001I heard your story. You look just fine. You would have brought a T. movie premiere. Thank you for joining us this evening. Tonight we are going to go on an adventure together and a journey as we premiere The Passport to Puerto Rico, an animated journey of discovery, a feature film developed by and produced by the students of Central Elementary Stream Academy. And tonight we will also have a chance to have a sneak premiere and preview of the finding stories of wonder in the land of [Music] Oz from the students of Dodd. My name is Jenna Manley and I am the chief outreach officer for family and community engagement. And again, I welcome you all this evening. I hope you had a chance to grab some popcorn and a beverage as you'll be in for a
002great surprise and great evening of celebration and wonder. And so before we get started, I would like to take this time to for this evening to introduce and welcome the CEO of Wonder Media, Mr. Terry Thorne. Okay. So, all the stars of the movie are down front, right? Yeah. Is there is there anybody in the back who worked on the movie? Okay, you're pretty close to the front. If you want to come close, there's more seats, but you're cool. So, um, thank you so much for your enthusiasm. I'm telling you that your teachers and your students worked hard all year. I live 45 minutes of north of Santa Barbara in California. So, it took one day to get here to be part of this momentum event. I want you to know that your superintendent, Dr.
003Carol Burks did it right with the flags and the red carpet and the broch the the programs like you're at a Broadway theater in New York, right? No one I've ever seen has actually pulled out all the stops like has happened tonight. The popcorn, the cookies, right? Thank you. So, when I was a young person, I made a feature film called The Rugrats Movie. [Applause] So, my company, we did the first 65 episodes of The Simpsons and then we did the Rugrats movie and the Rugrats in Paris and the Wild Thornberries movie and then the Wild Thornberries meet the Rugrats. Right. So when we made those movies, we had a red carpet on Hollywood Boulevard and we had the bleachers on both sides. You've seen it for the Academy Awards, right? So we had the
004bleachers and people getting out of the limos and walking down all the stars that were in the movie or the stars that worked on all of our shows and people were cheering and I had my family there. We were all dressed up. And I want you to know the amount of goosebumps that I get on the evening like tonight is equal to the goosebumps that I had on that evening. So thank you for these goosebumps. And the reason we do this is because more and more in today's world with the um cell phone being everywhere and with kids watching content at home and playing video games, they're becoming disconnected with writing. This is a reading and writing program. So, if it's not on the page, if it's not written with the characters in mind and
005with the audience in mind and with a story in mind, why do we care? So, if you're on your cell phone and you're on TikTok and if you don't like the story in 4 seconds, you swipe and then you swipe and you swipe until you find something that you like. Well, the goal here is to incubate talent in this room to be the Academy Award winners of tomorrow and have them write stories that you say, "I was there in Allentown, Pennsylvania on May 21st, 2025 when those students stood up and they got their Academy Awards." So, this is what we're going to do. We're going to show Passport to Puerto Rico. And the idea behind this film and the collaboration that they did with your educators was to celebrate the culture of Puerto Rico and
006all the wonderful elements of your culture. All right. So, that's what this movie is about. Yeah. That's why the flags, right? And it's a beautiful culture as you're going to see when you watch the movie. Okay? And then there'll be a pause and I'm going to explain how we made the land of oz because the land of oz was a different pro different process. Okay, two different processes. So we'll show the making of the land of oz so you can see how much work went into the process. Then we're going to show the sequence from dot elementary that your students from do elementary produced. Okay? So there'll be a little break and then after that we're going to have your students will call out your name. We'll give them their academy awards. What we want
007to do, guys, this is important because we want to get a good photo is we'll put an image from the movie on the screen. And so, you're going to get your Academy Awards. You're going to come up on the stage. You're going to stand on the stage and we're going to have half of you sit and half of you stand behind. And then the teachers and and your educators up front will get in front up here. So, we'll have you standing back here and kneeling back here. So we get everybody in one photo on a stage in a movie theater, right, with an image behind them on the screen. Okay, so that's what we're going to do. So hang around afterwards so we can cheer everybody when they get their Academy Awards. All right, enjoy
008the movie. Thank you very much. [Music] Oriana, I'm so happy you could come here. Come inside. Let me get your bags. Gracias, Miko. I'm glad to be here with Mamilia. Mama, it's wonderful you could visit us. I have been looking forward to showing you how much I have improved my making skills. Now, where is Roberto? He's aa wants to see how tall he is. Tall enough to show off his dancing. I hope that's sort of why I asked you to come by. I am worried that Roberto is becoming disconnected from his Puerto Rican heritage. We have tried to get him to show some interest, but he has none. She has stopped practicing his Spanish outside of school. I have heard him complaining to his friends that is embarrassing to do during tradition stuff. I thought
009that maybe you could help him reconnect with his heritage. Show him the wonders of Puerto Rico's culture. When he has a small, he used to love hearing you talk about growing up in Puerto Rico. No bueno. I will see what I can do. You know where his dream is, but I have to warn you, he's only interested in one thing. Vioide video games. video games. I will get dinner started while you say hello. I don't think he even knows you are here. See what happens when you mess with the best. Just one more lock box and I'm in. Oh, come in. Roberto, it's me. You're Oh, yeah. Today is Saturday. Isn't it? I was hoping you could come downstairs and help me make some. Maybe later. I'm playing this video game called Adventure Island. I
010need to beat this level. We can listen to some bomb and do a little dancing. Bombs are cool. But dancing is not cool. Bums. No msa. We can talk all about your ancestors. And I'm sorry, Grandma. I'm busy right now. My friends on the 2D game were counting on me. And I'm going to finish this level. I've heard all the boring stories of living on the island of Puerto Rico doing boring traditions. This is the This is the only island I'm interested in. I mean, nothing cool has come out of photo. Whatever. All right, guys. I'm back. Let's round this game up. Not now. Finish the level. What the? Oh, good. You're awake. Who are you? How did you get in here? I'm your boy. I'm your great great grandmother. Here to take you on
011an adventure. Sorry, I'm busy and tired. Now let me anyway I am your genie guide. I can travel to any place in time that I desire. I knew I shouldn't eat that whole bowl of arosandles has nothing to do with it. I'm your ancestor. I'm here to take you on an adventure across time as your genie guide. I'm going to show you the amazing world of your Puerto Rican heritage. Yeah, you're really not. Why is that not? Because it sounds super boring. Puerto Rico is just in another island full of boring people who fish all the time. Oh yeah, you're not real. So is that what you think of Puerto Rico? Why did you think of that? Beautiful. It's a thing. So it's time travel. Hold it. Hold my hand. Are you not? [Music] Don't
012look around. Wa! This isn't Pennsylvania. Where are we? No, Alberto, you aren't in Allentown anymore. Welcome to Puerto Rico. You are in the beautiful Elono National Forest. One of the oldest forest reserves in this part of the world. Elon is an unusual name. It comes from the Tatino word uke. I know a tino world. You know lots of Tatino words like hurricane, hammock, and canoe. These are all Tatino words. Yuke means the white lands. Puerto Rico. Nice. Look at all these plants. I never seen this much beauty in my life. This one has huge leaves. Hola. I'm Jose. What's your name? My name is Roberto. Where did you come from? I live here. Well, not in the forest, but by this is a Yogami tree. Want to know something cool? always. It's called the weather
013vein tree because the underside of the leaves are actually a silver white and when the wind started blowing the underside of the leaves turned up to the natives now a storm is coming. A tree that tells us the weather. Yeah, that's cool. I guess. Wait, did I hear you say something in Puerto Rico is cool? What? What is up with this little guy? It's a a coogie frog. They are very very tiny. So cute. A what frog? A coogie frog is a Puerto Rico's national animal. There are 17 different kind and 13 living in the for. They are named after the sounds they make. If we quiet, maybe we can hear. This frog is so adorable. How do you feel about the waterfalls? What? They're okay. We have waterfalls in Pennsylvania, you know. No place
014has a waterfall like this. Welcome to Laoka Falls. WA that drop is about 85 ft top to the bottom. And just like look at the rock formation down. Don't get too close. It's very slippery. I mean, yeah, that's cool. I guess the Rickan waterfalls is near my home. It's nice, but this is amazing. Maybe you can show me some time, but I got to go. I have mountain to climb. Enjoy your trip to Puerto Rico. Wait, who was that kid? He's pretty cool. He's one of your ancestors. Want to meet more? Yes. But wait, how could he see us? Oh, yeah. That children whose minds have not yet been clouded by the world can see us. But only them. Does Doesn't that freak them out? Only one way to find out. Before we go, did
015you know that your father used to spend days exploring the Elono forest when he was your age? Me father in the forest. I bet he'd like to tell you all about it. My dad, an explorer. Who knew? Welcome to 1485 Puerto Rico. What are you doing down there? Still getting used to my time trouble legs apparently. So 1485, huh? Can't Can't get more boring than that. Might as well have handed me a textbook. Sorry. Books are rarely seen in 1485. I guess you'll have to follow me. Why not just order a canoe off the internet? Did I mention it's 1485, right? Oh, right. No internet, only 15 minutes. Hola. Hola. I'm Roberto. I'm Alejandra. And my father is making a canoe. Do you want to help? I don't know how. We make everything by hand.
016It can take a while, but I love helping me. Padre, you love working with your dad? Work? This is not work. Dad, do you know a lot of stuff? So does me. Madre. Everyone works together for the community to thrive. We fish and hunt for meat. Plant and harvest crops by hand. Our our elders teach us what plants are safe to eat and which ones are not. I don't get it. There's so much to be learned. The old way has much value. People learn to work together because they have no choice. Nowadays, it's harder. It's pretty much every man for himself. Do you think that's better? No, I think teamwork is better. We also have songs and dances that bring the community together to play tribute the gods. Like church. Exactly like church, community, fellowship,
017and family. These values have always been important to the Puerto Rican people. I think it's cool that the ancient people of Puerto Rico figured out how to thrive on the island you using the what the island and sea had to offer. I'm off to help my uncle fish. Enjoy your adventure. Not so boring, right? Well, it's not it's not a video game, but it's pretty cool. How did the tenno get along with their island neighbors? How did they cross the sea? You don't need to look it up. Just ask your mama. Really? My mom? When she was young, she studied all about them. She was fascinated by her ancestors. It sounded like you may be too. Wow. I would never have guessed. Nailed it. I'll take a look around. What do you see? Um, I
018see a party going on over there. I see a garden and I see people walking around. Well, what are people wearing? All All the men are wearing white. Are those straw hats? Does this party have a dress code or something? The women are all wearing colorful ruffled dresses. What is this? What you're seeing is a traditional style of clothing. It is known as hea. Who are you? I'm Louis. This is my house. I'm Noto. I like your clothes. What's the occasion? Is it a party? Glad you asked. Hibado is what we call farmers. The loose shirts, worn hats, and colorful flowery dresses are what people in the countryside wear. Okay. Back then, sure. But now, what's the point of dressing like that if they aren't even farming? We are celebrating our shared heritage and connecting
019to the roots of our traditional farming and the history of our country. Oh, that makes sense. But what about them? Those dresses are mostly white with just a bit of color here or and there. The shirts those guys are wearing are all colorful but not white like the rest. Why are their Hebaro outfits so different? But it not he though, it's bomba. Huh? Bomba? Wait, are they farming or dancing? Yes, bomba is also a style of clothing. These outfits are more muted. this with white being the dominant colors and all other colors are used as accent or some men might also wear a full white suit instead of a bright shirt. Wow, a whole other look for a dance. That's pretty cool. H I wonder what I would look like in one of those. The
020hat, too. The hat is called a fava. It's made from weaving together straw and leaves from palm trees. Farmers wore them to keep cool and to protect their heads from the sun as they work. Hey, if I put a bunch of these fruits into a hat, you could say it's a guava. Baba, too bad you don't have a hat. You could use it where we're going. [Music] [Applause] I really wish you stopped doing that. What is this music? It's wonderful. I love it. We call it salsa. Like salsa on my burrito. Maybe that what's caused this nightmare. Not the hot sauce, silly. The music style is called salsa. It is a music that is energetic and full of life. Can you feel the beat of the song and see the dance quick steps and turns?
021Hard to stand still, isn't it? What? No, it it just reminded me of Bad Bunny. I happen to like the music of Bad Bunny. I don't know anything about Bad Rabbits, but the salsa Puerto Rico has influenced many styles of modern music. And there are many other types of Puerto Rican music, too. Like bomba, a traditional music that comes from the African heritage of the Puerto Rican people. Sing drums in Morocas. The musicians and dancers challenge each other to keep up with the rhythm. Like a contest? Yes, like a contest, a friendly contest. And there's plent of folk music. It used to be called some newspaper because people would sing the latest gossip or recent news. Musician use drum, guitars, accordians, and even brass instruments to make a unique musical experience. All right. So, the
022music of Puerto Rico is wonderful. What else is interesting about this place? Let's see. Here we go. No, wait. Oh, looks like we picked a good time to stop by. In time for what? Sticking the land takes some practice. Now, quit complaining. I want to hear stories. stories like camper tales about the one armed gold men also known as folktales. These stories are passed down through the generations during times of gathering and for fun the fun of all of it. Every culture has a tradition of telling scary stories after dark. Puerto Rico has quite a few of its own. Anyone a goat man? Not all that I know. Oh, this is going to be a good one. Who? I'm Ellis. Nice to meet you. You'll like this story. It's really scary. It's the tale of
023the La Lorana. Laana is a ghastly genie who haunts rivers looking for lost children to replace her own. She is known as the weeping woman because she roams the night in tears and streaks. That's even better than the goat man. Who is this goat man? It's a long story. Well, if you like goats, you won't like this story. Beware the chupacabra. It creeps in the night, feasting upon livestock and unweary children. If you're not careful, it will catch you and suck out all of your blood. Many farmers have lost their herds to the dreaded goat sucker. See goats there? There are always goats. Well, depending on where you go and who you ask, some some say it's like a mangy coyote with glowing eyes, but others say it's a reptile creature with spines. Even in
024Puerto Rico, stories change and evolve with the people who tell them. Got to go. Though of the story, if I fall asleep, I'll get nightmares. You are asleep. This is kind of a nightmare. Nothing personal. Not even every story is supposed to be scary. For my next tale, I give you El Pero Bobo. The story of the foolish bird whose bragging and overconfidence brought him his own demise. Remember children, too much pride is dangerous. And there is nothing wrong with having humility. That's Bobo. Sounds rude. Not every story is supposed to be scary. Many stories are there to help listeners grow as people and to make good decisions. I could use some help with that. I heard you speak your grandmother. You sounded like that Bobo. Yeah. Yes, you're right. about that I was Bobo.
025I feel bad. Admitting your mistake is first step to correcting it. The final tale I wish to tell is of our ancestors, the Tyino people. I know those guys. We just saw them a few minutes ago. Listen and learn. The final story is the legend of the Tino Sims. Our heritage from the first people of this island continues to pass on to every new generation. The Simists are powerful deities. They are genies, gods, even ancestors. They bring both fortune and destruction. We draw and carve them from wood to show our dedication and gratefulness for their gifts. That's pretty neat. Time to go. We still got lots to see. I just want to hear more about piano gods. They sound really cool. See one of them. with the sun for a head. The sun god, it's
026very powerful god. I want to be powerful. I need sun god. Wanting a sun god is not enough. You must earn it by showing you can respect and handle its powers. How do I do that? The first step respecting your elders. The second step is embracing your Puerto Rican heritage. I guess I have a way to go. You're already on the path. Sounds like a long hike. You've taken the first step. Not again. You're getting better at this. Less stumbling than usual. Landings. Yes. Landing pad. Not so much. A museum. King sense of the obvious. Okay. Not just any art museum. This is Mio the art of Puerto Rico. lame. I don't want to look like a dusty old sculptures or painting of Roberto. This is your heritage. Oh yeah, heritage. Forgive me, son. God.
027That's better. Oh, look. It's a tour. Art can show you something. The evolution of the culture. Check this out. The painting is called Laseras by Miguel Po. He's a regard to the be one of the greatest Puerto Rican painting master along with Miguel Pow Marina Bayz and other artists. The name of the painting is evolution but it's just woman doing laundry. Your mother loves that painting. Ask her about it. My mom. Well, what do you think about this? So cool. That's a bunch of paintings, isn't it? It's a mirror. Yes. What the heck is this all about? Panel was the new song, right? Or was it folktale? Yes, you have been paying attention. Well done. is a 50 ft high and a 30 ft long and it despise the to see from popular playing songs.
028Oh, that makes sense. Gosh, I wonder what the stories behind each part of the paintings are. Gee, I wonder who you could ask about it. If you think that's neat, take a look at this over here. Ah, monster's mask. Now we're getting somewhere. Sure, looked that way. But listen, the Puerto Rican heritage mask, they are made from the papermâé, coconut, h or even gourds. They look awesome. I like bright colors, horns, and teeth. Those expressions just make the whole thing look so wild and fun in a good way. A good way. I'm just saying the strangeness makes them even cooler. The vente mask represents the genius from the Puerto Rican folk. That's a sure of a tricksters. Tricksters? I love tricksters. What sort of trouble do they get into? Let's listen to the tour guide.
029During the carnival and festivals, the tricksters use balloons like the objects as a sort of a weapon to gently pop people on the heads or body. Sometime they are filled with sheep to make a ratty noise. Sign me up and my friends that sound like so much fun to me. I thought video games were the only fun for you. Video games are cool and all, but they're not real. Puerto Rico is a real adventure island. There's more to see. Ready to go? Whatever it is, it can't be as cool as this. Only one way to find out. Nice soft landing. Look there. Wa! No, that's a party. Who is it for? Today is three chubs day. Where is the people of Puerto Rico celebrate the three wise men who visited the baby Jesus after his
030birth? So, what do people talk about three old dudes? most silly. On the 12th day after Jesus was born, kings brought him gifts. The festival celebration joy gives event. The whole community comes together. Friends and family all dressed up in colorful outfits almost like Christmas. Every year the arrival of three kings is celebrated with some possession of the kings on horseback through the streets of Guani. This town has been doing this festival for over 130 years. Do people leave out milk and cookies for the three kings? Excuse me, sir, but you're standing in my head. I'm sorry. I'm sure you have a hobby herd of horses to feed. Of course not, silly. It's for the king's horses. The king's horses? You're not from here, are you? Don't worry, I'll explain. It's a tradition. All of
031us kids leave out a box of hay or grass for the king's horses to eat on eve of January 5th. Come January 6, we wake up the to find the hay gone and gifts in its place. It's like a second Christmas. Yes, I've got it. Got to go. Happy three kings day. 130 years is a long time. I bet my You bet. What? I bet my will has lots of cool stories about three kings from day when she was born. Uh, but I was really rude to her. Not sure she'd want to talk to me. You have no idea how much she loves you, do you? There's no excuse for how I treated her. No, there isn't. But she knows the story of the nasty Bobo. You maybe you could talk to her about it.
032I'm not sure how to start. I've got an idea and our next stop may help. Never going to get used to time travel. Never. M. That smells really good. What is it? Take a look. Why are there so many people? It's like all these people do is just party. Seems that way. But in many Latin American countries such as Puerto Rico, family and friends turn cooking into a communal activity. They gather together to make delicious food while sharing stories and enjoying each other's company. It looks like so much fun. How did I miss that? It's never too late to give it a shot. These ingredients look familiar. That's a mango, some corn, and a bag of abilas, beans, and pasta vantadas. Interesting. I wonder what it looks like. Oh, that's a weird looking lime. Haha,
033you're funny. That's not a lime. That's a guava. It's so good. We use it to make tasty dishes. Guava, huh? Wow, look at all these foods. I never knew a Puerto Rican food was so tasty. That's called a per a roast of pork. These are empanadas turnovers with potatoes and beef. And these are pastas. Vegetable dough filled with meat and steam. And then steam. It all It looks and smells so good. Darth aba. What's mafongo? You're going to have to ask your aba about that. Telling you would spoil you in the fun. Uh fine. Later then. What's going on over there? Smells really good. Oh, here. Others are working together to make some really yummy treats. Treats like what? I'm take I'm talking sweets, desserts like timula wanted me to help make that. What is
034it? You don't know what a tumbla is? It's a yummy coconut custard. It's like pudding made from coconuts and eggs. I love coconuts. What else are you making? Do you know what I scond? I'm not sure. Are you from Elvis space? Not exactly. It's my favorite. Rice pudding with cinnamon and raisins. Sounds amazing except for raisins. Yuck. Marella always tells me, "Try it and you may may like it. She's so smart." There's also FL. Imagine this small custard cake sitting in sweet syrup. What's that look for? Imagine the taste of bland. There's also castitos deu which is made of local white cheese and guava paste. Cheese? Did you say cheese? Am I the cheese that compliments the tartness of the guava? See, now I'm just hungry. No, my grand. No, I mean my abula was
035asking if I would join her to make to help make dinner like howla did when she was young. How did you know? I was there. And I'd rather say I'd rather play some video games. What a jerk move. Life is full of second chances, you know. Really? I hope I get one. Maybe I stuck that landing. It's about time you get a hang of it. What in this place is called NASA. It's the National Space Research Center in Virginia. What it got to do with Puerto Rico? That man right there. I have no idea who that is. That man is Juan R. Cruz, an aero engineer from Puerto Rico. He helped NASA create a special parachute for the Mars rover mission. No way. He has worked at engineering spacecrafts, space exploration, and mission planning. And
036he's not the only Puerto Rican that has had success in the world of space science. Really? Really? And a second Puerto Rican whose name is Mercedes Revs was part of a team that developed a workable small scale solar sail which assessorly allows objects in space to be propelled by the sunlight. Wow. Just wow, that's amazing. I bet you feel silly saying no one from Puerto Rico did anything cool. Yeah, I do. Wait, why did you I'm Genie Guy. I could be anywhere. You're hanging out in my room without me knowing. I'm just not going to think about that. Would you like to see more? Absolutely. [Music] Oh, nailed it. Not a ball landing, if I do say so myself. Patrick Smith made perfect. Where are we now? This is the office and studio of Sanchez,
037an inventor from Puerto Rico. Oh, cool. An inventor. What did you bet? I bet it was something awesome, like a book. Yeah, Abu. Wait, what? Books were invented in Europe. Everybody knows that. How about a book that black people can read? That's pretty cool. But uh how does it work? It's called Brio, and it's made by punching dots into thick and sturdy people that allows people to read by touch and feel. That's brilliant. A new printing technique was developed by Creative Tactical Solutions, a company lo located in Puerto Rico. These styles of printing are called techno print and technobio. So what makes it techno? It uses a durable material called Xoxy to create the raised dots for grow and raised textures for images. The Xpoxy merges with the pages preventing it from being worn down
038or scraped off. So this exposy stuff makes browy and textured image look smooth to touch but hard to rub off. You got it. Eleana Sanchez used this new technology to develop special books that help people with blindness or poor vision experience art like never before. That's absolutely amazing. It's genius. What an invention. All this came from Puerto Rico. All of this came from Puerto Rico. Ayana's new techniques and even the first copies of her book were all designed and produced in Puerto Rico. What's wrong? I told my Abola that nothing interesting or cool came from Puerto Rico, but I was wrong. There are so many amazing things that to come from Puerto Rico. Like a new way for blind people to experience art. That was before. Now you know better. Yeah, but that doesn't change
039how I acted. You'll get your chance to fix that proto. I hope so. We have one more stop on our trip. I saved this one for last because kids love baseball. This is where one of Puerto Rico's biggest sports heroes got his start. He's right there. That's losses. Know him? My parents named me after him. You're named after Roberto Clemente? Yep. He's my dad's favorite. I know all about him. Really? They say he may play in the major league someday, but I don't think they'll let him. He's not white. You can tell them they'll forget all about us when they get older. I'm going to tell you that one day he will become one of the top 100 best baseball players of all time. He'll play for Pittsburgh's Pirates from the 1950s to 1970s. He'll
040be an amazing batter. I would say you're local. See loco, but I like it. No, really. two award for N4 National League batting titles and 12 bold glove awards for his incredible defense play. You have all his baseball cards in your collection. Honestly, he was one of the very first Latin American superstars becoming the first Latin American player to be introduced in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was also an important figure in promoting equality and representation for Latin American players in the Major League Baseball. Impressive. But do you know about all the other things he did? I mean, what else is there? Baseball is life actually life. Why? You'll learn. Well, Roberto love helping people in need. So, he would often organize charity events and he used his platform to raise awareness for social
041and economic issues. Don't surprise me. I'm named after a great Puerto Rican. You are? What's next? I'm really loving learning at all this great information about Puerto Rico. We need to get back home. You're going to have a big day tomorrow. Wait, no. I want to learn more. This stuff is all so cool. You learn more, but just not with me. Wait, wait. I just want to get an autograph. I just want to auto Oh, no. It was just a dream. But everything I saw ex everything I experienced, it felt so real. I'm an idiot. None of that stuff was real. It was just the burrito. Puerto Rico is lame. Back to the real island. Adventures Island. No way. The sun god. It was all real. It was all real. But how? And have to
042know more. And I think I just know who to talk to. But first, I need to apologize. Manos, you are up early. Did you have a good sleep? Buas. Yeah, great sleep. Where's Zella? Oh, she's getting something from the kitchen. She will be back in just a moment. Why? I need to tell her something important. Are you feeling okay? You're acting a bit different today. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm just curious about Puerto Rico. Oh, and thank you for naming me after such a great man. Did you miss something? Aba, I'm sorry. I was with you last night. I'm sorry. What did you say? [Music] Go ahead, Roberto. I made assumptions about Puerto Rico, a place I know nothing about. I should know more about my heritage. I want to know more. So, if it's
043not too much to ask, would you please tell me more about Puerto Rico? I just remembered we have leftovers from last night. Please, I mean, sorry, my Spanish is not all that great. I understand. We can work on it together. Really? See, may I to hear that you want to know more about our culture? Let me get my album out. We can start dancing our music or maybe even fills. Oh. Oh, how about food? There are so many different kinds of delicious food. But let's start with our own familia. These are all photos of our ancestors. I know her. We're traveling buddies. Roberto, that's not possible. Maybe I just saw Maybe I just saw a photo. Please start with me. Tell me all about her. Can you turn my microphone? There you go. Okay, let's
044put this in perspective for a minute. Okay, how many of you have seen Moana or Despicable of Me or Elemental or Inside Out? Guess how much those movies cost per second? $52,000 a second. And most of the people that worked on those films were in animation for 30 years, maybe 40 years. This movie was made by fifth grade students, right? What? Third, fourth, and fifth grade students. This is that's a miracle. That is I know it was look it the challenge with the movie is what we wanted to celebrate the Puerto Rican culture. But when you think about it, if we needed to like really move the camera around the way you do when you watch cartoons that would cost $52,000 a second. So in 10 seconds it would cost a half million, right? So
045we don't have that kind of budget. But we do have the ingenuity and creativity of your teachers and your students. And so I want you to know what you just saw was [Applause] amazing. So this is what we're going to do. We're going to show the making of So this this going to give you a behind thescenes look at how much work just for fourth third fourth and fifth grade students. Are yours fourth fourth and fifth as well? Yeah. Just for third, fourth, and fifth grade students. How much work went into this? So we sent a film crew to South Alagany to shoot the students there who explained what the process looked like. Then after that we're going to show the sequence from Dot Elementary School. Okay. And then we're going to have an award
046ceremony. [Applause] Hi. Welcome to our presentation for finding stories of wonder in the land of odds using Wonder Media Storymaker. We are so excited to tell you about our experience helping make this feature film with students in and around Pittsburgh. My name is Evelyn. I was a writer, storyboard artist, background artist, music and sound effects supervisor, and I was a voice actor for the character Dorothy in our sequence. My name is Nor. I was a producer, director, writer, storyboard artist, and I was a voice actor for a character called Michael's dad. My name is Jack. I was writer, voice director, storyboard artist, music and sound effects supervisor, and I was the voice actor for a character called Michael. My name is Kirsten. I was a writer, storyboard artist, background artist, and I was a voice
047actor for the character Lioness. We are from one of the 17 schools invited to contribute a threeinut sequence to the movie. Each school production crew was assigned a scene from the movie. Each of those scenes explored an interesting environmental topic or challenge that the characters are trying to understand and solve. We talked with our group and assigned production roles to each other. We got to choose between being a producer or director, writer, sound engineer, and voice actor. After we assigned roles, we started with a brainstorm session thinking about the premise of our scene and how it would fit into the whole movie concept. After reviewing the premise with the Wonder Media team, we wrote out Lauren. Making this outline helped us visualize what ideas our character would share with the audience and how they would
048get from beginning, middle, to end. After doing a couple drafts of our outline and meeting with the Laundry Media team, it was time to start writing our script. We learned that script writing is to describe what we see, what we hear, and what the characters say. In our script, we have our scene heading, scene descriptions, action notes, character dialogue, and everything that you would need to make a script. We did a series of table reads where we read the script out loud. Our script took many drafts and meetings to complete. This process not only took creativity, but a lot of communication and collaboration between each member of the group. After completing our script, it was time to record our voices. We had multiple characters, so that meant multiple voices and multiple takes. When we would
049record, each voice actor repeated their lines three times to create different voice performances to choose from. For example, the first take might have almost no emotion, the second might have a little bit, and the third might have a lot. Here's a sample of some of our voice recording. You can do this, Michael. We believe in you. So, Michael, what did you do today? I learned a lot with my new friends. After meeting with the Wonder Media team and completing our voice recordings, it was time to start the storyboard process. We had to draw what we wanted to see happen in the scene in these different panels. We also had to include important information below each panel about what we would see and hear. We explored the animation moves on the Story Maker website to see
050what our characters could do and how they could move. There are a bunch of animation options to choose from. We could have any of our characters do a belly rub, look confused with her hands on her hips or any other animation that makes sense for the scene. We also had to make note about backgrounds, sound effects, and music. Here's an example of some of our story boards. After completing our story board and meeting with the Lender Media team, they started putting together our animatic, which combined our story boards with our voice. Here's a sample of our animatic. What's that? It's a rain barrel. Rainarrels catch water from the roof so you can use it later. Oh, that's smart. And it helps save water. Reviewing and improving our animatic with the Wonder Media team. We have
051to record our sound effects and start creating the backgrounds for our scenes. In order to record sound effects for our scene, we had fun getting creative. When we needed to create a sound for crunching leaves, we crumpled a bag of chips. When we needed to hear a river or a stream, we poured water in a pan to make that sound. Here's an example of some sounds that we recorded. Now, we did research and created a lookbook to decide what our backgrounds would look like. Here are ideas we gathered for our lookbook. These ideas include our wooden trail scene, our walking path scene, our rain barrel scene, our rain garden scene, our green roof scene, our storm drain scene, and our house. Then, it was time to design our backgrounds. First, we hand drew the backgrounds
052that we have here. We had Kirsten draw the backgrounds and we had Evelyn help out with any other details they might need. Then, we painted the drawings, we tried to make them with unusual colors so that everything in our O sequence has a cartoony look. After meeting with the one remediate team to review and approve our backgrounds, they got to work on animating our scene according to our animatic and using our backgrounds. It was our job to put together end credits to make sure everyone's work is recognized and celebrated. This was the last part of our movie making process. My favorite part of the process was the background and voice acting. My favorite part of the process was doing the backgrounds. My favorite part of the process was definitely writing. My favorite part of the
053process was the voice acting. Wake me up, Dorothy. My paws are aching. Are we any closer to the Emerald City? I don't know. Let me take a a look over this hill. Wow. Well, that sure is a river of a different color. What is happening? I can't believe my eyes. Are you seeing this, too? This is a wicked nightmare. Hello. Welcome to our village. Come on down. Let's go find out what's happening. I don't know, Dorothy. How do we know they aren't responsible? Don't be a scaredy-cat. I know it looks rough, but let's take a walk down and get the full story. Don't you have a little curiosity in you? Okay, wait up. Thank you for coming to our village. We are always thankful to have visitors, especially in a time like this. My name
054is Gerald Gerald the gadgeter. Hi, it's great to meet you. I am Dorothy Gail and this is Lioness. We noticed your gorgeous village and the artistic looking river as we were on the yellow brick road. Ah, yes, I know. I woke up this morning ready to commute to the Emerald City for work. And imagine my surprise. At first, I didn't know what to think. As chief gadget for the wizard himself, I have seen my fair share of magical mistakes. This incident was the outcome of a explosion at an enchanted garment factory. Explosion? Yes. You see, the workers were testing out new technology for their yearly Oz Ga collection when something went haywire. Rumor has it they were trying to impress Linda. But now all they have is bad press and all we have is a
055sick river. It's a shame clothes and plastics are filling up every crevice which is making the water unsafe and dangerous. It's painful to see the damage. But I think we can make our shoreline sparkle again. Gerald, what are they doing? It looks like they're clearing some of this out. I bet we can help. That would be amazing. Necessity is the mother of invention, and we're determined to solve this problem. Let me show you. I have been working on a few solutions. I had designed a filtration machine, but the team and I started to clean the large items out first. I made these cool grabbers to pick up hard to reach plastics, debris, and the extra large nets to fish out clothing. Anything that you manage to grab a hold of can be brought to the
056shoreline and sorted in the recyclable bins. This grabber has extra long handles, so you don't need to get too close. Thanks. Thank you for these tools. Let's give it a try. Do you see what I just pulled out? I cut this entire dress. Now I can place it in the bin with the other clothes. That was so easy. I took out this large plastic bag and I didn't even whimper or cringe in fear. Not even once. You know, that was actually kind of fun. Let's keep going. That's the spirit. Let's see what we can haul out out of this river. Well, what a difference. I feel a little brave. Maybe even lionhearted. See, Lionus, helping cannot only be easy sometimes, but it can feel amazing, too. You both are fast learners and picked up the
057skills in no time. Thank you for volunteering. I am so grateful for the positive impact you've had here. Thank you, Gerald. It was a pleasure meeting you and being a part of the cleanup crew. I feel empowered to clean rivers and creeks now that you've shown us new strategies. I appreciate you teaching us. We will miss you. [Music] We're so excited to see the final film with everyone's hard work. Thanks for watching. [Music] So the entire movie, Finding Stories of Wonder in the Land of Oz, will premiere in Pittsburgh with 17 school districts who all work together. So that was the sequence that was created by your fellow students here in Allentown at Dodd Elementary. So yay for you. So, now we're going to hand out certificates and your Academy Awards for the job well
058done for the miracle of the animation that you all made in third, fourth, and fifth grade. Wow. Good evening. My name is Rebecca Bodner and I am the very proud principal of the Central Stream [Music] Academy. Before I continue, I'm going to go off script for a moment because I think it's very important to also recognize all of the parents, staff, and students involved. So, Central, if you're from Central family, students, teachers, parents, please stand. Let's give them a very loud round of applause for all of their help, dedication, and [Music] [Applause] support. I know that's Miss Murphy back there. All right, students, if you are in the movie and you hear your name, please come up. We have an award for you. Uh we are very honored to recognize the following students from Central
059Stream Academy. N Dodd Elementary, I'm going to give you a shout out in a moment then too. Along with the staff who supported the incredible film, Jonathan Alvarez, MNA Buenovas, if you're here, please come on up. I know I saw MNA Leilani Berios. Thank you. Adriel Brito Jazelle Bogarin Omarian Brotherton [Applause] Leila Lee Gonzalez, Hannah Lingard, Derek Lugo, [Music] [Applause] Jaylen Mannon, [Applause] Anniah [Music] [Applause] Perez, Isaac Ramos, Katalia Roman, Navea Schlot, Caroliss Santiago, And we can't forget our staff that helped with the movie. Clementina Bulgarin, [Music] Glenn Ber, Mr. Ernesto Lopez, and last but not least, the one who helped direct everything, Taylor Swiggart. Can I have another huge round of applause for all the central staff and cast? Hey, Dodd families, now's your time. If you are a Dodd parent, students, staff member,
060please stand so we can recognize you. [Music] Congratulations to all. Will the following people from Dodd please come forward? Brilan Quavvis Chen, sorry, Braden. Frerieden, Adriana Dundor, Anthony Hernandez, Kaylee Martinez Pereira, and again, this project would not have been possible without the gracious support of her of the incredible staff including lead teacher Renee Leig, principal Kate Griffin, and assistant principal Ryan Cringe. Can we give a huge round of applause for all of the students, staff, and members up front here? Okay. So, so if if testing testing if you could all back up against the stage. Okay. And could if you're tall in the back, so you're tall. Could you be in the back? And if you're and if you're Can you come up to the front, please? I don't know everybody's name, so if you're
061That's it. That's good. All right. Good. So, make sure now everybody get in the gaps. Okay, come forward. Come forward so you're right behind your friends. That's it. So, you can see your head. That's good. All right. Good. Everybody, you guys turn. Yes. Turn sideways like you're at a wedding. Come in a little bit. That's it. In a little bit like you're at a wedding. That's it. Squeeze in. Good. All right. Can you get them all in? Yeah. Are you good? Here. Oh, yeah. Terry, you're in. All right. Here. And we got these guys. Terry, I'll get you. Okay, I'm gonna come in here next to you and be a skinny guy. Yeah, there we go. All right. One, two, three. There we go. Awesome. [Music] Puerto Rico. [Applause] All right. Congratulations. Yay for you.
062Yay for you. Yay. All right. Come on down. Be very careful. Put your hand on the handrail, please. And come down slow. Okay. Okay, that means I can end. Let's give her another round of applause for Central Streaming County and do elementary school. Passport to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, I can't hear you. Puerto Rico, I am extremely honored and grateful. I am a let me tell you I am beside myself right now. I am a proud and happy superintendent of schools tonight. I want to thank all the families. Abuela Abuel uh Tot Mommy Madre Padre every papa mama. Let's give it up for them students. Sorry. I want to thank thank our school leaders. I asked them to do this and they were like okay Dr. Bergs. So thank you. Thank you for your service.
063And of course, let's get we got to get a drum roll for a few two two groups. We want to thank our teachers and all our staff who sacrificed their [Music] [Applause] time. Lots of hours and labor of love. I appreciate you. I salute you. And you know, come on. We got to do a thunders round of applause for our students. You know, I met my friend Mr. Thorne about a year ago at a conference and he told me he produced movies and he said, "Do you want to be a part of a project in Pittsburgh?" And I was like, "Oh, okay." I said, "I'll be willing to do this project if you produce a movie here in Allentown as the stream academy that we'll only agree to that and we have our own movie
064because Allentown is number one." Okay. and that we want to distinguish ourselves. You It's nice to collaborate with people, but you know what? We have our own thing going on and we have our own studio at the stream academy and we Yes. And just think, you only saw a glimpse of the Dodd Project and they're working with 17 other school districts. And you know, and I talked to Mr. Thorne on Saturday and Sunday, it seemed like every day. And he said to me, he said, "Dr. Dr. Burks, this is the first district. I work with districts all over the world and this is the first district that took this much time to produce something as a keepsake for the rest of your lives. I want to know who has a booklet for me. There was
065a lot of work put into this because I wanted to make sure my team, we wanted to make sure that when you're 25, you go remember I was in that movie, ma, you remember that? How how many of you have some of your awards and some as the adults from when you were younger and you remember how many people come on now you know it's true right it's important and I want to make sure that they had an occasional that you are superstars you start think about this you starred in a movie that you produced in third fourth or fifth [Music] grade so I want to thank you for your your leadership as students and your teachers and everything. And I want to thank the parent. God bless you. I want to thank your all
066the families out here who said, "Okay, I'm gonna let them stay after school now. I got to go home and cook and I got to do I, you know, real talk." But how many people are just as proud as I am and like over the moon right now. And there's more to come. More amazing things are going to continue to happen here in Allentown. We are making a significant difference. We are taking the valley by storm. Right. We're taking this valley by storm. Right. We're doing amazing things here in Anton. I'm extremely honored. We just asked Mr. Thorne. I know you work with a lot of school districts around the country, but let me tell you, no one's going to show you as much love as we're showing you here in Allentown. So on behalf
067of the 17,000 students and I want and I have a school board director here. Come on up with me, Mr. Berscio. It's one of our schoolboard directors. Please, this is my boss. Give a round of applause, please. Okay. We want to say we thank you. We thank you for your belief in our students and for you seeing the lights the lights in the the children here in Allentown and believing that and showing. Let me tell you, he's going to take this on the road. He told me on Sunday that he sent out our our the digital version of our premiere and the video that you you had the WFMZ um interview that you had, he sent it to 40,000 people. Yes. 40,000 educators at that. And you know that your superintendent is very competitive. I'm
068just honest. Okay. and he said that brochure right there that we have with your names in it is the standard he's going to set for the rest of the nation. So, so let's give it up for [Applause] Allentown. So, on behalf of now you let me tell you we we love all our other other children but there's special love here and our children are special special jewels. So as you travel the world, remember Allentown and you'll have some paraphernalia. So when you walk through the airport and all that, you like Allentown. So let's give it up for Allentown. So we thank you. Thank you. Who's we closed this? So we're going to give Miss Monley's gonna come and I don't know if the school leaders just wanted to say a little something before we close.
069Did you want to say something both before we close for your students or your families? Do you want to say a few words? Okay. I just wanted to thank everyone again. I know this was a huge project and undertaking and we had everyone jump on board from Mr. Glenn our safety officer to our assistant principal to Paris to former students everyone jumped on board. So we could not this movie would not have been what it was without all of your support. So thank you so much. [Applause] Go Bulldogs. um extremely proud of all of the work that you've put in. Um and we have some Renaissance men and women um that have been working on this project. So, not only are they movie producers and voice actors and writers, they are girls on the run,
070they are safety patrols, they are PME musicians. So, these students, and I could keep going, but these students are going to change the world. And we are so so so proud of you. Um, and we're taking it on the road to Pittsburgh tomorrow. I have lots of snacks for that bus. Don't worry. Thank you. Let's give it up for all of us. And I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge my team, all members of my extended cabinet, if you could just please stand because everyone was involved in this project. And thank you, Dr. Rocklin. Everyone knows Dr. Rocklin. You see her all the time. Wave Dr. Rocklin. And all members of my extended cabinet. everyone knew about the movie premiere coming and stayed up a lot of nights making sure really late editing and
071doing some great things. Miss Reese, thank you so much. And we know we we have you everywhere doing everything. So, thank you so much. So, we are going to take our movie on the I already talked to Mr. Thorne about taking our movie on the road. I want to thank the members um commissioner, thank you for being here. I appreciate you. Thank you so much. Let's give our commissioners here tonight. I want to thank members of my interfaith council and all my family council members. They came out tonight to be here with you. If you could just stand. I want you know people their children go to other schools but they're part they are advisors to me and they were like we would not miss this. Can you just please stand for them? Miss Az
072can you? My family advisory and my interfaith council members. Thank you so much for coming tonight. I appreciate you. All right. So we still I think still have some popcorn and some cookies and treats. Do we still have some out there? So please take them with you because Dr. Berg is trying to stay in shape, you know. So I've eaten a lot this time of year. a lot of cookies and treats. So, families, thank you. Thank you for allowing us to serve you. The staff that stepped in and was in the movie and everything, thank you. Thank you so much. I love you. Have a great evening. Woo! Have a safe trip tomorrow. Represent us. Well, oh, my board president here. Let's give her a round of applause. Thank you, Miss Brown Noel, for being
073here. So cute.