The Sweeney Todd Effect...

HoneyGirl and I stayed up late Friday night watching Sweeney Todd. After, we had a great discussion about rock operas like "Tommy" and "Jesus Christ Superstar". She quickly added them to our Netflix queue, looking forward to our next late night movie together.

I was perhaps unaware that she had come down with something more serious. Let me call it the Sweeney Todd effect. You see, today she sat down to start a simple assignment to write a 1-2 page story using anthropomorphism. She was quickly scribbling away on an outline, and doing research on the internet. More scribbling, and lots of giggling to herself. Two hours later, she comes to me with her story idea and a bonus.

Her story will be about a family of bears that live on a freshwater lake who are suddenly faced with starvation. They discover the stream leading to their lake has been dammed up for a huge building project (to be determined). A rather smart bear, Jefferson, does some research and tells the rest that if they can find and relocate an endangered species to their lake, the Endangered Species Act would force the men to cease construction. The bears will head out on a journey to find a platypus family, and they convince the platypus to move to their valley lake with promises of protection of their eggs and nests. The bears then lure some park rangers to the platypus nests, and all work is stopped, and the dam removed. The fish return, and the bears way of life is saved.

The bonus was the big suprise here. She explains that she thought the ending would be a perfect place for all the animals to break into song, like in Sweeney Todd. As such, I include her adaptation of Queen's hit...

"Bear"hemian Rhapsody

Bear #1- Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality.
Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see,
I’m just a poor cub, I need no sympathy,
Because I’m easy come, easy go; tide high, tide low,
Any way the fish swim, doesn’t really matter to me, to me.

Bear #2 Mama, just killed a plan.
Put a platypus in his way, used the law to make a play
Mama, fish have finally come.
Cuz’ now the MEN have thrown their plans away.
Mama, ooh, won’t we laugh when builders cry.
They won’t be back again this time tomorrow.
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters
So soon, our time has come
Sends shivers down our spines, bellies full now all the time
Platypus Hello, everybody, I’ve come to stay.
Gonna settle here and make my home with you.
Brothers, no need to cry
I sometimes think this all was meant to be.
I see a little silhouette of a bear,
BEAR CHORUS Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Bear-dango
Bulldozers and dump trucks; out of work, out of luck-WEE!
Fish filet-O (Fish filet-O) Fish filet-O (Fish filet-O),
Fish filet-O, Chili Dog! Magnifico!
RAINBOW: I’m just a poor fish; bears want to eat me
SCHOOL: He’s just a poor fish, from the trout family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
RAINBOW: Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?
BEAR: Bismillah! No I will not let you go.
SCHOOL: Let him go!
BEAR: Bismillah! No I will not let you go.
SCHOOL: Let him go!
BEAR: Bismillah! No I will not let you go.
RAINBOW: Let me go!
BEAR: Will not let you go.
RAINBOW: Let me go! AH!
ALL: No, no,no,no,no, no, no
RAINBOW: Oh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go!
Beelzebub has a beartrap put aside for you, for you, for you!
(Bear eats Rainbow; school swims off)

BEAR: So you thought you could starve us and get us to leave.
Didn’t think some dumb bears could find a reprieve!
Oh, baby, can’t get rid of us baby.
We worked it out, just gotta get MAN outta here.
PLATYPUS Wildlife really matters, anyone can see.
Wildlife really matters,
Wildlife really matters to me
CHORUS Any way the fish swims….


If this is the finale, I can't wait to see what she comes up with for the story!