Episode 538.a Bubble Guppies: The NeverEnding Story! (Part 1)

Plot
Nonny is a young boy who lives a dreary life being tormented by school bullies. On one such occasion he escapes into a book shop where the old proprieter reveals an ancient story-book to him, which he is warned can be dangerous. Shortly after, he "borrows" the book and begins to read it in the school attic where he is drawn into the mythical land of Fantasia, which desperately needs a hero to save it from destruction.

Cast (Characters from the real movie)

 * Gil as (Atreyu)
 * Nonny as (Bastian)
 * Oona as (The Childlike Empress)
 * Mr. Pirruccello as (Bastian's Father)
 * Mr. Grouper as (Cairon)
 * Bubble Puppy as (Falkor)
 * Big Bad Wolf as (Gmork)
 * Ogre as (Rockbiter)
 * Pronto as (Teeny Weeny)
 * Pinkfoot as (Night Hob)
 * Martin as (Engywook)
 * Dot as (Urgyl)
 * Mr. Langoustine as (Carl Conrad Coreander)
 * Tobias, Jonesy, and Joshua as (School Bullies)
 * Rusty as (Artax)
 * Crabs, Lobsters, and Snails as (Other characters)

Information

 * Genres: Adventure, Drama, Family
 * Rating: PG for a bit of violence and for possible sad or scary scenes
 * Type of film: Epic, Fantasy

Trivia

 * This is based on the 1984 movie "The NeverEnding Story." You can read about it on Wikipedia or IMDb
 * Goby, Deema, and Molly don't appear because not many kids are in this story.
 * This story has some fanon characters and main characters.

Story
(Start of Part 1.)

(Scene: Nonny's bedroom)

(A young boy with orange hair and blue goggles awakes from a dream. He quickly sits up as if awakening from a nightmare. He looks at a picture of his mom with a sigh and then he picks up the book beside him and marks his spot.)

(Scene: Kitchen)

(The boy's father is working on some sort of concoction in the kitchen blender, while the boy sits at the dining table straining to open jelly for his toast. They exchange a good morning between each other, but they are relatively quiet.)

Mr. Pirruccello: Morning, Nonny.

Nonny: Morning, Dad.

(Nonny continues to struggle with the jar until his hand hurts. His father turns to him and gives him a hand. He seems to easily open the jar. As Nonny's father returns to his task of the morning drink concoction, Nonny breaks the silence.)

Nonny: I had another dream Dad, about Mom.

(His father pauses at the blender, but doesn't look at him and then he continues creating his drink.)

Mr. Pirruccello: I understand, son, but we have to get on with things, right?

(Nonny looks dejected at this answer.)

Mr. Pirruccello: Nonny, we each have responsibilities. We can't let Mom's death be an excuse for not getting the old job done, right?

(Nonny half-heartedly smears butter on his toast. His father approaches the table and sits down. Time for a father to son talk.)

Mr. Pirruccello: Son, I think it's time you and I had a little talk. I got a call from your math teacher yesterday. She says you were drawing horses in your math book.

Nonny: Unicorns. They were unicorns.

(He mimics a unicorn.)

Mr. Pirruccello: What?

Nonny: Nothing...

Mr. Pirruccello: She also says that you haven't been turning your homework in on time. And I'm very disappointed you didn't even try out for the swim-team. As for those riding lessons you've been wanting you say you love horses yet you seem to be afraid to get on a real one. Now, Nonny, you're old enough to get your head out of the clouds and start keeping both feet on the ground. Alright?

(He takes a sip of drink.)

Nonny: Okay.

Mr. Pirruccello: Stop daydreaming and start facing your problems. Okay?

(He ruffles Nonny's hair.)

Nonny: Okay.

(He says with a half hearted smile.)

Mr. Pirruccello: Okay. Right, I think we've had a nice little talk we should have more.

(He gulps down his drink and gets up to leave.)

Mr. Pirruccello: Have a nice day and don't be late to school again.

(Nonny turns to him.)

Nonny: But yesterday, I wasn't...

(Scene: City Street)

(Out on the street, 3 bullies are laughing. Their names are Tobias, Jonesy, and Joshua. As Nonny walks out, they stop.)

Tobias: Hey look, it's the weirdo.

Jonesy: Hey, weirdo, got any cash for us today?

(Nonny turns and runs.)

Tobias: Hey, follow! That's it, weirdo. You can't get away, you jerk! You're dead chicken!

(They yell chasing after him. They chase him down an alley where they corner him and catch him.)

Joshua: Where's your money, man?

Nonny: I don't have any!

Tobias: No money? Momma's little boy is holding out on us. You ain't got any money on ya, you go in the garbage can.

(All three bullies shove Nonny into a nearby dumpster.)

Joshua: Maybe chicken can lay an egg in there.

(They laugh as they return to the street. Nonny comes out of the dumpster and enters the street brushing garbage off himself. The bullies see him and stand up straight.)

Tobias: Hey, man, who said you could get out of the garbage? Get back in there.

(They smile at each other and start towards him.)

Nonny: Oh no, not again. No, not again!

(He starts running.)

Jonesy: Where do you think you're going, wimp?

(They chase after him. He ducks into a bookstore and the boys run by.)

(Scene: Bookstore)

(Nonny watches from inside the store as the three bullies go running by. He sighs felling relief, but is suddenly startled by a ruff bulldog voice from somewhere in the store.)

Mr. Langoustine: Get outta here. I don't like kids.

(Nonny walks toward the area he heard the voice from, and finds an old man siting in a chair reading. He turns and looks at him.)

Mr. Langoustine: You still here, boy? Didn't you hear what I said?

Nonny: Um, I was...

(He stutters motioning to the door.)

Mr. Langoustine: You're hiding, aren't you?

Nonny: No, I was just...

(He stutters more.)

Mr. Langoustine: The video arcade is down the street. Here, we just sell small rectangular objects that are called books. Require a little effort on your part and make no b... b... b... beeps. On your way please.

Nonny: I KNOW books. I have 186 of them at home!

Mr. Langoustine: Bah. Comic books.

Nonny: No. I've read Treasure Island, Last of the Mohicans, Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Tarzan…

Mr. Langoustine: Whoa whoa whoa. Who are you running away from?

(He says with new interest.)

Nonny: Just some kids from school.

Mr. Langoustine: Why?

Nonny: They wanna throw me in the garbage.

Mr. Langoustine: Why don't you give them a good punch in the nose, eh?

Nonny: Oh, I dunno.

(He looks down at his shoes. The man turns away from him again. Nonny looks at the book he has. His interest has been aroused.)

Nonny: What's that book about?

Mr. Langoustine: Oh, this is something special.

(Nonny moves in closer.)

Nonny: Well, what is it?

Mr. Langoustine: Look. You're books are safe. While you're reading them, you get to become Tarzan or Robinson Crusoe.

Nonny: But that's what I like about them.

Mr. Langoustine: Yes, but afterwards you get to be a little boy again.

Nonny: What do you mean?

Mr. Langoustine: Listen.

(He motions for him to come nearer.)

Mr. Langoustine: Have you ever been Captain Nemo, trapped inside your submarine while the giant squid was attacking you?

Nonny: Yes.

Mr. Langoustine: Weren't you afraid you couldn't escape?

Nonny: But it's only a story.

Mr. Langoustine: That's what I'm talking about. The ones you read are safe.

Nonny: And that one isn't?

Mr. Langoustine: Don't worry about it.

Nonny: But, but you just said it was...

(The phone rings and Mr. Langoustine puts the book under a newspaper to try and hide it.)

Mr. Langoustine: Forget about it. This book is not for you.

(He gets up and gets the phone. Nonny watches him. As he talks on the phone, Nonny uncovers the book. The title on the book reads, The Neverending Story. above these words is a symbol on the cover. The symbol is two snakes intertwined with each other and biting each other's tail. As the old man hangs up the phone, Nonny grabs the book and runs out. The old man smiles to himself and looks down at his desk proud to have finally gotten rid of the annoying child. On his desk in place of the book is a note pad barely legible writing on it, it reads: "Don't worry, I'll return your book.")

(Scene: School)

(With the book under his shirt, Nonny runs through the hall of his school. He stops outside his classroom, then cautiously looks through the small slit of a window in the classroom door. What he sees is his class already started on a very important math test.)

Nonny: The Math test, oh no.

(Nonny runs up the stairs leading to the  school's attic, finds the key and goes inside.)

(Scene: School Attic)

(There are all sorts of old scholastic objects in the attic. He finds a stack of old gym mats and pulls one out. He sits down and pulls out the book, then he begins reading.)

Nonny: It was midnight in the Howling Forest. The wind whistled through the tops of the ancient trees. Suddenly, something enormous crashed and rumbled through the eerie woods.

(Scene: Small Camp)

(A snail looks up and there's a small crab beside him. There is a pink monster and his sleeping bat nearby. Suddenly the calm of the camp is interrupted by a great rumbling similar to an earthquake.)

Pink Monster: What's that?

(The ground shakes. A huge tricycle comes to a stop in front of them. It is made entirely from stone, as is the giant riding it. A huge Ogre speaks to them in a deep, friendly voice.)

Ogre: Excuse me, would it be alright if I joined you this evening?

Pronto: Uh huh.

Ogre: You see, I've been traveling all day.

(He climbs off his tricycle.He rolls it backward and then sits down. The ground beneath him shakes. He sniffs the air and then says, as if he has discovered a secret of theirs)

Ogre: Ah hah! Now I see why you picked this camp.

(He picks up a large rock and sniffs it.)

Ogre: A delicious looking limestone rock. Nice bouquet, must be a real vintage here.

Pink Monster: Yes, you're right. Those delicious rocks are the reason we camped here alright.

(Then, he runs over to the little man.)

Pink Monster: Psst. Is he a nutcase?

Pronto: No, he's a Rockbiting Ogre.

Pink Monster: Oh, a Rockbiting Ogre. A Rockbiting Ogre!?

(The Ogre starts eating the limestone he is holding. Pieces fall all over the place. One piece falls on the snail.)

Ogre: Oops, sorry.

(Then, he burps.)

Ogre: Oh, pardon me!

Pink Monster: Pardoned.

Ogre: Mmm. That was limestone, with a dash of quartz. Very tasty. Where I come from in the north we used to have exquisite gourmet rocks, only now...now they're all gone.

Pink Monster: Huh, I know how it happened.

(The Ogre makes a boyscouts honor sign.)

Ogre: I swear it wasn't me.

Pink Monster: Hah! Heck no.

Pronto: I think I know what it was, tell us more.

Ogre: Near my home there used to be a beautiful lake, but then it was gone.

Pronto: Did the lake dry up?

Ogre: No, it just wasn't there anymore. Nothing was there anymore. Not even a dried up lake.

Pronto: A hole?

Ogre: No, a hole would be something. Nah, it was nothing. And it got bigger and bigger. First, there was no lake anymore, and then finally, no rocks.

Pink Monster: Hah! If he keeps stuffing his face like that, soon there won't be any rocks left here either!

(The Pink Monster complains to Pronto. As he starts to walk away, Pronto grabs him.)

Pronto: Pinkfoot, this could be serious! Rockbiting Ogre, what you have told us is also occurring where I live in the west ! A strange sort of Nothing is destroying everything.

Pinkfoot: Yes, we pinkfoot monsters live in the south. And it's there too.

Ogre: So, so it's not just in our part of Fantasia?

Pinkfoot: Maybe, it's already everywhere...

(Pinkfoot hisses looking around suspiciously smelling the air.)

Pinkfoot: Maybe our whole land is in danger. What can we do?

Ogre: My people are sending me to the Ivory Tower, to the Empress for help.

Pinkfoot and Pronto: We are.

Pronto: We are on the same mission. After all, if the Empress can't save us, who could?

Pinkfoot: Then why are we all just standing around here instead of taking off for the Ivory Tower?

Pronto: Right, what are we waiting for?

(Pronto climbs on his snail while Pinkfoot tries to wake up his bat.)

Pinkfoot: Hey, wake up! We can't just hang around here. Prepare for take off! Stupid bat!

Ogre: We, we can't wait for a snail. Can I carry you?

Pronto: Don't worry, it's a racing snail.

Ogre: Oh, but we can't even wait for a racing snail.

(Pronto goes peddling off on the snail. Pinkfoot finally wakes up his bat and climbs on.)

Ogre: It really is a racing snail.

Pinkfoot: And nobody gives a hoot about me and my stupid bat.

Ogre: Maybe I'll take a few of these yummy gourmet rocks, eh... for the road.

(As he bends down to pick some up, he stands straight up again and realizes he hears the Nothing coming.)

Ogre: Oh no. The Nothing!

End of Part 1.