Stormy Monday

The first Made-to-order cartoon...

I told my brother that no one would know what an elderberry was but he commissioned me to make the 'toon anyway.  For those who don't know what they are, they are small dark berries that grow in clusters on elder trees.  I gathered by skimming through an FAQ section on elderberries.com, that they can be toxic, but when prepared properly, offer many health benefits.

Droid Does... run out of battery REALLY fast.

MOVIE SONG

(for best results, right click on the link for the song and open in a new window, on Mac, control + click)

Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man (WARNING: they say the F word)

The scene opens in an army base.  You can see by what's written on the MISSION DETAILS dry erase board that this team will be extracting a prisoner from behind enemy lines.  Most of the members of this eight-man team look like your standard bad-ass special-ops type soldiers except two: One a rookie (Andy), who begged to be included in the mission because the prisoner is his best childhood friend, and the other, a grizzled veteran (Burt) who sits silently in the back of the room engulfed in a cloud of smoke from the cigar he's puffing.  

Covered by the dark of night the squad arrives by boat on enemy soil undetected and splits up into smaller groups, snipers to the hill, artillery around the enemy fortress, and the two outsiders, Burt and Andy make their way in as the guards are distracted by an explosion in the distance.  They get separated inside the dark hallways and Andy starts to panic.  As he approaches the prison area, he sees two watchmen and hides behind a corner, but as he presses himself into the wall, he steps on a pebble which spooks the guards.  They approach the corner with caution and radio in that they are checking on a noise.  He shakily tries to steady his gun to keep it from rattling as the guards approach.  Just as they are turning the corner POW! POW! two shots from Burt's shotgun kill the enemy guards.  The base's alarm sounds.  From this point on Andy follows Burt very closely.  Burt storms through the base killing enemies with his shotgun and trusty hunting knife.  The violence is almost too much for Andy to bear but he pulls himself together when he sees his best friend lying in a cell.  He shoots open the lock and kneels next to his friend.  He realizes that his friend is dead.  Burt enters the cell to check on the situation and as he consoles Andy, is shot in the back of the leg.  He collapses and shoots his attacker.  At this point Andy's expression changes from fear and sadness to anger.  He pops off his friend's dog tags and stands tall for the first time.  He hoists Burt up so he can help him stumble out of the base.  On the way out Andy is shouting and shooting enemy soldiers in a fury.  The final scene is shot from just inside the enemy base as you watch the two soldiers escape into the night.

(Don't bother asking why an unprepared rookie would be sent on such a mission, it's a movie!)