Ciaran Caul

Script to screen OGR

24/01/18
The Inventor

Premise
A neglected child finds a forgotten companion.

Logline
An old robot is left to tend the greenhouse of its inventor. One day someone visits
and it manages to find company for a short while.
The Inventor
Step outline
The animation starts with a car rushing round the driveway of a large house. It stops in front of the door and a child is kicked out. Before the kid manages to look back the car is already
speeding off. The door to the house buzzes and after the child looks into a large camera lens it opens. With a sigh the child steps inside.
The next scene is about an hour later and the kid is playing with some odd machinery and spare parts. It picks up a few spare parts from a camera and screws them together. The child
looks through them and we see the corner of the room magnified. Exited, they leave the room to show the inventor what they did but stops short when they see a big “Do not disturb” sign
on the door. Disappointed the child looks for somewhere else to go.
The kid is now in the loft looking out of a big circular window with the makeshift telescope. Looking over the grounds they see a large, dilapidated greenhouse. Staring at it the child
notices movement inside. There are glimpses of something moving around behind the leaves and branches.
They open the window and lean out to get a better look. Inside the greenhouse an old gardening robot notices the movement and looks to the house, parting some of the leaves. Seeing
the robot the child is taken aback for a second and after a pause, waves. Focusing his eyes on the house the robot sees the wave and thinking it should respond it raises an arm and
awkwardly makes a waving motion back.
Excited by the attention, the robot grasps for something to do. It rushes off and after a few second comes back with a colourful plant in its hands. Looking pleased with itself, it holds it up
to show the kid.
They go on like this for a little while longer but then the child disappears from the window. Thinking it upset the child somehow the robot looks away and gloomy begins trundeling down
the track.
As the robot begins to put one of the plants back into a patch of soil it happens to glance out of the window. Surprised, it notices the child running down the hill. It rushes to the door,
stopping just short of the end of its tracks.
The child opens the door and enters the greenhouse. The robot is visibly excited and when the kid steps closer it picks them up, spinning on its wheel beds. They go off further into the
greenhouse to play together.
The sun is now setting and the robot is showing the child a particularly interesting plant. Suddenly a car horn sounds impatiently. At the top of the hill on the end of the driveway is the car
from the beginning, waiting for the child to come. The robot and the kid look sadly at each other and the child starts making their way to the door. Without warning the robot dashes in the
other direction. As the kid almost reaches the door the robot comes back in to view holding something. The robot deposits it’s favourite plant into the kids hands and then backs up
slightly. With one last look/hug the child leaves up towards the car.