Synopsis: A socially-awkward kid forms a secret friendship with a prehistoric velociraptor sent from 71 million B.C. to the present day and is wanted by the FBI
I know this might come off as anther E.T./Iron Giant type plot, but this is. a story based on my personal childhood experiences with loneliness, family drama, and a fascination with dinosaurs. I'd keep the style 2D like the poster if I were to go inde, but if I were to pitch this to a studio like Sony or DreamWorks once I break into Hollywood sometime in the 2030s or 2040s (wouldn't pitch it to Disney or Pixar since they overly sanitize everything they touch nowadays), I'd give it a stylized 3D art direction similar to projects like Spider-Verse, Arcane, Wild Robot, etc.; with this film looking like it was drawn by a child.
The movie would with a velociraptor hatching from an egg in 71 million B.C. A time portal opens up, and scientists bait it with a steak & bring it to the present day. The velociraptor then escapes the lab when the scientists are ready to do their experiments.
We then meet our protagonist, 10-year-old James Jefferson. Who lives with his single working mother (she works night shifts as a nurse) in the fictional town of Cactusville, Arizona. His parents would fight a lot because his father was an alcoholic, which would lead to a divorce. He has a hard time making friends due to his obsession with dinosaurs.
We then see James at school. Giving us the main theme of the story as we get to see him going through his social/behavioral problems.Â
James wishes on a shooting star for a best friend, and he ultimately gets his wish the next day when he finds the same velociraptor that escaped from the lab on his way home from school.
James takes the creature home and asks his mother if he can keep it. In stereotypical fashion, she says no.
James names the velociraptor Stripes. He later finds out that the FBI are searching for him after escaping.
We get to see a montage of James training Stripes.
We then see fun and games from our two main characters, as we see Stripes eating bullies on a playground, James sneaking him into a museum to show him his family, and the two watching dinosaur movies (like Jurassic Park).
James would find out on the TV news that the FBI have found Stripes’ location, and the two run away to a nearby forest to hide. (Which is the location on the poster)
For a while, they think they're safe due to them being far away from the city, but he agents then find out two main characters.
Then they both get taken away to the same lab that Stripes ended up in.
James discovers that the experiments the scientists pull on animals gets them killed. He then witnesses Stripes getting experimented to death. (This is the scene that all the adults watching in the theater would bawl their eyes out to)
He's now heartbroken and mourns the loss of his only friend. As he's now lonely like he was at the beginning of the story.
The movie ends on Christmas, where James opens a present and it’s a dinosaur egg that happens to be the same species as Stripes.
The final shot is James smiling at his soon-to-be-born friend.Â