Script meeting for Henry Bramble ...the feature film!

While we wait in limbo for the visual effects team to get moving on the short, I met up with the producer Charlotte Wontner and Script Editor Vicki Jung this afternoon to flesh out my ideas for the feature film version of The Infectious Imagination Of Henry Bramble.

The key questions that I wanted to discuss in expanding the short was what Henry's journey would be and how that would link into the reason why Henry's mother has to abandon her son with an estranged relative.

In the short film it is really the uncle's story, as he discovers, through Henry, how to imagine again. Henry doesn't really change throughout the film he simply represents the wonderful innocence and wild imagination of children. For the 90 minute children's feature film however Henry has to have a strong character arc if he is going to be the central character.

From the original set up of the short it was clear that the problems Henry must face would stem from his absent father and all tie in with why his Mother has to abandon him suddenly. During our meeting we bounced many ideas and possibilities, but agreed on some basic foundations for the film.

I'm not going to give too much away, but the main thematic thread of the story will be about the importance of telling stories and that sometimes they can be powerful enough to save lives. Everything that happens in the film all stems from and connects together by this theme. If you have had the opportunity and the patience to read all 700+ pages of Storytelling - The 7 Basic Plots, then you will know how very important storytelling is to Man's very existence. If you haven't read it then I recommend you find a copy. It is truly mind-blowing stuff.

The feel and style of Henry Bramble is comparable to the wonderful Narnia films, but rather than setting it in World War II (and therefore being in danger of being accused of copying these stories), it was important to come up with an equally dark but contemporary backdrop that directly threatens Henry's future and sets it apart from any other children's story that has gone before. I am pleased to say I think we have achieved this, but rest assured, as in all good children's storytelling, there is an uplifting conclusion, but for now my lips are sealed.