Story 1.1 - Arranged by shots

• The scene opens to Mandy walking Puppy the IIX through a blossoming green park. Both Mandy and Puppy IIX have heads that are too hefty for their bodies. Mandy is a cheerful, lively 8 years old girl who clutches a courier bag and has pigtails in her hair. Puppy IIX is a black and white fuzzy mutt who’s choices in life are generally made by other people.

• As the two are passing a tree, Mandy stops

• at a poster attached to it advertising a circus performance being held in the park that day. The poster illustrates the striped tents and elaborately costumed acrobats.

• Puppy IIX continues his stride and at the end of the lead walks directly out through his collar.

• At first, he cannot appreciate what has happened. He looks down back at the collar,

• then up at Mandy who is still reading the poster,

• back at the collar in disbelief and finally

• off into the distant trees of the park. The small forest is illuminated from behind with a sparkling light like the gates to paradise.

• Puppy IIX looks to the sky for a decision and begins a flashback to

• Puppy IIX sits in a drawing room in an old house sits dog at a high wooden table. In front of him are antique china teapots and cups and saucers. To one side of him is a large stacked tray with biscuits and little cakes and sandwiches upon it. Behind him is a wall full of ‘Missing’ and ‘Wanted’ and ‘Reward’ posters in gilt antique frames of cats and dogs dressed in doll clothes from the Victorian era. Puppy IIX himself is dressed the same antique clothing. They are very tight and he seems as if he is paralysed by the fabric. He has a cup of steaming hot tea and a few biscuits in front of him, but cannot eat the biscuits because of the restrictive collar on his ‘blouse’.

• Back in the present at the park, with that memory in mind, it doesn’t take Puppy IIX long to make his decision and he begins to bolt towards the forest area.

• Mandy suddenly notices and begins to wail into the air screaming in tears and pulling on her pigtails.

• She then takes a stack of papers out of her bag and pins up a missing poster of Puppy IIX just below the circus advertisement. Pictured is Puppy IIX dressed in the tea party costume.

• Puppy IIX is running and running. He is free. He is elated. Soon he begins to forget what he was running for, slows to a trot and then sits down.

• Behind Mandy, in the distance we see a tall stocky acrobat leaving the circus tent.

• He waves goodbye to his friends inside and begins to walk along the path which eventually leads him to Mandy in her hysterics.

• He bends down to see what’s wrong and recognises Puppy IIX in the distance from the poster Mandy has put up. He cautiously approaches the dog.

• Puppy IIX’s tail begins to wag as the stranger approaches. Then he realises why the stranger is coming towards him and gets to his feet.

• He turns his back to the stranger and adopts a pose of a runner at a starting post. Both the stranger and Puppy IIX begin to run at the same moment and a chase ensues.

• The man chases the dog through the whole park. Puppy IIX runs and runs.

• He reaches a merry go round and jumps on for a spin,

• and then off as soon as the acrobat catches up. The acrobat performs some flips as he spins around the merry go round.

• Puppy IIX jumps over a hot dog vendors stand, disturbing the hot dogs and managing to eat one in mid-air.

• The acrobat leaves money in the vendor’s hand.

• Puppy IIX runs through a sandcastle in the sandbox

• The acrobat follows with an Olympic style three-jump.

• Puppy IIX hops on a swing a flies off it, into a glide.

• The acrobat performs some acrobatics on the swings and almost reaches Puppy IIX but drops flat on his face.

• Puppy IIX turns his head while continuing his dash to mock the acrobat and in doing so runs directly into a large tree.

• The tree has stopped the Puppy IIX in his tracks. He is completely stunned and in obvious pain, lying on the ground.

• Shocked by the turn of events, everything freezes. The man doesn’t know if he’s supposed to laugh or feel genuinely concerned.

• Back at the starting point, Mandy’s jaw is wide open in shock. Even the hysterical tears previously streaming off her cheeks freeze in anticipation.

• Cautiously, Puppy IIX staggers to its feet. He wobbles back and forth, off balance, not able to regain his composure. Suddenly he breaks back into a sprint with his tongue hanging gleefully out of his mouth.

• However, before he can get any distance away, the acrobat lunges towards him as if he’s a football goalkeeper in a world cup final. He picks up the dog in a smooth scoop but then suddenly drop-kicks the dog hard and swift in the ribs and the dog flies off into the air.

• In the initial spin after the kick, Puppy IIX’s black and white spots meld as if he’s a UEFA football.

• He flies far above the ground, up through the air with his ears flapping like wings and his tongue hanging out with joy. His eyes are sparkling and he looks all around himself enjoying the view.

• He can see the park scene below.

• He his overjoyed.

• As he descends we see his owner dancing back and forth with anticipation of his arrival and trying to position herself to best catch him.

• The dog lands in the owners arms, but due to their similarity in size knocks her to the ground where

• he proceeds to lick her disgustingly all over the face.

• From the point of view of the acrobat at the other end of the park we see that Puppy IIX is back with his owner.

• He begins to celebrate as football players do when they make a goal, running in circles, doing back flips and eventually pulling his t-shirt up over his head revealing the end credits.