MOON BABY HELPS THE STAR
January 3, 2006

Concept:
In a numbered series, generate story ideas, incidents, and variations.  Shoot for 50 or 100.

#001
Moon baby finds a star deep in a cave.  It glows...  communicating messages to him?  He traverses the tunnels of his cave and comes to the entrance; it is his first time seeing stars.  He throws the star into the sky, and all the stars dance around in delight above him.  He is dazzled by their beauty.

#002
An amorphous shadowy blob -- or a black dragon -- flies into the sky, wraps itself around a star and carries it down to a cave.  The monster gallops through the tunnels with the star, and in its nest wraps itself around the trophy.  Moon baby peaks out from behind a wall, sees the star.  He tip toes to the star, and steals it away.  He takes the star with him to a star map and decides where it belongs.  He creeps up to the surface, and releases the star into the sky.

#003
The stars are all weeping...  Or angry.  Moon baby sees this, and goes from the plains down into a cave where he finds that a star is being clutched by a terrible winged monster.  Moon baby bests the monster at riddles (a la Golem & Bilbo in "The Hobbit", or the Sphinx).  He takes the star to an old man in a room in the cave, who is surrounded by maps.  The old man tells moon baby where the star belongs.  Moon baby treks through the cave passages, emerges from the entrance, and throws the star into the sky.  The stars welcome their sister back, and dance, rejoicing.

#004
A monster in a cave treasures its jewels.  It goes out one night and sees all the stars in the sky, lovelier, glittering, than any jewels.  It flies up into the night and steals one.  Like a terrible locomotive, it runs through its tunnels back to its treasure hoard.  Meanwhile, moon baby -- the caretaker of the stars, opens up a window in the moon.  All the stars lament to him.  He climbs down a rope ladder to the ground.  He enters the cave.  He finds the cave of the monster.  He throws a rock at the monster, and it chases him...  Ultimately falling into a great pit.  Perhaps a pit that moon baby passed on his way down to the nest?  The monster defeated, moon baby takes it outside, and climbs a towering ladder (which he gets from where??) up to the sky, where he puts the star in its rightful place.  All the stars dance in joy.

#005
Moon baby lives in a cave.  He finds a star lying on the floor in the dust.  He picks it up and wanders to the outside.  He shields his eyes, being a creature of the cave, and is astonished by the stars there.  When he holds the star above his head, the star flies up under its own power to the sky above.  The heavens dance.  Moon baby (silhouette seen from a distance) dances too.

#006
Moon baby lives in a cave, where he works at a desk, writing poems or studying maps.  A dragon chases him out of his home and sets up a nest in the cave.  Moon baby goes and sits by a crevasse, lamenting his loss.  He notices his own shadow and has an idea.  He goes back to the big "nest" room, and uses his own shadow to create a specter on the wall, even larger than the dragon.  The dragon is terrified and flees.  In the dust that's left behind, he discovers a star.  He treks to the surface and releases it into the sky, where all the stars now rejoice.

#007
A dragon steals a star from the sky.  When it disappears, moon baby is born, erupting from the dirt on a moon-lit plain.  He enters the cave where the dragon has retreated to; the moon is setting.  He sneaks into the cave and steals the star from the sleeping dragon.  It wakes and pursues him through the hallways.  Moon baby hides in a nook just before the entrance.  The dragon, which is made of darkness and shadows runs out into the light of the newly dawning day, and evaporates into smoke.  Moon baby pets the star.  A clock spins, or the sun crosses the sky in time-lapse.  Moon baby brings the star back out into the night, and releases it into the sky.

#008
The stars are dancing in the sky.  Moon baby is lying on the ground below, watching.  An amorphous black tentacle monster oozes its way across the sky and wraps itself around a star; the other stars run away.  The monster slithers away into a forest.  Moon baby goes after the creature.  Where ever moon baby goes, there are little white balls that roll around him.  When he finds the monster, he gives it a stern talking to.  The blob tries to rear up and threaten MB, but all of the white balls come to his rescue, and swamp the blob.  MB returns the stolen star to the sky.

#009
In a cave, there lives an amorphous black blob, slinking around like a snake.  Elsewhere in the same cave, moon baby tends herds of little white bouncing balls.  The blob-snake eats several of the lively white balls.  Moon baby counts his herd, and goes to blob to chastise it.  The blob, sulking, goes outside and sees the stars.  It slowly lifts itself up off the ground, and then it slithers in the black spaces between stars.  It steals one because it is so pretty, and in a tantrum runs back down the cave halls toward its lair.  (Maybe at the beginning of the film we see the sun go down; the stars haven't risen yet?)  MB goes outside, discovers that a star is missing.  He once again confronts the blob.  The blob refuses to give the star back.  The herd of white balls that MB has been tending now turn into full grown stars, and overwhelm the blob.  MB takes the star back outside and releases it.  ...It turns out that MB is a star herder; he raises baby stars.

#010  FIRST PICK
A black demon with a crocodile head and bat wings hoards its treasure in a cave.  When it goes outside and looks at the sky, it sees jewels that are more beautiful and covets them.  It flies up and steals one, and joyously runs down the cave passage toward its nest.  MB opens his window in the moon, climbs down a rope, and runs across a moonlit plain to the cave entrance.  The plain is populated by little white balls or by glittering fireflies, which accompany him.  The little creatures help MB cast a shadow on the wall which terrifies the demon, which flees the cave.  MB takes the star outside and releases it into the sky.  The stars dance in gratitude.  MB dances along with them.

[This is pretty good:  the demon's motivations for stealing the star and for then fleeing are clear.  MB coming from the moon means that he doesn't have to be sharing the cave environment with the antagonist, which creates confusion.]

#011
Moon baby and his two brothers tend a field of white flowers.  One is caught in the wind and blows into a cave.  Moon baby goes to retrieve it -- but in doing so, accidentally wakes up a sleeping dragon.  He is chased out of the cave by the monster.  The two brothers, seeing him coming with the flower, shout and wake up all the other flowers, which become stars, and swirl around the monster's head.  It flees, and the stars fly up into the sky.  MB, holding the remaining flower, throws it up...  We see a star fall into its place in the heavens.

#012
Moon baby stands beneath a night sky looking up.  He falls into a day dream.  In it, he is standing upon a star, and leaps from one star to another, like someone crossing a stream by leaping from stone to stone.  He wakes up and finds that there is a star laying on the ground beside him.  He tosses it into the sky...  Or maybe he finds an enormous ladder simply standing there in the plain with him.  He either tosses the star into the sky, or climbs up the ladder and puts it in place.  All the stars dance.

#013
A star falls from the sky, a long tail blazing behind it.  Moon baby feels the impact -- it makes him jump two feet in the air.  He runs out from his cave (or his house) and finds the star lying on the ground.  He tries using a sling-shot / catapult to put the star back.  That doesn't work.  He tries using a ladder.  He can't reach.  Finally he simply throws it into the sky...  Which (for no good reason) works.  The stars dance in delight, he dances too.

#014
Moon baby and the dragon are friends.  The dragon sees the star in the sky and wants it; MB says no.  They part, waving to each other.  The dragon steals the star.  The sun rises.  When the sun sets, the moon rises, and the stars come out again, MB gets out of his bed and goes outside.  Discovering that the star is gone, he goes and confronts the dragon in its cave.  The dragon, ashamed for its selfishness, surrenders the star.  Moon baby takes it back outside and returns it to its rightful place

#015
It is daytime.  There is a village where people are having a party.  A black dragon / blob steals one of the people away to its cave, crossing a bridge.  Moon baby pursues.  While the dragon sleeps, he steals the abductee back.  The sun sets.  All the villagers become stars and rise up into the sky.  Moon baby is the last to go, and becomes the moon.  ...Somehow this is all an allegory about how daytime steals stars, and the moon -- like a night-time sun, brings the stars back to their home.

[That's a lot of puppets to create!]

#016
Moon baby and his friend -- who is not a dragon -- but merely another interesting-looking character come across a crying child next to a river, looking at its reflection.  "I have lost my family!  They are so far away!"  The friend goes home.  MB stays with the child.  When night comes, it becomes a star.  MB throws it up in the air and catches it...  Several times, each time higher, until finally the star flies up and is caught by its family of stars.  A family of stars in the sky all wave to MB, who waves back.

#017
Moon baby lives in a cave, looking at maps of stars, cutting out paper stars and taping them to the walls.  He doesn't dare go up a certain cave passage.  He finds a star in a stream beneath a bridge in the cave.  He takes it to a wise old goat creature, who tells MB that he must go down the feared corridor.  Anxiously, MB creeps up the passage, ultimately finding the entrance.  Never having seen the sky before, he is dazzled.  He releases the star into the sky, where all the stars dance.  MB dances beneath them.

#018
MB walks through cave passages, ultimately coming to a cliff.  He sits on the edge for a while.  Then he stands up and leaps in.  He falls and falls, until he finds himself floating among the stars.  He takes one in his hands.  Immediately he finds himself standing on the cliff edge again.  He takes the star through cave passages.  Little white ball creatures play at his feet as he walks, traveling in the opposite direction.  He comes out of the cave entrance and releases the star.  The heavens rejoice, embracing the new / lost star.

[Sort of a paradox...  How did MB get the star?  What does it mean that he returns it?]

#019
Moon baby finds a star stuck in a tree.  He climbs up and gets it.  He climbs down.  He actively throws it up into the sky.  The heavens rejoice, as does he.

#020
Moon baby finds a star in a river beneath a bridge in his cave.  He shows it to a wise old goat, who tells him to take it outside.  Moon baby refuses.  He runs away.  Sitting with the star on a ledge, he either accidentally drops it into the abyss, or it somehow crumbles.  Sad, he makes the trek up through the cave passages to the surface.  When he gets there, he is delighted by the stars, which he has never seen before.  He opens up his chest and pulls a star out of the hole where his heart would be expected to be.  He releases it to the sky, which dances.

#021
Moon baby lives in a cave, painting pictures of maze-like curvy lines with a brush that is as big as he is.  He draws a star.  He puts down the brush and sits for a long time.  He traverses the cave passages up to the surface.  He opens up his chest and reveals a star.  He holds it up, and under its own power, it flies up to the sky.  The heavens dance.  Moon baby stands transfixed, staring up at the beauty of the moving stars, himself in complete stillness.  The camera slowly pulls back, leaving the scene.

#022  SECOND PICK
The star has not been stolen, nor has it fallen; it exists within moonbaby, growing there, being nurtured, waiting for release.  A man (possibly not even moon baby) goes to the entrance of his cave each night and stares at the stars.  He goes back into his cave and paints with a brush as big as he is.  We don't realize at first what it is that he is drawing.  He goes out to look at the stars again and again.  Ultimately we discover that he has drawn stars all over the entire floor...  Or possibly stars amongst swirling black maze-like lines.  Finally he goes back outside, pulls a star out of himself, and releases it to the sky.  The stars dance.  ...A sort of parable about the artist, his inspiration, incubation, and it being received by an audience?

#023
The star keeper, who lives in the moon -- but who is not moon baby -- is dusting off the stars.  He accidentally knocks one down.  Moon baby, who has been watching, picks it up and throws it back up to the keeper.  The keeper thanks him from up there in the sky.

#024
A witch steps from star to star as if they were stepping stones in a stream.  The stars are visibly hanging from strings...  Standing on a star and leaning sideways, she uses a pair of scizzors to cut one down -- it falls to the ground far below.  She cuts more and more stars down.  The star keeper, who lives inside the moon, throws a rock at her and she falls (disappearing).  The star keeper climbs down a rope ladder to the ground where all the stars are.  [Maybe the body of the witch is there too?  Lying face down?]  The star keeper sings a song and all the stars lift into the air, swirl in circles, and then fly back up to their places.

#025
The artist is in 2D and X-ray.  We can see all along that he has a star inside him.  He goes into the cave and draws stars.  After coming back multiple times, finally the mechanical trap door in him opens and the star can fly out.  [This is no longer stopmo puppet animation -- now I'm imagining animated line drawings, using a very fine-point pen, and subtle colors.]

...

End experiment.  This took approx 1 hour 45 min.

[...If it were a longer story I wanted, then maybe MB would somehow befriend the fireflies, or a character who can provide a light source -- thus demonstrating his virtuous character on the way to scaring off the dragon.  It would be more of a quest structure; episodes that build up the character's ability to finally vanquish his foe.]