colorful to ease the audience into a state of comfort, so that the end twist will be more powerful.
• To keep with the personality of the characters, Professor McCrispy will have an enthusiastic British voice, while Poncho will have a deep, low voice.
• I’ll use light as both a warm, welcoming mood-setter, and as a beacon of doom.
• In the darkest part of the woods, gray beams of light will filter through the canopy to help set the atmosphere.
• McCrispy will move with quick, exaggerated movements, while Poncho will be slower and slightly more realistic. I want Poncho to be taken partly seriously to the audience.
• The story is in a sort of folk-tale style, which is partly a reason for the naming convention of the title.
• Poncho is a bear as opposed to another animal because of the contrast between him and the toast. Nobody would suspect a large, ferocious bear to be eaten by toast.
• McCrispy is a piece of toast because it’s funny. This is a comedic piece, after all.


Professor McCrispy, a piece of toast with a top hat and cane is happily strolling through the woods. In the distance, Professor McCrispy sees a large brown bear nibbling on berries from a bush, so he walks up to introduce himself. The bear, noticing the professor and seeing him as a delicious snack, prepares to gobble him up. “Good afternoon, Mr. Bear, my name is Professor McCrispy. What might yours be?” The bear, who is surprised to be in a conversation with a piece of toast, replies “Uh…I’m Poncho.” “Well then Poncho, you wouldn’t mind giving me a lift to the end of the trail. I’m a bit stiff in the knees, you know how it is.” Before Poncho can reply, Professor McCrispy is already on his back, out of reach of Poncho’s deadly claws. “Well come on then.” Poncho, although surprised, silently agrees with a smirk on his face.

They begin their journey deeper into the woods, but before long, McCrispy notices that Poncho has gone off trail and the light has gotten dimmer. “Poncho, I’m not sure we’re going the right way.” “Oh…I know where we’re going.” They continue to delve deeper in the darkness. “I really think we should stop. The darkness, it…” Poncho continues without a word. McCrispy reaches his boiling point “STOP!” Poncho stops to let McCrispy off of his back; this is what he’s been waiting for. “Now see here, I-“ Poncho rear back to take a mighty swipe at McCrispy. In an instant, something takes hold of McCrispy, and he becomes a savage monster, gobbling Poncho in a single bite. McCrispy, dazed from the experience, continues his happy stroll through the woods.