Autumn Leaves/Transcript

(Outside, leaves falling off the trees as Phil, Lil, and Tommy play in the yard; pan to inside the house, with Didi (Tommy's mom) getting juice ready for the babies to drink; Grandpa enters the kitchen with Chuckie in his arms)

Grandpa: Well, Charles dropped Chuckie off. Looks like he's back on his feet.

(puts him down)

Didi: Hi, Chuckie. Are you over your little cold? Oh, that's good.

(Stu enters the kitchen with his newest invention)

Stu: Well, you'll all be glad to know that there won't be a leaf anywhere on a Pickles lawn this fall.

Didi: Stu, I know that keeping our lawn leaf free is important to you, but -

Grandpa: Important?! Hah! He's obsessed! He tried to wrap the trees in plastic last year!

Stu: Well, that won't be necessary because I've just invented the ""Leaf Lifter""! (lifts machine over his head) A revolutionary, self propelled vacuum that automatically eliminates all leafy materials.

Grandpa: I had a machine like that in my day. Called it a rake. Hehe... Come on sprout. Let's get you out in the fresh air

(picks up Chuckie and takes him outside to his friends; Stu follows with his machine)

Stu: I'm telling you Pop. As soon as we get a lawn full of leaves, you'll see that this is much better than a rake.

Grandpa: Sure, sure...

Stu: This is like "rake plus." (follows Grandpa back into kitchen with his machine) It's "auto-rake". It will set the whole leaf removal market on fire.

Didi: Oh dear.

(cut to kids in the backyard)

Chuckie: Hi guys!

Tommy: Oh, hi Chuckie. Wow, you look a lot better today.

Chuckie: That's cause I'm not sick no more.

Phil: You looked terrible the other day. Your face was all funny colored.

Chuckie: Yeah, but now I'm all better.

Lil: And you had stuff coming out of your mouth and ears.

(licks mouth)

Chuckie: Yeah, but -

Tommy: Remember your arms felt like Spike's nose?

Chuckie: Well, a little.

Lil: And then you bent over and held your tummy and funny noises "comed" out of your mouth (makes a noise) like that.

Chuckie: Oh, I don't feel so good.

(turns green)

Phil: Yeah, you were that color.

(Didi enters)

Didi: Here kids. I have some yummy apple juice for you

(gives them all bottles and sip cups; Chuckie just stares at his)

Tommy: What's a matter Chuckie? Don't you want any apple juice?

Chuckie: Um, maybe later. Right now, I think I'll just sit down.

(puts cup down, and the apple juice spills out onto a big tree's roots)

(cut to Stu measuring piles of leaves in another part of the back lawn; Grandpa is gardening)

Stu: Any day now Pop! Just a few more leaves and varooomm! Leaf removal will never be the same.

Grandpa: Ah ha! I'm still partial to the rake.

(cut to kids in another part of lawn now playing ball; Tommy steps on a yellow leaf on the ground and stops, stares at it, and stares up at the tree it came from)

Chuckie: What are you lookin' at Tommy?

Lil: Did your ball fall into the sky?

Tommy: No, it's the tree. Those leaves aren't the color they're supposed to be.

Chuckie: (looking up and gasping) You're right, Tommy. They're a different color. Whenever I see leaves on trees, they're green.

Tommy: What do you think happened.

Phil: Maybe they jumped.

Tommy: How come they turned that funny color?

Lil: Maybe they're sick. Chuckie turned a funny color when he was sick.

Chuckie: Oh, now that's silly. How can a tree get sick. (sees his spilled cup of apple juice) Oh no! It was me! I hurt the tree!

Tommy: What are you talking about Chuckie?

Chuckie: The apple juice! I spilled it on tree and now the tree is sick!

Lil: Oh no! Oh look Chuckie! There's even more funny colored leaves up higher.

Chuckie: Oh, I'm sorry tree! I didn't mean to hurt you.

(hugs the tree)

Tommy: Chuckie, it was only apple juice.

Chuckie: Tommy, do you see any apples on this tree? This isn't an apple tree. Putting apple juice on this tree is like, is like giving birdfood to a "goldflish."

Phil: Uh, you're not "asupposed" to do that. That must be why Flippy had to go to the hospital in the potty.

Chuckie: What are we gonna do?

Tommy: Maybe it needs medicine.

Phil: What kind of medicine do you give a tree?

Tommy: I once "hearded" my dad say this was Mabel's tree.

Lil: Maybe we can find Mabel. She might have medicine for it.

Chuckie: When I was sick, my dad gave me cough syrup. Maybe Mabel's tree just needs Mabel's syrup!

Tommy: Mabel's syrup! I had that on my pancakes one time. Come on, let's go find some.

(cut to them in the kitchen; Tommy takes some maple syrup from the cupboard)

Tommy: Hey guys! I think I found it.

Lil: Looks like "pancapes"

Tommy: Come on, let's try it.

(cut to the kids by the tree in the backyard; Chuckie pours the syrup on the tree)

Lil: Is anything happening?

Phil: I don't think so. But I'm gettin' kind of hungry for "pancapes".

Tommy: Is it working Chuckie?

(they all gasp as they see another leaf fall from the tree; Chuckie wails and hugs the tree)

Chuckie: I'm sorry tree! I'm sorry I made you sick and sticky!

(he starts to walk to the house and start worship cry)

Tommy: Uh, don't cry Chuckie. Uh, maybe it just takes time. You'll see. We'll come out tomorrow and the tree will be all better.

(the others follow Chuckie)

Chuckie: Are you sure?

Tommy: Absolutely

(all the kids enter the house)

(sky turns dark to indicate night, then light; kids walk outside the next day and the tree now has no leaves; Chuckie begins to storm wail again)

Chuckie: Tommy! You said it would be better tomorrow, and now it's tomorrow and it's "worser".

Lil: Wow, I didn't know there were that many leaves on the tree.

Tommy: Uh, uh, don't worry Chuckie. Uh, we'll figure out how to make the tree healthy again.

Phil: How?

Tommy: Well, uh, Chuckie turned a funny color when he got sick. But when he got all better, he was a regular color again, right.

Lil: Right.

Tommy: So, if we make the tree look like it did before it got sick, then it will be all better too.

Phil: But to do that, we'll have to color all the leaves their regular color and put them all back on the tree.

Tommy: Exactly, how hard could it be?

(cut to most of the kids coloring the leaves on a picnic table with green crayons; Chuckie brings another pile of leaves)

Phil: This is hard.

Tommy: We gotta keep going you guys.

Lil: Can we use this color for the leaves?

(holds up a purple crayon)

Chuckie: That's purple! We have to use green. That's the color leaves are when they're healthy.

Lil: But I used up all my green crayons.

Tommy: All mine are "broked."

Lil: Oh, what are we gonna do?

Tommy: There must be something green around here we can use. (sees Mom with green jello salad in the kitchen) Hmmm...

(cut to inside the kitchen; Tommy, Phil, and Lil steal the jello and run outside)

Phil: My diaper's coming loose.

Tommy: Can't stop now.

(put the jello down by the tree)

Lil: Now, what do we do?

Tommy: It's like a big crayon. Just pick some up and color on the "leafs."

(picks some up and puts it on a leaf; others pick some up)

Chuckie: Ew, this crayon's too mushy.

Lil: Yeah, it's just makin' my fingers sticky.

Phil: (eating some) Yeah, but it tastes better than, uh, other things.

(Chuckie puts some on a leaf, and the jello slides off; Stu and Didi enter the lawn with the "Leaf Lifter")

Stu: Finally, sufficient depth of leaves to truly test the capabilities of the "Leaf Lifter".

Didi: It's an awful lot of leaves, Stu. Even if your invention works, where are you going to put them all?

Stu: Not a problem Deed. You see, this little vacuum packing attachment will condense a yard full of leaves into a block only slightly larger than my head.

Didi: Oh, look at the kids, Stu. Standing over there with nothing to do. Why don't I pack up their lunch and you can take them to the park. The leaves will wait.

Stu: Deed, if you don't start taking up leaves as soon as they hit the ground, you'll fall tragically behind in the quality of your leaf removal. It's a well known fact.

Didi: Couldn't you just do it later?

Stu: (sighs) Honey, if Benjamin Franklin had taken time away from inventing electricity, we'd all be burning whale oil right now!

Didi: Oh, come on kids. I guess you'll just have to lunch here.

(Spike is outside and see the leaves covered in jello and licks them)

(cut to the kids inside eating lunch)

Chuckie: What do we do now Tommy?

Lil: Yeah, the mushy green crayon didn't work on the leaves.

Tommy: Well, the ones that are falling off are the funny color right? Well, maybe if we just stick them back on the tree, they'll turn green again.

(cut to Stu using his leaf remover outside)

(cut to kids inside)

Lil: What's that?

(kids look out the window)

Chuckie: Tommy, your dad's vacuum is eating all the leaves!

Tommy: We gotta stop it or we'll never make the tree all better. Eat faster, you guys!

(the kids run back to the table and quickly eat their food)

Didi: Boy, you kids are hungry today. I'll get you some more.

(cut to outside; the machine finishes and spits out a small package; the kids emerge)

Chuckie: Oh, my tummy hurts. (sees backyard) Oh no!

Phil: It "eated" up every leaf.

Lil: Boy, I bet the vacuum's tummy hurts too.

Tommy: Come on! We've got to find our leaves and get them back on the tree!

(the kids run to the small package)

Lil: Do you think they're in here?

Tommy: Come on. Let's open it up.

(pulls on the tab, and the leaves scatter around the yard, the kids dance and cheer)

(cut to kids putting glue on the tree and pasting the leaves on the bark)

Chuckie: Oh, yay! We'll be done in no time, guys!

(Grandpa emerges from house)

Grandpa: Come on, sprouts! Didi wants you down for a nap.

(Stu enters the backyard whistling; then gasps in surprise when he sees the lawn)

Stu: Huh? Uh, hmmm...

(cut to kids taking a nap)

(cut to Stu using the leaf machine to remove them again; kids look out the window; Stu leaves)

(cut to the kids entering the back yard again, and pulling on the tab, releasing the leaves, and cheering/dancing when they are released; Grandpa gets them inside; repeat sequence with Stu coming back, cut to kids taking nap, cut to Stu using his machine, cut to kids releasing the leaves and cheering/dancing; cut to Stu coming back, kicking his machine which starts and tears off most of his shirt)

(cut to Stu entering the kitchen)

Didi: Stu! What happened?

Stu: You know Deed. Maybe having a leaf free yard isn't so important! A few leaves are good. After all, leaves are what make autumn, autumn. Right?

Didi: (putting a towel over Stu shoulders) Well I always thought so.

Stu: Uh, I have an idea. Maybe I'll forget about the lawn and take the kids to the park.

Didi: Well that would be wonderful!

(cut to Grandpa raking leaves in front lawn, car pulls out with Stu and the kids)

Grandpa: Have a nice time!

Stu: Thanks Pop.

(cut to kids in back seat; Chuckie sighs)

Phil: Sorry Chuckie.

Lil: We tried to make the tree all better.

Chuckie: (sniffling) I know.

Tommy: (looking out the window) Look Chuckie!

Phil: Hey, all the trees are sick.

Chuckie: But. but I couldn't make them all sick!

Tommy: You're right Chuckie! You couldn't of. I don't think they're sick at all!

Chuckie: You don't?

Tommy: No! This has to just be something that trees do.

Chuckie: Then that means we don't have to do anything about the leaves.

Lil: I think we do!

(laughs)

(cut to the kids in the park jumping in a pile of leaves and laughing as Stu watches)

Chuckie: So it wasn't sick after all. Boy, is Mabel gonna be happy!

''(throws leaves up in the air a few times). ''