PAGE 01
The carnival wakes up
At sunrise, two bright buses rolled toward Emoji Carnival. Bus One hummed with music. Bus Two rumbled behind it. Flags fluttered. Popcorn popped. Every character pressed close to a window.
Visual: Wide establishing spread. Twin buses approach glowing carnival gates; Ferris wheel, tents and pennants in the distance. Introduce the full cast as tiny window silhouettes.
PAGE 02
Joy can hardly sit still
Joy bounced in the front seat of Bus One. “We’re here! We’re here!” Joy sang. Behind them, Anger gripped the rail on Bus Two. “I wanted our bus to be first.”
Visual: Split composition. Joy is sunny yellow with wide open gestures. Anger is red-orange with ember-shaped brows and tightly curled fingers.
A wooden sign swung over the entrance: ONE BUS AT A TIME. Bus One rolled forward. Bus Two stopped. Anger’s cheeks felt hot. Anger’s shoulders squeezed tight. “That is NOT fair!”
Visual: Make the sign large and readable. Show Anger’s body clues clearly: warm cheeks, raised shoulders, tight jaw. No scary imagery.
Anger slapped the horn. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Birds jumped from the ticket booth. Confusion dropped a map. Worry ducked under a seat. Joy turned around in surprise.
Visual: Comic sound-effect lettering. Cameos: Confusion with upside-down map, Worry peeking over seat. Keep the scene funny rather than chaotic.
PAGE 05
The wrong thing to say
“Just smile!” Joy called. Anger’s face grew redder. “I do NOT want to smile!” Joy’s grin slipped away. Maybe a happy face was not the answer to every feeling.
Visual: Joy’s expression changes from automatic grin to thoughtful concern. Anger looks heard only after Joy stops performing happiness.
Joy walked back to the gate. “You really wanted to go first,” Joy said. Anger crossed both arms. “YES.” Joy nodded. “Waiting is hard when you are ready to GO.”
Visual: Characters face each other at child eye level. Background softens. This is the empathy beat; no pointing fingers.
Suddenly the carnival gate shuddered. CLUNK! It stopped halfway open. Bus One could not move. Bus Two could not move. Now nobody was getting into the carnival.
Visual: Gate wheel crooked; chain visible underneath. Both buses halted nose-to-gate. Big readable CLUNK sound effect.
“I’ll fix it!” Anger shouted. Anger pushed the gate with all their strength. The gate groaned, but the chain twisted tighter. Anger pushed again. Nothing moved.
Visual: Show strength without danger. Anger strains; chain visibly knots around the wheel. Joy watches and notices the mechanism.
PAGE 09
Strong can be slow
“You are really strong,” Joy said. “Can we use the strong part slowly?” Anger stopped. That sounded strange. Strong and slow? Anger took one breath in. Then one long breath out.
Visual: Gentle close-up. Use a popcorn scent cloud on inhale and a cooling-soup swirl on exhale as visual breathing cues.
Anger’s shoulders dropped a little. Now Anger could see the wheel. “The chain is stuck under there.” Joy crouched beside it. “And this ribbon is wrapped around the chain!”
Visual: Detail shot of chain, wheel and bright ribbon. Anger points instead of pushes; Joy kneels to inspect.
“I can lift the bar,” Anger said. “I can pull the ribbon,” Joy said. “Ready?” Anger asked. “Ready!” Joy answered. They counted together. “One… two… THREE!”
Visual: Cooperative action. Anger lifts with controlled effort while Joy frees the ribbon. Other characters cheer from both buses.
The ribbon slipped free. The wheel spun. The gate rolled open with a WHOOSH! Everyone cheered. Even Anger smiled for half a second. “We did it.”
Visual: Gate opening toward bright carnival lights. Keep Anger’s smile small and genuine; Joy celebrates without overwhelming Anger.
PAGE 13
Still a little mad
Anger looked at the open gate. “I am still a little mad that we were second.” Joy nodded. “You can still feel mad.” Anger blinked. “I can?” “Of course.”
Visual: Quiet two-shot beside the open gate. Anger’s colour remains warm red; emotion is not erased by the solution.
PAGE 14
Feelings are not commands
Joy pointed toward the carnival. “A feeling can be big without choosing everything you do next.” Anger thought about the horn, the pushing, and the slow strong lift. “I like choosing better.”
Visual: Small visual echoes: horn, tangled chain, then successful lift. Keep text and art spacious for ages 3–6.
Bus One rolled through the gate. Bus Two followed right behind. Anger did not honk. Joy did not shout “smile.” They waved to each other through the windows instead.
Visual: Both buses entering in sequence under pennants. Window-to-window wave between Joy and Anger. Reinforce twin-bus identity.
Then the music started. The two buses joined the Emoji Carnival parade—one after the other, together. And when the next big feeling arrived, everybody knew what to try: name it, pause, then choose.
Visual: Grand closing parade with all 22 characters visible. Ferris wheel glowing. Final banner reads: NAME IT • PAUSE • CHOOSE.