Children's Social Issues Multimedia Project: Life Changes Series Written by Jill Thrussell (Serious Topics explored in short films/books & songs, games etc. for 4 to 8 year olds)
- Tiggles, Mummy & Me: Our Journey to Safety: follows the journey of Anastasia and her cat Tiggles told through her diary entries as they live and hide away together in their home due to domestic violence then move into a refuge (safe house) where they no longer have to hide from danger anymore. (domestic violence)
- Forgotten Remembers Happiness A once happy but now sad lonely memory leaves the Realm of Time to seek out her fortune in the human world and a remembered future in a human boy’s mind that has forgotten her existence, so that she can one day return to Happy Memory Databanks Underground City and live as a happy memory. However, when she lands in the earthly home of humanity, she quickly discovers that the human boy she belongs to has challenges of his own to overcome that block some of his once happy memories because he lost both his parents in an accident and hasn't spoken a word to anyone ever since. In order to restore his heart, Forgotten attempts to lend a hand as she tries to help him find some comfort in order to restore his happiness and to restore herself because she misses being one of his happy memories and as she attempts to help him find and remember his happy memories again, she reminds him how wonderful it is to have some happy memories to remember, how important it is to remember and cherish those happy memories you have so you don't lose them and how a happy memory can be a great friend whenever you are feeling sad or alone. (loss & grief)
- Celebrating Me (self-esteem, differences, disability & biological family issues)
- The Day I Became a Member of the Brave Kids Crew (caring for others as a young carer): follows Renee who helps her auntie to take care of her mummy after her mummy has a stroke. Along with an invitation to join the Brave Kids Crew, Renee is sent an activity challenge trail map and as Renee follows a trail map of bravery stop offs to help her build her bravery as well as to strengthen and support her, she meets some other members of the Brave Kids Crew who are kids that have been brave in various ways just like her.
- Stand Up, Speak Out (bullying)
- Munchy Bunnyheart Gets Stuck in Sadness (self-esteem & wellbeing)
- Waddle Penguinheart How to Make/Build Your Waddle Family (biological family issues, foster care, adoption & peers)
- Cindy, Jolly Dolly Holly, Gobi & the Hospital Stay follows Cindy & Jolly Dolly Holly, the rag doll with a missing leg and Gobi Teddy Bear as Jolly Dolly Holly and Gobi Teddy Bear help Cindy pack a suitcase Casina, prepare for a hospital visit/stay then stay with Cindy in hospital where they meet Worries Heartpuff and Positive Painter Heartpuff and then face some worry monsters together after which Odds ‘N’ Ends Fixerfriend turns up to mend Jolly Dolly Holly and Positive Painter Heartpuff paints the day and hospital ward with positive thoughts and feelings. (hospital visits & stays, wellness & emotional wellbeing)
- Connor, Bravepaws, Courage Bravesaves & Operation Braveness Hunt follows Connor who has to go to hospital for an operation, Casey the suitcase and his robotic dog Bravepaws who help Connor pack his things and get ready for his operation and then along the way they meet Courage Bravesaves who is on a brave save recycling mission who takes them on a hunt to find the trail of Connor's past brave triumphs and moments to help him build his bravery as well as some keepsakes which they make into bravery badges that they then pack inside Connor's suitcase to remind him of his past brave moments. Once in hospital Casey and Bravepaws stay with Connor and help him through the various stages of the operation and Courage Bravesaves also visits and takes the three to the Land of the Lost and Forgotten to find some extra bravery tokens which come from saving the lost or forgotten and rescuing them from the Pirate Traders. (emotional wellbeing, hospital stays)
- Tommy, Boxy, Packer Suitcase & the New House: follows the adventures of Tommy, Boxy the cardboard box & Packer the suitcase as Packer and Boxy help Tommy pack his things, move to a new house & start a new school and then help him to unpack some useful things to help Tommy settle into his new home & school as they face & battle some worry monsters together and some bullies and each box transports them to a place in the Forever After Lands where Tommy learns to use the useful things to overcome the bullies. (moving to a new home/area, anxiety, peer pressure, bullying & emotional wellbeing) (developed from scenes in The Artificial Heart of Me)
- Suzie & Cardy the Get Well Soon Card follows Suzie who meets Cardy (the blank Get Well Soon card) when her mummy goes into hospital in the hospital gift shop that she is visiting with her aunt. Since Cardy is very helpful, she helps Suzie prepare to stay with her aunt and then transforms Suzie into a paper person and takes her to visit the Crumple Zone in Toyland where Cardy helps Suzie make some paper origami characters and rhymes to make her into a complete Get Well Soon Card for her mummy. (relative hospital visits & stays, illness in others & emotional wellbeing)
- Feelchanges Chameleon, Colourful Feelings & Your Emotions Feel - O - Meter (emotional wellbeing)
- The Emotions Maze with Tangle Inksquirt Octopusheart (emotional wellbeing)
- The Feelings Tour with Purrtail Catheart (emotional wellbeing)
- Erica, Feelchanges & Taming Wild Feelings in the Wild Feelings Forest: when Erica loses her father then faces a tricky child at school that steals her lunch and picks on her, due to the upset she gets angry with the other people around her and is sent to her room for misbehaving as a punishment. However, Feelchanges Chameleonheart shows up and Erica is taken on a trip to the Wild Feelings Forest where she has to visit each primary emotion in the forest (nature or animals) and face an emotions challenge to see if she can tame her emotions and channel her feelings positively as well as being given some emotion life tips and advice (via poems and songs) from Feelchanges Chameleonheart on how to manage her emotions after which she has to make choices about the rewards and penalties that she is given in order to see if she can win a Master of Emotions Trophy at the end of tour. (grief, emotional wellbeing, injustice)
- Martin, Friendship Heartpuff, the Bridge of Friendship & the Friendship First Aid Kit: follows friendship Heartpuff who picks up a friendship help request and then visits Martin who has fallen out with his best friend Jason, who is upset because he lost his dad recently and since their friendship is broken, Friendship Heartpuff has to help Martin to repair his friendship with the Friendship First Aid Kit and then help him to build a friendship bridge of support to help Jason through this sad time. (emotional wellbeing, friendship & supporting others)
- Standing Strong Through the Storms with Calm Heartpuff (emotional wellbeing)
- Rachel, Fearchaser Painter Heartpuff & the Three Monsters: follows Rachel who can't sleep at night because she has nightmares about the closet, toilet and the under the bed monster that grow bigger from her fears which they collect every time they scare her and Fearchaser Painter Heartpuff who picks up her request on his 'HELP' radar then visits Rachel to help her scare those fears and monsters away when he takes her to the Fearful Forest in Heartland where she learns how to face and tackle her fears and the monsters. (emotional wellbeing)
- Dotty, Jolly Dolly Polly & the Sadness Swamp follows Dotty who loses her grandmother and her rag doll Jolly Dolly Polly calls upon the Broken Toys Rescue Crew who show up along with Keepsake Kindlight to help her human because Dotty is stuck in a swamp of sadness. Once several members of the Broken Toys Rescue Crew and Keepsake Kindlight arrive, they look around Dotty’s home, garden and bedroom to find any memory treasure keepsakes that Dotty has been given by her grandmother over the years as well as any happy memory treasures and to rescue Dotty from sadness, they help Dotty to make a map of memory treasures, a scrapbook full of happy treasure memories of her grandmother that she can keep and a happy memory treasure chest box to keep her grandmother’s memory keepsakes inside as they help her journey through the seven stages of grief. (self-esteem, visual impairment, disability, loss & grief)
- Wendy, Doey Deerheart, Worries Heartpuff, the Worry Swotter & the Worry Insect Swarm: follows Wendy who is under attack from worries and a worry insect swarm and Worries Heartpuff who arrives to help Wendy create a Worry Swotter then gets a call for help from the Natural Care Centre and takes Wendy to meet Doey Deerheart who has three new patients to look after but a worry swarm attacks so Wendy, Worries Heartpuff and Doey Deerheart have to help the patients swot those worry insects away with their worry swotters so that they can make a speedy recovery. (anxiety, emotional wellbeing & teamwork)
- Stuart, Happy Painter Heartpuff, Keepsake Kindlight & the Happy Songs Treasure Map (self-esteem & emotional wellbeing) When Stuart's mummy goes into hospital for a very long time and he has to stay in foster care, he gets stuck in sadness but Happy Painter Heartpuff and Keepsake Kindlight show up and then take him on a treasure hunt to find his happy moment memory treasures from the past and his special moments with his mother to remind about all the things that made them happy and to discover some of the things that make him happy in the present. Along their way with each happy moment discovery that they find and make, they find a special memory keepsake which they put in a Special Memory Keepsake Treasure Chest box, draw a happy memory picture and also sing and play a happy memory moment song to remind Stuart of each happy memory treasure moment. Later when Stuart visits his mother in hospital, he shows her his Happy Songs Treasure Map, gives her the happy memory drawings, sings and plays each song for his mother on his guitar and shows her the special memory keepsakes that he has found that he keeps inside his special memory keepsake treasure chest box to cheer her up. (anxiety, emotional wellbeing & self-discovery)
- Sarah, Doey Deerheart & the Hurt Pup: follows Sarah who finds a puppy with a broken leg one day on her way home from school that has been tied in a bag and then put in a pond by a cruel dog breeder because the puppy is a pedigree but can no longer be sold for a profit anymore due to their broken leg and Doey Deerheart who responds to a nature call for help from the puppy. Once Doey Deerheart arrives on the scene, she then takes Sarah to Heartland and the Natural Care Centre where she nurses the pup back to life and teaches Sarah about daily self-care routines as well as how to care for the puppy through her own daily self-care routine. After they create two drawings which are Daily Self & Body Care Routine Diagrams for Sarah and the puppy, they then put care routine labels on them (e.g. the head is given the label sleep, the torso/body the label food etc.) and Doey Deerheart also shows Sarah how to nurse the puppy back to health, how to care for the puppy and gives the puppy a special ability so that the puppy can understand and speak to Sarah who decides to keep the puppy and look after him and names him Titan. (self-care & care for nature)
- Recycle Me: Leon & the Plasticon Bottle Boy: follows the adventures of Leon & Plasticon when Leon, whose parents are the middle of divorcing/separating and who is an aspiring footballer, is on his way home from practice one day and is just about to throw away the plastic bottle that he is drinking water from when the plastic bottle shouts out to him and asks him to create a boy from his empty bottle instead. The bottle boy, Plasticon then asks Leon to make him some friends from some other plastic bottles and a plastic home and a town for them to live in before Plasticon transforms Leon into a plastic bottle boy then takes him into the plastic town which has a portal to Recycle Nation where Plasticon teaches Leon about recycling after which Plasticon takes Leon on a recycling mission in his local neighbourhood to find enough old plastic bottles to complete the town as Plasticon teaches Leon about teamwork and how everyone can contribute to saving the world. (recycling, emotional wellbeing & teamwork)
- Patty & Cardo Boxy the Cardboard Box Girl: follows the adventures of Patty & Cardo Boxy when Patty moves to a new house/area and one day is playing on a tree swing in her new garden when the swing branch breaks but as she falls to the ground, the branches of the tree move and cushion her fall. The next morning Patty unpacks some of her things from a cardboard box but just as she is about to put the empty carboard in the hallway to be thrown out, Cardo Boxy, the cardboard box girl, asks Patty to make her into cardboard box theatre then Patty & Cardo Boxy go on a recycling adventure around Patty's home looking for all the empty boxes from the house move. Every empty box they find (five in total) comes from a different tree and so, Cardo Boxy turns Patty into a card person then takes Patty into each box as they visit each tree's former life where Cardo Boxy tells Patty the story of the tree each box came from after which they return then use the boxes to make the cardboard box theatre, to make all the cardboard actors (five of which are tree people/beings representing the five trees) and to put on a cardboard box play for her parents that tells the story of the five trees roots and where they came from. (recycling & care for nature)(developed from scenes in The Artificial Heart of Me)
- Peter, Wisepaws (Paws), Nature Mendwell & the Happiness Scent Trail: When Peter's granddad passes away, he feels a bit lost because they were very close but when Peter is given his cat/dog to look after, who seems to understand what he says and can speak back to him, Wisepaws (Paws) takes him on adventure and follow the scent trails of happy times to remind Peter of all the happy memories he made with his granddad and to spend some time reliving those happy moments. During their travels as Wisepaws teaches Peter him some cat/dog lessons about life and they visit some memory treasure landmarks, they encounter Nature Mendwell who is on a Nature Mending Mission who joins their search and as they go along, Nature Mendwell shows Peter how to mend parts of nature and how to heal natural things and encourages Peter to tap into his own super natural powers to navigate the world. (self-care, grief & care for nature)
- Leona, the Songbird Anibot & the Song of Happy Tomorrows: When Leona, who has visual impairment and vocal challenges, is give a songbird anibot for Christmas to translate animal sounds to help her understand her puppy, she suddenly has access to a voice facility that allows her for the first time to communicate verbally with the world and as she learns to verbalize her own expressions, the songbird anibot teaches her how to sing the Song of Happy Tomorrows and how to find the seeds of happiness in every day as they make some new happy memory treasures together. (disability, sight impairment, vocal challenges and emotional wellbeing)
- Hello Humans! I’m Back! I'm Not Extinct Yet, But Where My Truffles At? Theo, the Unextinct Potoroo & the Truffle Hunt (self-care & care for nature) Theo, the Unextinct Potoroo & the Truffle Hunt (self-care & care for nature) When Theo, who lives in a care home, stumbles upon a young potoroo who it transpires can speak that has been caught in some plastic waste, he helps him to escape before they embark on a journey to help him find his family and as they do so, the two also embark on a truffle hunt to find the potoroo some food. Along the way, Theo not only learns about what it means to be extinct as the potoroo who has magic powers takes him to Natureland then transforms Theo into a potoroo after which the potoroo gives Theo a magic stick which will allow Theo to transform into a potoroo whenever he wishes to. During their adventure as Theo bonds with his new potoroo friend, Theo meets his potoroo family, who welcome Theo into their midst where he soon discovers what it is like to be part of a family and that sometimes in life, your family are the ones that you stumble upon, or find and then choose to build a life with together. (care for nature and emotional wellbeing)The Bamboo Flute of Harmony: Lydia, Bamboo Pandaheart & the Song of Peace follows Lydia when a new neighbour moves in next door and Ron keeps throwing stones into the garden to knock down her dolls house but when she finds a bamboo flute and then plays it one day, Bamboo Chomper Pandaheart shows up and takes both children on a hunt to find the notes to play the Song of Peace and then takes them to visit Heartland and Harmony Nation where she helps them make some instruments so that they can play the song together. (emotional wellbeing, friendship and living in harmony)
- Tia, the Sun Bear & the Somewhere Tree: when Tia’s family have to leave their home country and live somewhere else, the language, food and environment are very different and not everyone is friendly, so Tia gets picked on at school until one day, Tia is given a Robotic Sun Bear for his birthday but it seems to be broken and doesn't work properly but he carries it around hoping that one day it will work. Suddenly one day, after a major bullying incident when Tia loses the broken robotic bear in a scuffle and it gets broken even more and the bullies get caught and expelled from school, a little girl that lives nearby finds the broken robotic bear, fixes it and then returns it to Tia. Much to the two children's amazement, the robotic bear then springs to life beyond robotic responses, transforms Tia and his new friend into robotic bears and then takes them on a trail to explore his own bear roots and species (via the tree roots of his favourite scratch tree in the woods nearby) as well as to the Land of the Lost & Forgotten where they meet some lost and forgotten toys and objects via the interior of the tree trunk which they also make into a tree house together which spins into the ground and around then pops back up in different places. During their adventures, they also explore the branches which led to different magical lands and places in the Forever After Lands as the Robotic Sun Bear shows Tia that friendship may not always come from the places you expect it to and can still be found in the hardest moments and that life can still be full of hope and adventure despite your circumstances when you don't allow injustice to obstruct the happiness that you can have in life. (emotional wellbeing, friendship and living in harmony)
- Madeline, the Thoughts Hideaway Land & Imagine Nation: when Madeline’s father has an accident and is kept in hospital due to a brain injury and coma, Madeline visits him often but finds the hospital visits very tough due to uncertainty and the inability to communicate with her father. However, one day, she meets an imagine nationer who teaches her how to transport herself to Imagine Nation as well as into the land of her own imagination whenever she wishes to through the power of her own imagination and her own mind.
- Jayson, Lightning Bricker Brack & a Place Called Home: when Jayson, who is eight years old, is passed around from pillar to post and has to stay with several different foster families due to his parent’s drug abuse, as he waits for them to change their lives (stop taking drugs) and to come back and get him which they promised they would or a willing family to adopt him, he builds a Lego model of his ideal home and some family figurines with his Lego set which was a birthday present from his current foster carer. However, when he is blamed at school for a fight that he didn't start then at home and his foster mum becomes ill which means that he might have to live in a children’s care home which doesn't sound like much of a real home to him, he crushes the model home and runs away from home to a nearby derelict construction site, where he is found by Lightning Bricker Brack who through stories and story blocks helps Jayson to rebuild his model home which also comes to life as well as some family brick figurines which also come to life that he can interact with. After that Lightning Bricker Brack takes Jayson to visit his own lifetime house in the Realm of Time and shows Jayson how he can build his own future, his own happy life and his own happy family with some story blocks to make his own future and the next floor of his model home because the future and second floor of his life are not yet built or lived. During their trip Lightning Bricker Brack explains to him that adults at times are not perfect and do make mistakes as he convinces Jayson to return to the people who care about him, who are searching high and wide to find him and who are waiting for his return to the safety of their home. Since the model home is built with magical bricks, Jayson discovers that he can transport himself to the Realm of Time when he builds and plays with it and in parting Lightning Bricker Brack encourages Jayson that the injustices of life do not define you or destroy you or the happiness that you have built and can at times help you to build a stronger life home and family with those that look after you that care about you. (self-care, resilience, familial care)
- Joshua, Resolution & the Broken Parts Repair Trail: follows Joshua who is seven years old when he loses his home due to a flood but finds a broken robot that he starts to repair and as he follows a trail of broken parts and broken part clues until the Resolution robot is in working order. During this process Joshua learns more about not just fixing broken things but also about himself as the two then start to follow a memory trail in his own mind from pieces of the past to rebuild some of what was lost from his life and home and tackle some tricky scavengers along the way as he attempts to restore his own life, his own home and fix his mother's broken heart.
- Zelina, Acorn, the Reminder Etch Sketches & the Happy Memory Scrapbook, Map & Tree: when Zelina's grandfather starts to misplace and forget things, Zelina finds it hard to help him and her mother tells her that it is because he has Alzheimer's however, the memories he's lost are not always things that she knows about and so cannot be found easily. However, one day, when her grandfather is upset because he has lost his pocket watch, Zelina embarks upon a hunt for it inside the garden which is where he thinks he lost it where she meets Acorn Squirrelheart along her way and as they start to search the garden and make a few stop offs, Acorn Squirrelheart takes her inside the tree to visit some of her grandfather's happy memories that also include Zelina where Acorn helps Zelina make some Happy Memory Sketches. Once they leave the interior of the tree, Acorn helps Zelina to make a safety handrail to help her grandfather to move around the garden more easily and some reminder memory symbols which they etch into the tree trunk and along the safety handrail as well as in various other place across the garden to help her grandfather to remember things. After they finish making the reminder symbols and safety handrail, Happy Heartpuff arrives and helps the two to make a Happy Memory Scrapbook, a Happy Memory Map of the garden with some happy memory landmarks written and drawn on to it and a small golden Happy Memory Tree with some memory leaves with written memory labels and happy memory sketches which they attach to each branch. Later, once they finish, Happy Heartpuff then shows Zelina how she can remind her granddad and herself about the things that they want to remember each day by visiting the happy memory landmarks in their garden, following the happy memory symbols, singing some happy memory reminder songs together, reading the happy memory scrapbook and writing some lables and drawing some happy memory sketches onto golden leaves for the Happy Memory Tree. Before Acorn Squirrelheart and Happy Painter Heartpuff leave, Happy Painter Heartpuff sing paints the garden with happiness and a happy song from one of Zelina's happy memories with her grandfather and gives Zelina with a special magic paintbrush and eraser that can help her to fill any room or space around her that she wants to with her own happy memories and happy memory treasures, so that she can replay and relive them for a moment in time and Acorn Squirrelheart gives Zelina a magic etch sketch pencil that can draw on any surface, bring memories to life and replay happy memories, so that Zelina can draw more memory symbols and happy memory sketches in her garden any time she wants to. (emotional wellbeing, happiness, familial care)
- The Friendship Harmony: Lydia, Richard, Bamboo Chomper Pandaheart & the Song of Peace follows Lydia who has sickle cell and the Richard the boy in the bed across from her in the hospital ward who has congenital heart disease who do not get along at first because Lydia likes playing her flute and Richard finds it hard to breathe and so is unable to join in. However, Bamboo Pandaheart arrives and takes Lydia and Richard on a journey to visit Heartland and Harmony Nation where they meet Leap Frogheart who teaches them how to play string and key instruments after which she teaches them how to play the Song of Peace and the Friendship Harmony song together and then shows them how to make some craftstruments (craft instruments) and as they learn more about music and instruments, they also learn about each other’s medical conditions and how that impacts their lives so that they can become better friends to each other and live in Friendship Harmony together. (emotional wellbeing, health, friendship, differences & teamwork)
Written by Jill Thrussell
About the Writer:
- Survivor of domestic violence
- Regular carer of an older child with disabilities at eight years old
- Bullied in primary school from the age of six to ten years
- Grew up in the care system from one to six years old due to biological family issues
Note: Most projects will either be made as animation or live action with CGI, it just depends on the story and which method is more suitable, and most will have runtimes that are between 10 to 60 minutes though one or two will be about 90 minutes in terms of duration.
Themes: The Life Changes Social Issues children’s project aims to support and encourage children experiencing tricky, complex or unusual life changes or challenging social circumstances and tackles a variety of social issues.
Genre: children & family drama, experimental, social impact
