Logline
A group of magical, fun-loving, furry, colorful creatures—Hank, Mo, Sabahba, Spoink, Zen, Krunt, Kippi, Lulu, and Peekahboo—help rid the town of Gloomsburg of the clouds looming overhead by using their magical-mystical powers to help the townsfolk overcome personal challenges and frustrations. As a side plot, the Sabahbies are constantly fighting to avoid capture by an alien named Opazit and his Minion Scraggie who travel the universe trying to capture Sabahbies.
Demographic
6-9 year olds
Setting and Plot
Sabahbies or Sabahbies Squad live in the mythical town of Gloomsburg where people (humans) are mostly bored and miserable. The word Sabahbies comes from the Hebrew slang word “Sababa” סבבה which translates loosely as “great”, “cool”, or “fun”.
Everything in Gloomsburg (buildings, people, etc.) is presented in muted hues and gloomy shadows. Looming over the entire town is a huge, dark, ominous cloud. The weather is always dreary; even on the sunniest of days, the sun still hides behind the clouds. When foul weather, rain, snow, hail, or wind, isn’t blasting the town, a thick fog settles just above the damp, muddy ground. The people of Gloomsburg all have personal clouds looming over their heads; some are bigger than others. The more gloomy the person, the darker and larger the cloud is that hangs overhead. Kids, generally, have smaller clouds and adults have larger ones. Babies are born without a cloud, but the minute they let out their first cry, a small cloud begins to form.
Sabahbies are created by the forces of the universe as a balancing energy when a place gets overwhelmed with misery and gloom. At a certain point, the level of gloom, darkness, depression and pain in Gloomsburg became too immense; the huge cloud floating above the town let out a mysteriously magical and mystifying flash of light followed by a peculiar sounding, albeit booming thunder clap, followed by an enormous, comforting, hushing POOF and thus, the Sabahbies were born!
The Sabahbies observed the town for a while from atop the cloud where there was plenty of sunshine. The Squad knew that it was their duty to help the townsfolk rid Gloomsburg of the looming cloud and perpetual misery. There was only one problem. Their strong and unique personalities prevented them from agreeing on the BEST WAY to help the townsfolk. They set out in groups of two or three, using their mysteriously magical and mystical powers to help the townsfolk do good, succeed, achieve, and dream!
Each Sabahbie floats around atop its own fluffy, personal magical cloud. Each one has its own distinct character, color, and style. The Sabahbies ride these puffy clouds like magic carpets. The clouds bend at will becoming chairs, beds, steps, etc. If the townsfolk look carefully up in the sky, they sometimes can spot a light cloud drifting among the dark billowing gloom; a Sabahbie floating by.
Sabahbies enjoy interacting with people. When they find a a person with a problem or challenge, their immediate reaction is to offer advice or a solution. Although Sabahbies have the magical power to solve problems, they prefer helping people learn how to help themselves providing a sense of self-satisfaction and happiness.
The townsfolk, accepting of their own emotions of anger, frustration and failure, are dismissive of the Sabahbies magical powers. In fact they are unreceptive to the brightly-colored, fun-loving creatures floating around the town. Most consider them a nuisance. However, a select few, sometimes reluctantly, accept the Sabahbies help. As a result, they begin to appreciate life. Through this change of attitude, they grow and begin to succeed and experience happiness. Over the course of their interactions with the Sabahbies, the townsfolk go from grumpy to giggly, from sneers to smiles and sometimes to total uncontrollable laughter. Their personal cloud, and the large gloomy cloud over the town slowly shrinks and eventually disappears!
Characters
Protagonists
Hank, the Squad leader, is gruff, strong, often over-confident and bull-headed. He tends to hold his feelings back, but you can tell he has a warm heart. Hank lifts up the underdog, gives a boost to one’s confidence, and helps people succeed in leadership.
Kippi, a pure adventurer, is always ready to take on new challenges, explore different ideas, or find some exciting escapade. Kippi has an over-the-top personality. He shouts phrases like “That’s hilarious!” “Amazing!” or “Check it out!” Sometimes his venturesome personality gets him into trouble.
Mo, nervous, on edge, extremely smart and highly analytical, is extremely intelligent and scientifically inquisitive, but interpersonally challenged. He is able to “think” a way out of any situation. Mo strives to find the precise and accurate answer to any problem; linguistic, mathematical, scientific, or philosophical. His scientific and analytical personality tends to make him a little socially awkward and his solutions to problems don’t always make the most sense.
Sabahba, the only one who is smarter than Mo, is the “elder” personality in the group. He is more than intelligent, he carries the wisdom of the ages. He’s a teacher and mentor, providing sage advice and solid grandfather-like guidance. Although mildly forgetful, he always remembers what is important and ‘just in the nick of time.’
Lulu, lovable and huggable, is both counsellor and confidant. She’s sweet, friendly, compassionate and loves hugs and snuggles. She’s the Sabahbie that comforts the people who are down and chats with the people who are bored. Did I mention that Lulu loves hugs? Maybe a little too much, but not in a creepy way. Lulu encourages everyone to look on the bright side of life; the Squad optimist who finds the good side to any problem. Her solutions always make you happy. When Lulu really starts to feel love, big, pink, red, and white hearts can be seen bubbling around her.
Spoink, the cautious one, is hesitant, meek and exceptionally clever. He scares easily but that is what keeps him on his toes. Spoink’s spikes get pointier and stand up when trouble is near; it’s his own kind of spidey-sense. He tiptoes because he wants to ‘tread lightly.’ His cautious observations of the world around him make him all the more clever. He is the Squad member who points out the obvious to those oblivious to answers staring them in the face. Spoink also happens to bring a little extra luck with him wherever he goes.
Peekahboo, an inquisitive ghostlike creature, who is always asking Why? Why? Why? Why? Her entire body, except for her eyes, appears invisible to everyone. No one knows how big or small she is, as she just floats around wherever she goes. Her questioning always sounds genuine and is rarely taken as an annoyance. Peehkahboo is always eager to hear your answers and explanations, to which she silently and intently listens, while blinking her eyes in awe and amazement. Everyone knows she is curious, modest, and persistent.
Zen, one with the world, is free-spirited and guides people towards peace, oneness, and meditation. Zen brings people focus in life; helping those who need to slow down to take a breath. Zen can be a little short sighted; living in the now and mellowing down. He doesn’t always have the fight required to battle through the tough situations.
Krunt, everyone’s helper and wingman (literally, he has two wings, haha!), is soft-spoken and prefers the evening hours. He thinks he’s scary, but everyone else thinks that he’s mostly cute (and a little scary…sometimes). Krunt is known to just drop in and lend a hand to people in need. He’s a mechanical genius and loves a good challenge, but you need to watch out for his sarcasm. He thinks he’s hilarious, but often tell jokes that are inappropriate. If you need a helping hand, an assistant, or an evening partner in crime, Krunt is the Sabahbie you want to be with. At night, most people don’t ever see Krunt poof-in. Contrary to his bat-like appearance, he doesn’t enjoy hanging upside down. He tends to be mysterious, happening upon people while sitting in a tree or lurking in a shadowy corner.
Antagonists
Opazit (Pronounced OH-PAH-ZIT), the three-eyed alien, loves small trinkets, gadgets, and everything electronic or digital. He is a computer genius. Everything that he examines is “amazing.” He says things like “Ohhhh wow!” When he is not tinkering with a gadget, Opazit is usually working on his advanced computer system with 3 holographic screens, one for each eye. He is often seen carrying around a strange gadget that resembles a Rubix Cube, but much more complex since it has 20 sides and displays light patterns.
Scraggie, an evil genius assistant, serves at the pleasure of Opazit. Scraggie is a joker, always trying to have as much fun as possible, especially at other people’s expense. Deep down he has a (small) soft spot for the Sabahbies, and although he is obligated to Opazit. Every once in awhile he turns the tables and plays a joke on Opazit, which ends up helping the Sabahbies. Because of his joking nature, he is often underestimated, but Scraggie looks at things smartly, with a clever and humorous eye.