Picks: 1 adult human - college Andy; 1 kid human - kid from La Luna; 3 non-humans - bird (For the Birds), Doug, Rex; 1 wildcard - Ratatouille dish; 1 setting - suburbs; 1 place - Carl's House; 1 problem - Emily leaves Jessie.
When Andy Davis is 18 and about to go to college after saving up all on his own, his mother suddenly leaves. Unable to leave little his brother Luke, Andy is forced to stay home and take care of him. Luke is a peculiar boy. He loves to gaze at the night sky and watch the moon and stars. It is the only thing that comforts him. His brother Andy wants nothing to do with his brother though. Whenever they interact Andy is cold and bitter and Luke can't understand why. He has no idea that he had the power to stop his mom from leaving and Andy is frustrated Luke did nothing. He doesn't know where his mom went or why, only that she is gone and he watched her drive away in the middle of the night. The brothers live in a small, colorful house in a once nice suburban neighborhood that is now being demolished and transformed into a city full of huge buildings and smog. Distraught, Andy refuses to let go of his childhood home and the home he wishes his mother to return to. He still holds on to hope that his mother will return one day and if the house is demolished, she won't know where to find her children. Andy has enough money saved to live in an apartment but it is the principle that his brother should grow up in the same home he grew up in. He needs a miracle, but what? What can he do to keep his house and form a new relationship with his little brother that was broken the day their mom left?
Everyday, Andy cooks for his little brother, sends him off to school and looks for a job. He has a hard time getting a job without a degree. He finds that he is enjoying cooking for his brother and decides to bide his time cooking obscure recipes. He eventually starts to apply to restaurants and is finally hired as a bus boy. He talks a lot with the chefs and tells them about his interest in cooking. An Italian chef recommends Andy cook a dish called Ratatouille. Andy has never heard of it but looks it up.
It has been a month and Andy and Luke's relationship is still strained. Andy decides to make ratatouille one night and Luke really likes it. It is the first time the tension is bridged between the brothers. Luke is suddenly seeing Andy as more than a brother but a father.
That night, as Luke looks at the sky, he sees three stars surrounding the full moon and one of them suddenly glows and from it emerges an object that falls through the sky and into Luke's bedroom from the open window. It is a chubby little bird. The bird explains that he is a spirit (in his birdy language of squeaks and squawks in which Luke has to decipher). He tells Luke that he must spread his wings and fly. He must spread the word about Andy cooking Ratatouille. He then says that two other spirits will come during the week and teach Luke that he and his brother will find happiness again one day. Luke spreads the word by suggesting to Andy that he have a fundraiser to keep the neighborhood from turning into a city. The next night, another spirit comes - this time a dog named Doug. Doug tells Luke that his mother loves him and Andy and that she thinks of them all of the time but she is having a hard time. He does not say if she will ever come home. The next day Luke asks Andy if he wonders if mom is okay and if she is thinking of them. This makes Andy mad and momentarily sets the brothers against each other. The next night, Rex the toy dinosaur arrives as the third spirit. Instead of telling Luke something, he listens to him. Luke explains that he really wants Andy's ratatouille fundraiser to save their neighborhood and he really doesn't want Andy to hate him when he doesn't understand why. Then Rex gives Luke the last bit of advice. JUST BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
The next week is the fundraiser and the brothers pull it off and Andy finally lets go of his pride and talks to his brother and explains why he was angry and then says why he is no longer angry. They saved their neighborhood and they are a new family. Andy also gains attention and is able to go to cooking school while still taking car of his little brother.
Screenplay
No comments:
Post a Comment