Write a set of whimsical adventure scripts for a short-form animated series about Super Max, the alter ego of a rambunctious little bunny from the successful TV series “Max & Ruby.”

Able to leap a carrot in a single hop, it’s Super Max! - the precocious bunny superhero, performing the unimaginable under the watchful eye of his big sister, Ruby. What exciting feats will Super Max perform next? 

Max & Ruby, the famous bunny siblings, are a mainstay in many homes, and have delighted children for over a decade. Max is a cheerful, fearless, and enthusiastic bunny, the younger brother of Ruby, a perfectionist who loves being in charge, and can sometimes be a little bossy, but who always patiently looks out for Max. Whether it’s a small adventure inspired by Max’s toys or one of Ruby’s special crafts, each episode of the TV series engages kids on their level, with warmth and humor.

Now the Max & Ruby team wants to highlight one of the show’s best characters with an original short-form digital series: Super Max! But we need a superhuman storyteller to make it happen. Before we get much further though, you should check out a full Super Max episode below, along with a compilation of some other short form content they've done - both of which are perfect examples of tone and story structure.

• Full Super Max episode
• Max & Ruby Short Form Compilation

We want this to capture the lovable, albeit cheeky spirit of Super Max and his imagination, and revolve entirely around his character, although you can also use other existing characters (like Zoom Zoom and Ruby), as well as familiar themes. This should be a true extension of the celebrated Max & Ruby franchise – and to that end, we’re sourcing a filmmaker in another project to handle the visuals.

So tie on your red cape, and let’s hop to it Tongal! Super Max has a lot of work to do, and we need the right team to help him save the day. Show off your creativity and cleverness and help create the first-ever Adventures of Super Max.

Check out more details below… 

The goal of this project is to write nine (9), 2-minute animated scripts, each for videos featuring the adventures of Super Max bunny, and targeting young children ages 3 to 7. The whole series will be made up of original narratives about Max Bunny’s alter ego, but five (5) of the videos will be non-verbal – meaning that they should be driven by clever use of on-screen action and sound effects – and four (4) of the videos will focus entirely on existing and well-known nursery rhymes, including one Polish-language nursery rhyme. You’ll need to think about the action and the visuals to make this work, so you’ll have to be clever. As for the nursery rhymes and the Polish-language script, we’re going for something well-known and accessible, and we’ll help you select a nursery rhyme that works well for visual storytelling, as well as help you navigate the challenge of scripting for a Polish-language episode. 

As mentioned above, you’ll work with a filmmaker sourced from this project, who can help you figure out what translates well to the screen.

NOTE: If you're a Filmmaker and also want to pitch on the Writing project, you can be considered for both projects.

In terms of story, they'd encourage you to consider a few specific narrative territories that perform very well: e.g. lighthearted pranks; playing with toys, food, or Max's trains; wearing costumes; and doing seasonal activities for holidays like Halloween or Christmas. The primary focus should always be Super Max, but other characters from Max & Ruby can be featured, including Super Max’s friend and trusty side-kick, Morris (aka Zoom Zoom). Don't get carried away with the scale and try to fit all of the characters in though; Super Max’s stories tend to be limited in scope. You can review an info packet in the Assets section, or directly HERE, and you will also be provided with a brand deck after the pitch phase for additional guidance as you create the videos.

For the nursery rhymes, they'd like you to pick from "Rain, Rain, Go Away," "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," and "Old MacDonald Had a Farm." You'll also do "Happy Birthday" as one of the nursery rhymes, in both English and Polish, as well as another nursery rhyme for "Children's Day."

Thematically, Super Max stories embrace a sense of adventure but provide children with positive examples of imagination, courage, selflessness, kindheartedness, and problem solving. Max’s alter ego is a play on his favorite character, Super Bunny, who is himself inspired by Superman: the paradigm of heroism. If you’re incorporating Morris / Zoom Zoom, you can also bring in themes of teamwork and cooperation.

--Deliverables:

• Five (5) 2-minute non-verbal scripts

• Four (4) 2-minute nursery rhyme scripts

  • One "Happy Birthday" script, to be recorded in both English and Polish

  • One 2-minute Polish-language "Children's Day" script
    

  • Two scripts TBD, drawn from provided nursery rhyme options
    
    

--Target Audience: Young families with children aged 3 to 7. Existing fans of the show should be drawn in by the addition of something new to the Max & Ruby story, but this is as much for new and casual viewers. 

--Tone: Playful, whimsical, cheeky, humorous, wholesome, endearing, educational, and inspirational. 

--Executional Mandatories: 

• Any and all characters must be existing characters from Max & Ruby.
• The fact that they are bunnies should NOT drive the narrative, i.e. they don’t hop around or search the garden for carrots.
• There can be no other animals or humans except for bunnies in their world, with the exception of a frog that occasionally follows Max around.

--Exposure: This will live on the Treehouse Direct YouTube channel, as well as other Max & Ruby owned channels.

Tentative Timeline:

Development & Pre-Production Ep 1-3:

• Pre-Production Kick-off Call:  10/11
• Assets Delivered to Filmmaker: 10/15
• Rough Draft Scripts Due to Tongal:  10/16
• First Draft Scripts Due to Nelvana:  10/18
• Nelvana Feedback on First Drafts Due:  10/25
• Revised Scripts Due to Nelvana: 10/29
• Casting Selects Due to Nelvana: 10/29
• Nelvana Feedback/Approval on Casting: 11/05
• Nelvana Feedback on Revise drafts: 11/05
• Final Scripts Due to Nelvana: 11/08
• Final Scripts Approved by Nelvana: 11/14

Scripting (Ep 3-6) 

• Rough Draft Scripts Due to Tongal:  11/01
• First Draft Scripts Due to Nelvana:  11/05
• Nelvana Feedback on First Drafts Due:  11/12
• Revised Scripts Due to Nelvana: 11/15
• Nelvana Feedback on Revised drafts: 11/21
• Final Scripts Due to Nelvana: 11/28
• Final Scripts Approved by Nelvana: 12/04

Scripting Episodes 7-9: 

• Rough Draft Scripts Due to Tongal:  11/19
• First Draft Scripts Due to Nelvana:  11/21
• Nelvana Feedback on First Drafts Due:  11/29
• Revised Scripts Due to Nelvana: 12/03
• Nelvana Feedback on Revise drafts: 12/07
• Final Scripts Due to Nelvana: 12/12
• Final Scripts Approved by Nelvana: 12/18

This Project will be worth a total of $8,000 and consists of 3 Phases: A Pitch Phase, a Script Phase, and a Revisions Phase. Be sure to read the following information carefully as well as the Official Rules.

PHASE 1: PITCH – Submit your Pitch (What is a Pitch Phase?)  convincing the Sponsor why you should be selected to execute a Video based on one of the winning Ideas from the previous Phase using:

• Text (REQUIRED): 500 characters or less synopsizing how you plan to approach and execute this project.

• Treatment (REQUIRED): A detailed narrative description of how you'll approach the stories, and some of the subject matter you might cover. If it's helpful to you, we've provided a Treatment template, which you can find here.

• Previous Writing Sample (REQUIRED): With a strong emphasis on kid’s content.  You may submit either writing samples or links to produced videos based on your writing.

• Pitch Video (Optional): This is your opportunity to be face-to-face with the Sponsor and show them what you're capable of.   

• Script (Optional): This should be a sample episode, if you know how you'd script any of the individual episodes in the series.

The most compelling Pitch will be selected and, upon submitting the Winner’s Affidavit and the IP Assignment, will receive $1,000 upon commencement.  Please note the payment of the Pitch award is subject to a payment schedule determined by Tongal. Additionally, upon submitting a Video that satisfies the criteria laid out in your winning Pitch, completing Sponsor notes, providing the necessary release forms, and providing all assets required by the sponsor the Pitch winner will receive rolling payments for each finished script to total $7,000 upon completion of the project. For an example of an effective Pitch, check out The Indie Machines winning “3 Artists & 5,000 LEGOs” Pitch video. All Pitches will remain private until after the winner of the Video Phase is announced and the Project is complete. 

PHASE 2: SCRIPT – The 1 (one) winner from the Pitch Phase will create 9, 2-minute Scripts based upon their winning Pitch/Treatment on a rolling basis. (See proposed schedule)

PHASE 3: REVISIONS –  Once the first draft of Scripts have been delivered, the writer will enter the Revisions Phase (What is a Revisions Phase?).  During this phase, the writer will perform up to two rounds of reasonable edits on their script according to the Sponsor’s feedback. 

1. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal.

2. BY SUBMITTING AN ENTRY, YOUR SUBMISSION IMMEDIATELY BECOMES THE SOLE PROPERTY OF TONGAL OR ITS ASSIGNEES – SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES. YOU MAY NOT PUBLICLY SHARE OR PUBLISH YOUR SUBMISSION IN ANY MANNER AND YOU MAY NOT POST OR UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION TO ANY WEBSITE OR VIDEO HOSTING SITE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE OR VIMEO), WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF TONGAL. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF YOUR ENTRY IN THE PROJECT.

3. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.

4. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor.

5. By submitting to this project, you acknowledge that your work may become subject to public voting on the Tongal site. Public voting may be used to help the project sponsor determine the final rank order.

6. Limit 5 submissions per member.

7. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or old.

8. The Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest at their discretion.

9. Winners must submit the standard Tongal W-9, Winner Affidavit, and IP Assignment.

10. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.