This is a reading copy of the opening scenes, not a finished screenplay or released film. Example production credits from the draft are omitted; no studio affiliation is claimed.
FADE IN:
EXT. FOREST - LATE AFTERNOON
Golden sunlight shines through tall pine trees.
A quiet forest stretches for miles, peaceful and untouched.
Wind moves gently through the branches like the whole world is breathing.
A HUMAN BOY races between the trees.
MARSER, 15 with messy hair and blue eyes and completely alone.
He holds a stick like a sword.
MARSER
Back, shadow beast! You will not take the kingdom today!
He jumps onto a fallen log, nearly slips, catches himself, and laughs.
For a moment, he is not a kid with problems.
He is brave.
He is powerful.
He belongs.
Marser lifts the stick toward the sky.
MARSER
By order of the forest guardian, this land is protected!
The wind suddenly shifts.
The forest goes silent and still.
Marser notices the change and slowly lowers his stick.
A faint BLUE LIGHT flickers between the roots of an ancient tree nearby.
Marser stares at it.
Curious.
He takes one careful step toward it.
Then another.
The glow pulses softly like a heartbeat.
EXT. ANCIENT TREE CLEARING - CONTINUOUS
MARSER
Hello??
No answer, Marser steps closer. The blue light reflects across his face. Tiny glowing particles drift upward from the roots.
Marser reaches out.
His fingers are inches away.
Then-
A PHONE BUZZES in his pocket.
Marser flinches
He pulls his hand away and pulls out his phone and looks at it.
The screen reads
MOM
Marser sighs
He does not answer fast enough.
The phone buzzes again with a missed call notification.
Then a distant voice cuts through the trees.
MOM (O.S.)
MARSER!
Marser freezes.
MOM (O.S.)
GET HOME NOW!
The wonder drains from his face.
For one second, he considers staying.
He puts his phone back in his pocket.
Marser looks back towards his home and then back towards the plant and shakes his head.
He turns and walks away.
He grabs his red panda plushy and walks home.
End of the supplied opening scenes. Scene wording is preserved from the draft; line wrapping and page layout are adapted for reading on the web. Example production headers, watermarks, and export annotations are not reproduced. The original source file remains unchanged.