The Silent Treatment/Transcript

The Silent Treatment

Introduction

Francine, Binky and George throw a baseball around at the park. Arthur and Buster walk by.

Buster: Do you ever think about all the things we take for granted?

Arthur: Like what?

Buster: Like the little plastic tip of the shoelace! Without this little tip, it'd be really hard to get the lace through the hole!

He ties his shoe.

Arthur: Come to think of it, I rarely think about the rest of the shoelace, either!

Binky: Got it! He trips over his untied shoelace. Aaah! Oh!

Arthur: Unless it's untied!

Further down the path, Arthur and Buster look at ants.

Arthur: How about the ant? Did you know ants can carry more than twenty times their weight?

Buster: Ants are amazing!

Arthur: I know, and I never notice them!

George follows them juggling three balls. He drops them.

Arthur and Buster sit on a park bench.

Buster: And what about the good old park bench?

Arthur: Always there when you need it. And yet, we take it for granted!

Arthur+Buster: (sigh)

George lies under the bench.

Buster: Hey, let's go notice some things at the Sugar Bowl. I'm starving.

They leave. George gets up.

George: What about noticing me for a change? It's like I'm invisible! What about you guys? Do any of you see me? He knocks on the camera. (sighs)

Title Card: Slot Machine. George

In the park the kids hide while Binky counts to ten.

Binky: 5...6...7...8...9...10! Ready or not, here I come!

Binky finds Arthur behind a bush.

Binky: Hey!

Arthur: Aw.

Binky: Take that!

He tags Arthur.

Binky finds Sue Ellen and Francine in the treehouse.

Binky: (mean laugh)

Francine+Sue Ellen: Aw.

Binky finds Buster under a pile of leaves.

Binky: (laughs)

Buster: Aw.

Arthur, Buster, Francine and Sue Ellen stand around Binky.

Binky: That's everyone, I win! 

The bell of an ice-cream truck is heard.

Kids: Ice-cream! 

They all run away. George steps out from behind a tree.

George: Hello? Where did everybody go?

George sees the others eating ice-cream.

George: You forgot to find me! And you got ice-cream?!

Binky hides his cone behind his back.

Binky: Um...no, I didn't. He tags George’s antler. There, found you, I win!

Sue Ellen and Buster exchange guilty looks.

Sue Ellen: Here, I got you an ice-cream. I wasn't hungry. George walks away looking hurt. George, wait! It was just a mistake!

***

George stands with Wally on a bridge in the park.

George: They forgot I was even there! I could have stayed behind that tree forever.

Wally: Well, there are worse places to live. I come from an oak tree myself, and I'm prouuud of it!

George: No one ever pays attention to me. It's like I don't even exist.

Wally: You exist, George. You're just as real as I am.

George: You're not real, Wally.

Wally: (gasps) That's a terrible thing to say! If that's the way you feel, then I'm never saying another word!

George: Hey! That's a great idea! I'll just stop talking and see if anybody even notices. I hereby vow not to talk to anyone, anymore. Except to you.

He turns to go. Sue Ellen runs after him.

Sue Ellen: Ah, George, there you are. I was looking all over. I just wanted to say... George walks on. George?

***

In school the woodworking teacher, Mr. Bevel, addresses the class.

Mr. Bevel: If you want to enter your project in the woodworking contest, please say yes when I call your name. Arthur? Want to enter your stool?

Next to Arthur is a stool with a lopsided seat.

Arthur: Yes.

Mr. Bevel: How about you, Binky? Want to enter your...what is it, again?

Next to Binky is a block of wood with a nail in it.

Binky: It’s either a coat-rack, or a doorstop. I haven't decided yet. But yes.

Mr. Bevel: Okay... George, I'm sure you want to enter your marble run, right? George drops a marble in the marble run. He folds his arms and says nothing. The winner gets a trip to the Elwood City Inventors Museum. George looks sad but does not speak. All right, it's your decision. Buster, how about your, uh... cutting board?

Buster has a simple wooden board in front of him.

Buster: Of course! How could I lose?

***

George stands in the lunch line in the cafeteria.

Mrs. McGrady: Hi, George, what'll it be today? Lasagna? Or something new? I call it babagoulash! Beef strips and eggplant in a cream sauce, topped off with raisins and olives!

George looks scared.

George: (gasps) Mm-mm-mm!

Mrs. McGrady: Yes, it does smell good, doesn't it? Babagoulash it is. She puts some on George’s plate. You're the first one to ask for it.

***

George sits alone and unenthusiastically stirs his babagoulash. Sue Ellen watches him, then she turns to Arthur, Buster and Binky.

Sue Ellen: Guys, we have to do something about George. He was really upset after hide and seek!

Buster: George was at hide and seek? Huh. I didn't notice.

Sue Ellen: Exactly! And it's not the first time we've forgotten about him.

Arthur: We could throw him a party.

Binky: Yeah! It'll be a "George, we know you're there" party.

Sue Ellen: I like it. But let's not call it that.

Buster: We could have a big cake that George pops out of.

Arthur: We can't do that. Then George would have to know about it, and it should be a surprise, right?

Sue Ellen: Definitely! So, nobody say anything to him. Okay. Here's what we'll do. We'll meet after school in the yard, and then...

***

George lies on the couch with Wally.

George: This not talking thing is hard!

Wally: I haven't been this quiet since that time my jaw fell off.

George: And the worst thing is, no one's noticed! Well, I'm just gonna keep it up until someone does.

The phone rings.

Wally: Aren't you going to answer that?

George: I can't talk to anyone, remember?

Mr. Lundgren (answering machine): “You've reached the Lundgrens. Leave a message!”

Sue Ellen (on phone): Hi. It's Sue Ellen calling for George.

George: Sue Ellen?!

Wally: Hey! This counts as someone talking to ya!

George: You're right!

He walks to the phone and reaches for it.

Sue Ellen (on phone): I need a favor, um... some help with my... woodworking project. Could you meet me at the treehouse tomorrow after school? Thanks.

George walks back to the couch.

Wally: What's the matter? She called you, didn't she?

George: Oh, sure. They call me when they need something. Otherwise, it's like I don't exist.

***

At night George sleeps in bed. He dreams that someone touches him with a magic wand.

Wally: George, oh, George? Wake up!

George: Huh? Wally?

Wally stands on his blanket wearing a wizard’s hat and holding a wand.

Wally: I'm not Wally! I'm Wizard Wally, I'm magical!

The walls shake and a picture falls down.

Wally: Oops! Oh, well. I never liked that picture. Now, come with me. I'm gonna show you what life would be like if you never existed.

Wally and George fly out of the window.

George: Cool! I remember a movie just like this. This man is shown what life would be like if he never existed, and everyone's sad and poor, and a bad guy runs everything. It's terrible.

Wally: Exactly!

He waves his wand and they disappear.

***

George and Wally appear floating in a school corridor. Arthur and Buster walk past.

George: Hey, Arthur! Buster!

Wally: They can't hear you, George.

Buster: ...and then, the banana says, "Sorry, but I've got to split!"

Arthur+Buster: (laugh)

George: They don't seem so sad. And Muffy certainly doesn't seem poor.

Muffy uses an iPod while Bailey carries her backpack.

Wally: Hm, you're right. He makes a clipboard appear. Oh! That's because we're in the wrong fantasy! This is what the world would be like if I didn't exist. My bad.

They disappear.

***

George and Wally appear in an unused woodworking room full of cobwebs.

Wally: Here we go! This is the one where you don't exist!

George: It's the woodworking room. Where are all the tools?

Wally: There is no woodworking class, George. No one was interested enough to sign up.

Mr. Bevel sadly looks into the room.

Mr. Bevel: If only I had one student who was really into it and could get the others interested.

George and Wally disappear.

***

George and Wally appear on a playing field.

George: Hey, I know this spot! This is where Buster, Arthur and I play three-way catch sometimes.

Buster throws to Arthur who throws the ball on an empty patch of grass.

Buster: What’d you do that for?

Arthur: I just had a weird feeling that someone should have been there.

Buster: I know what you mean. It's like...someone's missing.

Arthur: Whoever he is, I miss him.

George smiles. He and Wally disappear.

***

George and Wally sit in a tree and watch a family of birds sitting on a tree looking sad.

George: What's the matter with them?

Wally: They're cold, George. The house that you and your dad built for them isn't here because...

George: Because I never existed.

Wally: And now I'll show you the worst thing of all.

They fly off.

***

George and Wally fly to the Lundgren’s garden where Mr. Lundgren is chopping wood.

Wally: And do you know what that is, George?

George: A log?

Wally: It's me! That's the log I came from. If you never existed, then I would never have existed. Mr. Lundgren raises his axe. Both Wally and George cover their eyes. Argh! It's too horrible!

***

The dream ends. George wakes up in bed.

George: I do matter! He runs to the window and looks out. Hello, Elwood City! It's me, George! I'm here and I'm going to talk again!

Two birds sit in front of their birdhouse.

***

In a school corridor Sue Ellen shows Arthur a box with a cake shaped like George’s head.

Sue Ellen: Look at the cake I baked for George's surprise party!

George: Arthur, Sue Ellen, hi!

Arthur closes the box.

Arthur: Quick! He can't see the cake. It'll ruin the surprise!

They walk away. George looks disappointed.

***

Further down the corridor Buster shows Binky some drink cartons in his backpack.

Buster: Moose punch! George's favorite!

Binky: I'm going to play a song for George on my clarinet. It's called “A Song for George”!

George: Buster, Binky! Wait up!

Buster: It's him! Ixnay on the ongsay!

They walk away. George looks shocked.

***

George sits on a tire swing in the school playground and watches Arthur, Buster and Sue Ellen talking.

George: I was right after all. Whether I talk or not, I just don't matter!

He walks away sadly.

***

George stands on the bridge in the park holding wally and throwing rocks into the water.

George: Who needs friends, anyway?

Wally: What am I, chopped liver?!

George: No, I guess I still have you.

Wally: I'm not feeling the love, George!

George: Can we just...not talk for a while? I feel like being quiet.

Sue Ellen comes running.

Sue Ellen: George!

George: Sue Ellen? He drops Wally in the river. Wally!!

Sue Ellen runs along the river, grabs a stick and fishes Wally out of the water.

Sue Ellen: Got him! George looks relieved. Sue Ellen hands Wally over. Is he okay?

Wally: (coughs) Oh! That was a close one! Good thing I float.

Sue Ellen: That answers my question. Where were you? We've been waiting at the treehouse for ages.

George: We?? Your message just said...

Sue Ellen: Come on! I'm not saying another word until we're there.

She takes him by the hand and leads him away.

***

Several trees have been set up under the treehouse. George sits on a stool while Binky plays the “Turkish March” on the clarinet. Arthur, Sue Ellen and Buster clap.

Arthur: That was great! But I believe it was Mozart.

Binky: I said it was a song for George. I didn't say I wrote it.

Sue Ellen: This is for you.

She hands George an envelope. George pulls out a certificate for winning the woodworking competition.

George: I won first prize in the woodworking contest? But I didn't even enter!

Arthur: We entered you. That marble thing was way better than anything we could make.

Binky: Hey, speak for yourself! I think this is a great paperweight.

He holds up his block with a nail.

George: I...I don’t know what to say. I'm speechless. Actually, you know what? I'm not speechless. You guys are the best! When I get home, I'm calling the Elwood City Inventors Museum and making sure you can all come with me! And now, we’re going to play hide and seek and I'm 'it'. So, hide! He leans against the tree. 10...9... You're not hiding! The others run away. That's better! 6...5...4...3...2...1! Ready or not, here I come!