Thesis Statement
Shadow-Light as a story is character-driven at heart. Each character undergoes complex, difficult themes related to the story’s overall theme of accepting oneself and accepting the present moment. I intend to produce both a conceptual pitch bible and an animatic for an animated pilot episode of Shadow-Light to provide the groundwork for a thematically rich animated series targeted at children and young adults and conceptualize realistic, flawed characters / character arcs that audiences can resonate with and learn from.
Shadow-Light is the story of two 14-year-old boys who live in a cosmically magical world. Lee the Light-Wielder grew up privileged yet isolated with his adopted family while Shane the Shadow-Bender grew up with his close friends in an unsympathetic orphanage. The two meet one day at a marketplace and become fast friends. Well, technically Shane kidnapped Lee forcefully ask him to help find the mysterious Shadow-Light Stars, but that’s water under the bridge! Each star contains a fragmented memory, including visions of two mysterious parental figures. Alongside Lee’s adoptive family of Vivian, Kenji, and Max, Lee and Shane journey to reunite all the Shadow-Light Stars with hopes to better understand themselves and the mysterious disappearance of the other Shadow-Lights.
The boys live in the magical, cosmic solar system known as Celestara. The planet consists of 18 small-ish planets, each with its own secrets and denizens of magical Celestarans. The denizens of these planets possess colorful designs and beautifully diverse personalities, though some are too colorful for their own good. Shane and Lee navigate the world together and both learn valuable lessons alongside family and friends. I know, right. Super wholesome. Shane would probably barf in his mouth if he read this.
Shane and Lee’s pursuit to reunite the Shadow-Light Stars is treacherous and demands extreme sacrifices, both of themselves and others, especially Vivian, Kenji, and Max. At the same time, reuniting the Shadow-Light Stars could offer Shane and Lee crucial knowledge of their past and possibly bring their biological parents back to them. Are the boys willing to give in to temptation to chase the secrets of their past and the promise of a brighter future, or will they learn to accept who they are and what they have in the present?
Shadow-Light tells a story about accepting oneself for who we are, accepting our present moment for what it is, and accepting what we can and cannot control. In one way or another, every main character in Shadow-Light struggles to accept an aspect of their life. For Lee, he does not accept himself for who he is because he lacks the self-esteem he needs to do so. Shane does not accept others because of his broken sense of trust and his overwhelming shame over his past actions. When the two come together, however, they learn from each other’s strengths and skills to become the best possible versions of themselves.
December 2024
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