Prunella the Packrat/Transcript

[Arthur is in his room, putting toys into a cardboard box]

• Arthur [talking to audience]: Have you ever thought about how much stuff you have? Half of these toys I never play with anymore! But, I keep them anyway because maybe I will want to play with them someday.
• Arthur [picks up poogle]: Except for this poogle, I'll never play with this again. [reaches towards garbage can]
• Arthur [pulls back without throwing away the poogle] Then again, it might wind up being a collector's item. I better hold onto it.
• Arthur [picks up Egyptian trophy]: We know about some ancient civilizations because they held onto their stuff for a really long time.
• Arthur [daydreams]: This pyramid; it was built by the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu.
• Arthur [grabs onto rope ladder]: Mainly to protect his stuff.
• Arthur [helicopter flies over brown murky area]: Look down there, that's all trash that's floating around the Pacific ocean. It may be garbage now, but people owned a lot of it. More stuff! Yugh!
• Arthur [appears in museum]: This amphora was also found in the ocean. The ancient Greeks used it to hold liquid more than 2000 years ago! Stuff! [gestures at the amphora]
• Arthur [daydream ends]: So, what do you think will happen to all your stuff 2000 years from now? Will it be a little piece of history, exhibited in a museum somewhere? Or just trash, floating around the ocean?

Prunella the Packrat

Written by Guy Lancaster and Peter K. Hirsch ---------Storyboard by Daniel Miodini and Francois Brisson

[Students are in Mr. Ratburn's classroom, Muffy is doing a presentation]

• Muffy: This is the school gymnasium now, but when I'm on the decorating committee for the upcoming fair, it will be transformed into this [changes slide]
• Muffy: Voila!
• Class [gasps]: Whoa..
• Muffy: Ladies and gentlemen, behold our new school; Rainforest Elementary!
• [Projection is turned off, lights are turned on]
• Mr. Ratburn: Thank you for that, lovely display Muffy. But as I said before, the two students on the committee are to be selected randomly.
• [Muffy closes her laptop as Mr. Ratburn speaks. She brings it back to her desk]
• Muffy [annoyed]: Ohhh, and I already got a really great deal on the giant plastic trees.
• George: You do know that this is an Earth day fair, right? Plastic trees might be sending the wrong message.
• Muffy: Just because it's "ecological" doesn't mean it can't be fun!
• [Mr. Ratburn gets a hat from his desk]
• Mr Ratburn: Prunella has already been selected to represent the fourth grade.
• Mr Ratburn: Representing our class... [puts hand into hat] will be Arthur Read!
• [Muffy leans over and points at Arthur angrily]
• Muffy [somewhat of a whisper]: It better be fabulous!

[Prunella is in her house, walking up the stairs with Arthur. She turns around to face him]

• Prunella: And I thought maybe we could do a collage. [opens door to her room]
• Prunella: You know, of stuff from Earth days we've had before? And-
• [Rubella pops out in a green cloak. Prunella screams]
• Rubella: Prevail the closet. It will swallow you whole!
• Rubella [running in circles]: Mwahahahaha!!
• Prunella [angrily]: Rubella! Cut it out!
• [Prunella leads Rubella out of the room]
• Prunella: And that's the last time I'm letting you borrow my cloak.
• Arthur: What did she mean about your closet?
• Prunella: Oh, Rubella just thinks I save too much stuff.
• Prunella: She says I'm a packrat. [holds handles of closet]
• Prunella [opens closet doors]: But I've got some great things we can use for the fair.
• [Arthur gasps]
• Prunella: Here's a box of pinecones I saved from last winter. [opens box]
• Prunella: Oh wait, these are just pencil stubs.
• Prunella [pointing at another box]: Here, all my quizzes from second grade! Oh, don't want to look at those!
• Prunella: Oh! Here's a bag of packing peanuts, might be useful as part of a display.
• Arthur [walks into dangling strings]: Ah!! What are these?
• Prunella: Shoelaces. Whenever one breaks, I save the broken piece.
• Arthur: Why?
• Prunella [still rummaging through her stuff]: I don't know, I just do.
• Prunella: Um. I forget what's in this.. Oh, ticket stuff! Here's one from Princess on Ice when I was four.
• Arthur: Um, I'm going to go back out. Okay?
• Prunella: Sure! I'll just be a sec.
• Arthur [relieved from exiting closet]: Hoo.
• [The clock ticks and around 2 hours pass]
• Prunella [still in closet]: Ooh, my first grade mittens, cute! And where is that box of snowglobes? I saw it just the other-
• [Box falling sounds. Prunella screams, Arthur runs up to the fallen items]
• Arthur: Are you okay?
• Prunella [lifting off a bag]: I'm fine, happens all the time.
• Prunella [gasps]: This is exactly what I was looking for! [holds up snowglobe]
• Prunella: See? We can use it as a display about global warming!
• Arthur: Um.. I have to get home.. It's, it's almost time for dinner. [Looks at his watch]
• Prunella: Sorry, I guess I got a little distracted.
• [Arthur shrugs]
• Arthur: Maybe we'll get more done if we meet at the Sugar Bowl next time. [Waves]
• Arthur: I'll call you. [leaving the room]
• Prunella: Okay! But don't buy anything, we've got everything we need right here.
• [Box falls onto Prunella's head and she screams]

[Arthur and Buster are in Buster's room. Buster opens a box and brings out a vegetable shaped as a person]

• Buster: What's wrong with collecting things? I collect food. Look at what I found at the garden today.
• Arthur: What is it?
• Buster: A sweet potato, shaped like a little man. I call it, Yamlet.
• Arthur: But with Prunella it's not just one thing like food. [Starts walking] She saves everything! She spent the whole time going through boxes.
• [Arthur hops onto Buster's bed and picks up a sandwich]
• Arthur: And we didn't talk about the fair at all.
• [Buster, holding a book, walks over to Arthur]
• Buster: I used to have a hard time getting rid of stuff too. But then my mom got me this great book.
• [Buster holds up the book]
• Arthur [reading]: Neatnik Ned's Guide to Clearing Clutter. You actually read this?
• [Arthur takes hold of the book and looks at it]
• Buster: Yeah! Well, I read the first chapter. But even that was life changing. Maybe it could help Prunella.
• Buster [looking at Arthur's wrapper]: Are you through with that sandwich wrapper? It'd be perfect for Yamlet's ghost.
• [Arthur stares at Buster]

[Prunella, Arthur, and Rubella are in her room. Prunella has her arms over her closet]

• Prunella: No!! It's my stuff! And you can't make me throw it away!
• [Arthur and Rubella approaching Prunella. Arthur holds up the book]
• Arthur: All I said was that I thought you might want this book.
• Prunella [defiantly]: But what you're really saying is 'you should get rid of all that junk'! Well it's not junk to me.
• [Prunella opens her closet doors]
• Prunella: Everything inside this room has deep personal meaning for me.
• [Rubella moves Prunella out of the way]
• Rubella: Oh, is that so? [Enters closet]
• Rubella [holding up a blue sock]: How about this sock with a hole in it?
• Prunella: That, was the sock I wore when I read my first Henry Skreever book.
• Rubella: It's a baby sock! You couldn't read when you were one!
• [Prunella grabs the sock from Rubella]
• Prunella: Well I really like its blueness. It could be part of an art project some day.
• [Rubella goes back into the closet and holds up an egg carton]
• Rubella: What about this old empty egg carton? Is this part of a project too?
• Prunella [hesitantly]: Okay.. I guess I could get rid of one or two things.
• Arthur [reading book]: Neatnik Ned says that you should put everything into piles first.
• [Arthur closes the book and looks at Prunella]
• Arthur: Let's make a 'keep' pile, a 'get rid of' pile, and a 'stuff-for-the-fair' pile.
• Rubella: We'll help you start. [Puts hand on Prunella's shoulder]
• [Rubella pulls on the sock that Prunella is still holding, Prunella won't let go]
• Rubella: Prunie, you need to let go!
• [Prunella lets go and sighs. Rubella tosses the sock and egg carton onto the ground]
• Rubella: There, that's the 'get rid of' pile.

[Time passes and the two piles get larger.]

[Prunella and Arthur start fighting over an umbrella, Arthur eventually gets it and throws it into a pile]

[Prunella lifts up a piece of paper and smiles. Rubella replaces it with Neatnik Ned's book, and throws away the box of papers]

• Prunella [pointing at the wall]: The wall! I completely forgot it was pink!
• Rubella: You can stare at the wall later Prunie. We've got to get to the collection center before it closes.
• Prunella: I'll take it, you guys have done enough.
• Arthur: How will you manage all that by yourself?
• Prunella: Just help me load it into the wagon downstairs.
• [They all lean down to pick up a box]
• Prunella: You know, I actually feel better to having less stuff. Thanks Arthur.
• Arthur: Really you should thank Buster, he's the one who said I should give you the book. Although, he's still a bit of a packrat himself.
• [They all walk towards the door, carrying boxes]

[Prunella walks into the Collection Center, pulling a wagon full of stuff]

• Prunella [to an employee]: Hi there, I know where all the metal, paper, and glass stuff go but how about this?
• Worker [pointing at an area]: There, and help yourself to whatever's clean. It's free!
• Prunella: Ooh, wonder if there's anything good.
• Prunella [talking to herself]: No Prunie, you must resist!
• [As Prunella is putting down a teddy bear, she sees a jar and gasps]
• Prunella: A Henry Skreever thermos! Hm! I could use a hand mirror.
• [Prunella sees a snowglobe, and gasps again]

[Prunella is pulling two once-again-full wagons back to her house]

• [Prunella hears Rubella saying "Prunie, you need to let go!" in her head]
• [She looks at her stuff and pulls it to Buster's house instead. She rings the doorbell]
• Prunella: Hi Buster, thanks for lending me Neatnik Ned's book.
• Buster: Isn't it great?
• Prunella: Oh I love it, changed my life.
• Buster: Me too!
• Prunella: Hey, you know what I found at the farmer's market yesterday? A beet shaped just like a heart. And this big [holds hands apart] Want it?
• Buster: Yes!!!
• Prunella: It's yours. I just need a favour. Could you keep some stuff for me? Just for today? I'll pick it up tomorrow.
• [Prunella drags her wagons into the house. Buster gasps. Prunella hands him a purple beet and leaves. Buster takes Yamlet out of his pocket]
• Buster [smiling]: What do you think Yamlet? [gets on one knee]
• Buster: To beet or not to beet!

[Arthur is discussing a floor-plan with Prunella at the Sugar Bowl]

• Arthur: And here we'll have an area that's all about swamps and marshes. And this section can be about the melting ice caps. You still have all the decorations for that area, right?
• Prunella: Oh yeah, it's all in the.. 'stuff for the fair' pile.
• [Arthur gets up, off his seat and begins to walk to the door. Prunella stands up]
• Arthur: Great, oh can I have the Neatnik Ned book? I'd like to read it too.
• Prunella: Now?
• Arthur: If that's okay, I'll only take a minute.
• Prunella: Sure, uh, of course it's okay! Why wouldn't it be okay?

[Prunella walks up the stairs, into her room]

• Prunella [to Arthur]: Wait right here, I'll be back in just a sec. [closes the door]
• [Prunella re-opens her door]
• Prunella: Here's a magazine, make yourself at home. [closes the door again]
• [Arthur looks around and hears boxes falling, he gasps and opens the door]
• Prunella: I'm fine, happens all the time.
• Arthur: You never threw anything out, did you?
• Prunella: I did, but then I got a few things at the recycling center. And then a few more.
• [Prunella gets off her stuff and starts rummaging again]
• Prunella: But don't worry, those decorations are here somewhere. I promise I'll find them in time. Oh look! It's Neatnik Ned. Here you go.
• [Arthur throws the magazine onto the ground]
• Arthur [disappointed]: You need it more than me, I hope you get a bigger closet. I can't imagine what it's going to be like in a year from now.
• [Arthur leaves the room]
• [Prunella imagines that her closet bursts and the stuff explodes from the roof, lifting her upwards. It ends]
• Prunella: Arthur's right, I can't go on like this. Okay stuff, prepare to get organized!

[Everyone is at the Earth Day fair. Many different exhibits are going on]

• Buster [to Arthur]: Try some locally grown organic borscht.
• Arthur: You didn't save the heart shaped beet?
• Buster: Nahh, I'm through collecting food for a while. Check out Yamlet. [holds out a plate of sweet potato fries]
• Muffy [to Arthur]: Well, if I were on the decorating committee, this would've been much more dramatic. Couldn't you have at least gotten a polar bear?
• Arthur: Actually, Prunella has a stuffed polar bear doll. But I guess she decided not to show.
• [Screeching speakers sound]
• Prunella [into microphone]: Testing, testing, hey, this actually works! I haven't used this thing in years. I just wanted to let everyone know that everything on this table is free. Including this microphone.
• [Binky goes up to grab the microphone from her]
• Prunella: Not yet! Let me finish! I have two requests though. Don't hold on to anything you take, for too long, give it to someone else when you're done. We all just share it! Thanks.
• Mr. Ratburn: A very interesting take on recycling Prunella, but what's your second request?
• Prunella: Well, I'll need a little help from everyone. Everything from this wagon is for a special work of art.
• [The kids create a sculpture of the Earth with a sign saying "Save the Earth", re-using all the items in Prunella's wagon.]
• Prunella [smiling]: Now that's what I call recycling!