The New Ray Bradbury Review: Number 1 2008

Nemo!

163 Nemo! [pp. 38–42] 15 EXT. PALACE GROUNDS Omen and Nemo land, running. Dr. Pill lands only to be smothered by a mob of musicians, chefs, bandleaders, pennant-bearers, lackeys, etc. ALL (in a babble) When does it start? When do we eat? Who has the wine? Where is the King? Who leads the parade? Where do we go? Is he here? What’s the dessert, etc. etc. Pill is lost in the mob. Omen winks at Nemo, grabs his hand, steals him away, pointing up at: Nemo blinks up and reads: DINOSAUR KENNELS! NEMO’S VOICE Dinosaur? They got kennels for— Omen presses a button on the front of the gigantic, 50-foot doors. Which THUNDER WIDE. They step in swiftly as the doors RUMBLE SHUT! 15A INT. DINOSAUR KENNELS SCRIPT The New Ray Bradbury Review 164 NEMO Where are the— Omen winks, calls. OMEN Here, boy! Hey! There is a stir in the immense foliage-filled place. There are green plants everywhere. A true jungle. They listen to far WHISPERS, STIRS, WHINES, FAINT ROARS. OMEN (continuing) Here, boy! Heel! There is a great sudden stomp of feet. Omen yanks out a HARMONICA, gives it a blow! Immediately what sounds like a giant dog HOWLS! Omen blows another CHORD! Nemo stares as: Something stirs in the dense foliage. The head of a brontosaur shoves itself forth in the treetops. It HOWLS with anguish. Omen blows his HARMONICA. A second beast, an allosaur, pops its sleek, slender, coiffed head to join the anguished YELPS. As a third head appears—Tyrannosaurus Rex—HOWLING. Omen stops blowing, yells. OMEN (continuing) Nemo! 165 Come on, boy. Here, Rex! T. Rex, hearing his name, called like a dog, WHINES happily and stampedes forward at a frisk, destroying as he goes. His tail, as it sweeps behind, grows up foliage and flowers, a lush track. The other beasts lumber and lunge forward. Nemo almost panics as the great beasts shadow him, WHINING. The brontosaur falls over on its back, exposing its stomach. As does the allosaur! While T. Rex brings his great sword-fenced mouth down to Nemo, all smiles. Nemo shuts his eyes and—a great tongue gives him—a lick! OMEN (continuing) Pet him! (a beat) Pet him or—he’ll eat you! Nemo looks over to see: Omen standing on one monster’s exposed belly, scratching him with his feet. Nemo dares to reach up and—pet the T. Rex. It PURRRS! Eyes shut, happy. At which moment: TA-TA! A BAND SOUNDS not far off. The great doors WHAM back open! The band sound blares in. 16 EXT. PALACE GROUNDS Beyond the door we see Dr. Pill gesticulate a baton at a brass band! DR. PILL Parade! Go! The New Ray Bradbury Review 166 The parade marching off in all directions, but finally, after colliding, forms up in units of banner-bearers, flag-wavers, and instrument blowers! The dinosaurs, drawn by the MUSIC, sneak their heads under Nemo and Omen, plumping them on their necks to sit astride. The dinosaurs crash forward, HOWLING because the MUSIC makes their ears hurt. Nemo and Omen kick the sides of the dinosaurs’ necks to shut them up. The parade bangs by, triumpant and magnificent, still marching in wrong directions, not fully organized. Collisions occur, MUSIC is “squashed.” Nemo, delighted, high on the dinosaur’s neck, speaks. NEMO But who’s the parade for? Omen gestures. In a great thundering flick of flags, in row after row we see the letter N go up, then E, then M, and finally O! Nemo gasps. His dinosaur gasps, rears, throwing Nemo off and—falls between the dinosaur’s trampling feet as it rears and bucks. The T. Rex, seeing flags like bunches of edible flowers, munches, one, two, three, four flags, each with a different letter: N and E and M and O! VARIOUS Hey, that’s my N! My E! My M! My O! Help! Stop him! He’s eating the parade! But the flags are gone and the T. Rex swallows happily. Nemo! 167 While Nemo ducks like someone bumped in a pinball game, ricocheted amongst the four lumbering legs! While the mob, the parade, the band, confused as to what to do, rushes in all directions, colliding. Causing the dinosaur to whirl, panicked. Ricocheting Nemo even more, yelling. As...