The Rocking Horse Christmas
A seven year old boy named Cody saves Christmas with the help of his dog and two animated mice. In this action/animated adventure Cody passes through the fire of manhood by saving an ancient Christmas ornament that has been in his family for three hundred years.
By Mark Mc Quown
SYNOPSIS
In modern day New England in the Christmas time of the year, Cody and his family are getting ready for the end of the year celebration. Cody is ten years old and lives with his parent Karen and Ben and their cat and dog who is just called Dog. There are also two animated mice living with the family, Toby and his nephew Porter.
This is a typical crisp New England winter but Ben is under so much pressure to sell one of his stories that Christmas seems to just pass him by. Karen is trying to hold everyone together when Ben throws away an old Christmas ornament, a small carved Rocking Horse, that had been in his family for years.
The mice, Porter and Toby, go after the ornament which is now in the garbage truck. The mice have a roller-coaster time trying to regain the ornament and then an absolute adventure trying to keep the tiny Rocking Horse from homeless men and giant rats which live under the city in the sewer system.
Dog escapes his yard because he hears the mice in distress and goes after them. Cody goes after Dog but gets hopelessly lost in the water tunnels under the town. Cody, Toby, Porter and Dog all end up as one team trying to bring the Rocking Horse back to their home for Christmas.
The Rocking Horse Christmas is a fast paced Christmas story that is full of adventure, Christmas spirit and is a live-action feature with animation. The last half of the story takes Ben and Karen away from their household troubles and puts them into a race against time, trying to get their son back from an unknown place and from unknown captors.
This screenplay was the First Place Winner in the Animation Division of The Santa Clarita International Film Festival, Screenplay Contest, 1997.
Jeff Daniels
Jennifer Garner
See the IMDB for Heaven's Messenger (2008) starring John Heard, Vincent Pastore, Robert Picardo, Patricia Rea and Hallie Kate Eisenberg
Mr. Mc Quown has been honored with winning at the 1997 Santa Clarita International Film Festival, Animation Division with The Rocking Horse Christmas, the 2000 Telluride Independent Film Festival with The Tahoe Signal, the 2002, Telluride Independent Film Festival with Dot Gone and the 2002-2003 Key West Independent Film Festival with Pier 21.
International Family (IFFF) (First Place, Animation Division, 1997) [1997]
Burbank Film Festival (Second Place, Animation Division 2001) [2001]
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