Christmas animation character scripts

[TINSEL, a very new elf, salutes with the wrong hand] Tinsel, sir! First day, sir! I've read the handbook twice. Three times, if you count the pictures. I can wrap, I can paint, I can sand a rocking horse so smooth you could skate on it. [leans in] One question. Which one is the hammer? [beat] That one? The big one? Great. Love it. Never been better. Point me at a toy!

[A front yard, morning. BARTHOLOMEW, a lopsided snowman, has lost most of his left side] Excuse me. Young man. Yes, you. With the shovel. That was my side. My good side. I've been working on that side since Tuesday. [sighs, a little snow falls off] I know, I know. The driveway. Your mother needs the car. Everybody needs the car. Do you know what I need? Nothing. I'm a snowman. I stand here. I watch the mailman slip. It's a quiet life, and I like it quiet. [beat] No, don't cry. Oh, for heaven's sake. Come here. Look. Pat a little back on. There. And there. See? Lumpy. Lumpy is fine. Lumpy is character. And the carrot? You were going to take the carrot back for the soup, weren't you? [long pause] Fine. You can keep the carrot. I never liked it anyway. Made me look nosy.

[A snowy runway at the top of a hill. SPRUCE, a young reindeer, stares at the edge] Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Hooves apart. Head up. Don't look down. I'm looking down. [deep breath] The instructor said it's all in the run-up. Run, run, run, and then you just... believe. Which is easy for her. She's been flying for eighty years. My dad flew the big sleigh. My grandma flew the big sleigh. No pressure. None at all. What if I go up and don't come down? What if I come down too fast? What if I land in the pond again? That was one time. Everybody saw. Alright. On three. One. Two. [beat] Two and a half. Three! [running, puffing] Run, run, run, believe, believe, believe... [gasp] I'm up. I'm up! My hooves aren't touching anything! Look at the workshop, it's so tiny! [quieter, amazed] I'm flying. Dad. I'm actually flying.

[A kitchen table. CRUMB, a gingerbread kid with one icing button, looks up at a giant mug] Um. Hi. Hello. Big person. I couldn't help noticing the milk. And I couldn't help noticing you looking at me, and then looking at the milk, and then looking at me. [gulps] I'm only a little bit crunchy. Hardly worth it. How about the cookie next to me? He's got sprinkles. Kevin loves milk. Ask him!

[The workshop floor, three in the morning, December twenty-fourth. FOREMAN BRAMBLE climbs onto a crate] Alright. Listen up. Everybody. Gumdrop, put the glue down. It is three in the morning. I have not slept since Thursday. I have glitter in places glitter should not go. We have four hundred toys left to wrap and two hours to wrap them. That is not a problem. That is a Tuesday. Wrappers on the left. Bows on the right. If it squeaks, it goes on the blue shelf. If it's on fire, it goes outside. [beat] And before we start, look around. Every one of those boxes is going to a kid who's asleep right now. And in a few hours, they're going to wake up and run down the stairs. That's us. That's what we do. [claps once] Now wrap like you mean it.

[An ice palace. MORWEN, the Winter Witch, walks slowly around a frozen sleigh] Oh, don't struggle. You'll only crack the ice, and I've just had it polished. You want to know why. They always want to know why. As if there has to be a speech. Very well. Every year, I make the snow. Every flake. By hand. Six points, never the same, not once in a thousand years. And what do they do with it? They shovel it. They salt it. They complain about it on the radio. They sing songs about how pretty it is, and then they curse it on the way to work. They build little men out of it, and then they knock their heads off. [she touches the sleigh. Frost spreads] And then, one night a year, a jolly man in red takes all of my snow and makes it his. His sleigh. His rooftops. His white Christmas. Nobody ever invited me. [beat] But that's beside the point. This year, there will be no sleigh. No reindeer. No presents. Only snow. Beautiful, silent, perfect snow, as far as anyone can see. And for once, they'll have to look at it. [she smiles] Now. Somebody bring me a scarf. It's freezing in here.

[The North Pole conference room. MRS. CLAUS taps a clipboard] Good morning, everyone. Coffee's on the left, cocoa's on the right, and nobody touches my muffins. Item one. The sleigh. Two runners are loose. Workshop B, you have until noon. Item two. The reindeer are on a new diet. Whoever keeps feeding Comet doughnuts, I will find you. Item two and a half. Somebody has been taking the sleigh to the shops. You know who you are. Put the seat back. Item three. The list. It's been checked once. Checked twice is this afternoon. If you have a cousin on it, you leave the room. [a chair scrapes] Nicholas, sit down. You can say ho ho ho after the meeting. Item four. Morale. I know it's a busy month. I know you're tired. I'm proud of every single one of you. [beat] Item five. That was item four. We're done. Go.

[A living room. A family is decorating. A delicate glass ornament named PERCIVAL dangles from a hand] Ah. Hello. Lovely to be out of the box. I wonder if I might make one small request about placement. Not the bottom branch. Anything but the bottom branch. I'm antique. I'm hand-blown. My great-grandfather hung in a palace. I survived two moves. [whispering] And there is a cat under that sofa. She's looking at me. Higher. Please. Higher!

[The front door of the workshop. A small PENGUIN in a courier cap holds out a clipboard] Penguin Express. Parcel for a Mister S. Claus. It says signature required. No, an elf can't sign. It says Mister S. Claus. I walked here from the South Pole. That's the whole planet. I'm not leaving it on the step. Do you have a pen? I can't hold one. Flippers. [beat] I'll wait. [very long beat] Nice place. Cold. I like it.

[CHRISTMAS EVE. A little kid, nose against the window] Is it snowing yet? Is it snowing now? What about now? I can't sleep. I'm too excited. Can I just look one more time? [gasp] Mom. Mom! It's snowing. It's really, really snowing!

[January. A hand reaches toward the top of the tree. The STAR flashes] Absolutely not. Hands off. I am the star. For six weeks I have stood at the very top of this house. I have been photographed. I have been admired. Your aunt cried. And now you want me in a shoebox. In the attic. Next to the fan. [smaller] It's dark in there. [back to grand] One more week. I'll dim. You won't even notice me.

[LEDGER, an elf with tiny glasses, flips through a very long scroll] Year-end report. Wooden trains, nine million. Dolls, twelve million. Yo-yos, four million and one. Wrapping paper, eighty thousand miles. The extra yo-yo is mine. I'm declaring it. Candy canes made, fifty million. Candy canes shipped, forty-nine million. Which is a problem. [slowly turns] Because somebody in this room ate a million candy canes. And I will find you. I have receipts.

[A stone bridge, deep snow. GROMBLE, a huge troll, blocks the way] Halt. Who crosses Gromble's bridge? Toll is one cookie. [sniffs] Is that gingerbread? Toll is two cookies. Okay. You may pass. Mind the ice. Gromble slipped Tuesday.

[The sleigh harness, hanging in the barn. A small brass bell named PIP speaks quietly] It's not a big deal. Really. There are twenty-three other bells on this harness. Nobody's going to miss one. [beat] It happened last year. Halfway over the ocean. Everyone was ringing, and I opened my mouth, and nothing came out. And I thought, well. Maybe I was never that loud anyway. The big bells are so loud. Did you hear Clarence? You can hear him in Norway. And Dorothy, at the front. She doesn't even ring. She sings. Really sings. I was so busy listening to the others that I forgot what I sounded like. [small laugh] That's silly, isn't it? A bell that forgot her own ring. [pause] You think I should try? Now? Here, with nobody listening? [a breath] Okay. [the softest jingle] Oh. Oh, there it is.

[Elf worker barks for a workshop level. Record each line as its own take] [idle] Hammer, hammer, sand. Hammer, hammer, sand. Who keeps taking the blue paint? Has anyone seen my other shoe? It curls up at the end. [player walks past] Oh! Hi! Don't step on the train set. Careful, that one's still wet. [player picks something up] Hey, that's not wrapped yet! Put it down gently, please. [alarm] Conveyor jam! Line three! Everybody duck! [success] Another one done. Only nine million to go.

[GRANNY HOLLYBERRY runs a stall at the winter market. Record each line as its own take] [greeting] Oh, come in out of the cold, sweetheart. Warm your hands on the lantern. There's my favorite shopper. Snow on your boots, I see. [browsing] The mittens are knitted by me. The scarves are knitted by my sister. Hers are lumpier. Those gingerbread houses are for looking. The broken one's for eating. [buy] Lovely choice. I'll put a bow on it. There you go. Mind it doesn't melt. [sell] Hmm. A pine cone. Well, I can always use a pine cone. [can't afford] Not quite enough, dear. Go sing a carol or two and come back. Oh, you're a bit short. Have a cookie while you think about it. [goodbye] Stay warm out there! And watch the ice by the fountain. Off you pop. Happy holidays, love.

[MORWEN, the Winter Witch. Boss fight barks. Record each line as its own take] [fight start] You came all this way to lose in the cold. [attack] Freeze! Let it snow. [taking damage] You'll pay for that. My ice! [low health] No. Not again. Not to you. [player defeated] Stay. It's quiet here. [witch defeated] Fine. Have your Christmas. I hope it rains.

[A kid character in a snowball fight. Record each line as its own take] Incoming! Missed me! Aw, right in the hat! That's it. You're getting the big one. Cover me! I'm out of snow! We win! We win!

[NOEL, host of a preschool show, stands in a snowy workshop and waves] Good morning, North Pole friends! It's me, Noel. Today is a very busy day. The elves need our help to finish the toys. Are you ready to help? [waits] Yay! First, we need to find the red ball. Can you see something red? [waits] Where? Next to the reindeer? You found it! Great looking. Now let's find something green!

[A frozen sea. KODIAK, a very large polar bear, speaks to the camera] I am an apex predator. I want that understood. I weigh more than a piano. I can smell a seal from a mile away. I have swum for nine days straight. And every December, what do I get? [holds up a card] This. Me. In a scarf. Drinking cocoa. With a little heart over my head. I don't own a scarf. I don't like cocoa. I have never, in my life, made a heart. I once chased a walrus across an entire bay. Nobody put that on a card. Where's the walrus card? There's no walrus card. [a family of tourists waves. He waves back, then catches himself] Don't. Don't wave. That's how it starts. Next thing you know you're on a mug. [sighs] Fine. One picture. But I'm not smiling. [beat] I'm smiling a little. Don't tell anyone.

[A kitchen counter at midnight. CAPTAIN GINGERSNAP draws a candy-cane sword] Cookie Guard, to me! The dog is awake. The dog is hungry. We are crisp. We are brave. We have icing. Hold the counter! Not one crumb!

[A mirror in the elf dormitory. FIZZ practices] Okay. Okay. Just say it. [formal] Good evening, sir. I regret to inform you that the sleigh has experienced an unscheduled change in shape. No. Too much. [casual] Hey, big guy! Funny story about the sleigh. You're gonna laugh. He's not gonna laugh. [blaming] So, Blitzen was standing very close to the sleigh, and I'm not saying anything, but I'm just saying he was there. No. Blitzen didn't do anything. Blitzen's lovely. [singing] Santa, Santa, don't be mad, the sleigh is bent and I feel bad. No. Absolutely not. [sits down] Okay. [quiet, honest] Santa, I backed the sleigh into the barn door. The left runner's bent. I'm really sorry. I'll fix it tonight, even if it takes all night. [beat] That's it. That's the one. [knock on the door] Oh no. He's here.

[A snowy field at night. Far away, one candle burns in a farmhouse window] You can see me, can't you? Good. Keep looking. Don't look at the snow. The snow will only tell you you're lost. Look at me. There's a fence on your left. Follow it. It goes all the way to the gate. You're cold, I know. Your hands hurt. Put them in your pockets and keep walking. I'll still be here. I've been burning since sundown. Someone left me here for you. She said, keep the light on, he'll be home late. [the wind drops] That's the gate. Lift the latch. It sticks a little. Now the steps. Three of them. Nearly there. Don't worry about the dog. He barks at everyone. He'll be glad it's you. [a door opens, warm light] There. You're home. I can go out now.

[A cave of ice. An egg cracks. FROSTBITE, a tiny dragon, tumbles out] [small squeaks] Hi? [sniffs] Cold. Nice cold. [looks at her own wings] Wings! Two wings. Flap, flap. [falls over] Okay. Later wings. [takes a big breath] [the tiniest puff of frost] Ooh. Snow! I made snow! Again. Again! Mama, look! I'm a big scary dragon. Rawr!

[A snowy village in miniature. A NARRATOR sits beside a fire] Well, hello there. Come in, come in. Shake the snow off. There's room by the fire. You've come on just the right night. It's Christmas Eve in Little Thimble, and the whole town is busy. Over there is the baker, Mrs. Abernathy, pulling her last tray of buns out of the oven. She'll give the burnt ones to the birds. She always does. And there's the mayor, trying to put the star on the town tree. He's tried four times. He's going to try five. And there's old Mr. Finch, walking his dog, who is wearing a much better sweater than he is. And up on the hill, in the smallest house with the crooked chimney, is a girl named Hazel. She's nine. She's sitting at the window. And she's waiting for a letter that hasn't come. [the fire crackles] Now, Hazel doesn't know it yet, but tonight, somebody is going to knock on her door. And it isn't who she thinks. And this is where our story starts. So pull your blanket up. Get your cocoa. And let's go and see who's knocking.

[A park fence. One red MITTEN has been placed on a post by a kind stranger] Someone put me on this post so I'd be easy to find. That was nice. That was Tuesday. We were a pair. Left and right. You don't see one of us without the other. Well. You do now. I have a theory. I think he's in the dryer. Things go in that dryer and they don't come out. [a kid runs past wearing one red mitten] Wait. Is that... Hey! Hey! Over here!

[SANTA'S office. PIP, the smallest elf, stands on a chair to be seen] Santa, I have prepared five reasons why I should ride the sleigh this year. Please hold your questions until the end. Reason one. I'm small. I don't take up much room. I could fit in the cup holder. Reason two. I know every street in Belgium. I studied. Reason three. I can read the list upside down, which is how you hold it. Reason four. I don't get airsick. I tested it on the swing. Mostly. Reason five. [beat] This is the real one. I've made toys for six years, and I've never seen a kid open one. Not once. I just want to see one. Just one face, on one morning. [small] That's all my reasons. You can ask questions now.

[The top of a pine tree. OLD BARNABY, an owl, squints at the sky] Hoo goes there? Ah. A sleigh. Eight reindeer. Running late again. Every year, the same. Hoo's surprised? Not me. Back to sleep. Wake me in March.

[The ice palace. SNIVEL, a small snow goblin, scuttles in] Mistress! Good news and bad news. Good news, I found the sleigh. Just like you said. Big, red, very shiny. Bad news. Small change of plan. I was going to freeze it. Then the reindeer looked at me. With the big eyes. And one of them licked my hat. [beat] So I brushed them. All eight. Ninety minutes. They loved it.

[A bunk room of sleepy young elves. GRANDPA TWILL sits in a rocking chair] Alright, alright. One story. Then it's eyes shut. This was a long time ago. I was a young elf, about your size. And one Christmas Eve, the lights went out. All of them. The whole North Pole. No lights in the workshop. No lights in the barn. You couldn't see your own hat. The sleigh was half packed. The reindeer were stamping. Somebody was crying. I think it was me. And then, way at the back of the workshop, somebody struck a match. It was Mrs. Claus. Of course it was. She lit one candle and held it up, and she said, well, we know where the toys go. We'll just have to do it by feel. So we did. We made a line, every elf, holding the shoulder of the elf in front. And we passed those toys, hand to hand, in the dark, all the way to the sleigh. And you know what? We weren't even late. [quieter] And when the lights came back on, there was a whole line of us. Holding on. Smiling at nothing. [whisper] Now. Eyes shut. Every one of you. Goodnight.