Soulart: the story
With music playing in the background, Elia finishes her planets mobile. After all, today is the day of her presentation, and she has outdone herself with a creative pitch about space travel, a topic Elia is absolutely passionate about. Upon arriving at school, Elia feels her heartbeat quicken at the thought of her presentation. The classroom is filled with nervous energy. As the other classmates give their pitches, Elia's planets mobile draws attention, but not in the way she had hoped. A few mean remarks are whispered, a few giggles are stifled, and Elia feels her self-confidence slowly crumble.
After class, when Elia runs outside, a few bullies stay behind to destroy her mobile. The red lava planet ends up in the bucket of water next to the board, turns to stone, and cracks. Elia’s beautiful candy planet is sprayed with graffiti. The paradise planet gets covered with a fire extinguisher so the warm water is no longer liquid but turns to ice. And the upside-down water world is stabbed with scissors, leaving the planet full of holes. After recess, Elia returns to the classroom and discovers her shattered mobile. Her heart fills with sadness. With trembling hands, she gathers the remnants of her destroyed mobile, her dream shattered like the broken pieces she holds in her hands.
At home, Elia lets her tears flow freely as she destroys her space belongings in frustration. She just wants to be an astronaut. Her sketchbook, once a source of joy and inspiration, is torn apart by her despair, the colorful pages becoming a collection of shredded dreams. Elia throws all her space stuffed animals off the shelf and lies down on her bed. Sobbing, she falls asleep.
But in her darkest moment of despair, she is suddenly pulled from her gloomy thoughts by an unexpected voice calling her name. Surprised, she looks up and discovers that she is no longer in her familiar bedroom but aboard a shimmering spaceship taking her on an unknown adventure through the universe. With her sketchbook as a compass and her dreams as fuel, Elia embarks on a journey through space that will change her life forever. Her mission is clear: restore the four planets with the help of her now-living space stuffed animals!
Arriving on the first planet, Elia sees the strips and scraps of her torn sketchbook swirling around. With the help of the local space creatures, she catches the pieces, glues them back together, and finds the solution to restore the planet: bringing the sun figures closer. Once that’s done, the petrified magma can flow again, and the fire reignites. Time for a hot stuff party!
The candy planet is dark. Because of the graffiti, it is completely shadowed. Fortunately, thanks to a few bat-flies, you can still see something. Is it her imagination, or are those graffiti figures moving? It's clear: cleaning is needed here. Everyone helps to scrub off the paint, including that crazy caterpillar and the cute little spiders. Only those annoying mosquitoes are constantly in the way. Luckily, the stuffed animal has the solution. With her little lamp, she lures the mosquitoes into the purple light, and they are taken care of. Elia turns on all the lights, and the celebration can continue.
The now gray and cold Paradise World is covered with ice crystals. When Elia touches the frozen heart of the planet, it begins to thaw. Even more, the heart acts like a prism, melting the water and turning the sky blue! Curious, Elia lifts the heart from its pedestal. But suddenly, a whirlwind arises and sweeps the heart away. Hey, there are also pages from the torn sketchbook flying around! Quickly blow them together, so the heart returns to its place and the pages can be gathered. Yes, it's working! Thanks to the prism, the green color returns as well. The grass becomes green again, and the plants start blooming. When Elia realizes that by acknowledging her emotions, she can thaw the planet, she is so happy that all the other colors appear instantly. The planet is saved!
On the upside-down water planet, sheets of paper from Elia’s sketchbook are floating on the water. On one of those pages, there is actually the solution to filling the craters of the planet: crumpled paper balls. Even the seaweed helps fill the holes. But wait, the pressure is rising! The propellers of Elia’s spaceship are falling apart. What now? Elia desperately tries to assemble the parts—like following an IKEA manual—but it’s not working. She remembers having drawn this before. Luckily, her stuffed animals find the original manual. All the parts are reassembled.
And Elia can go back home. Home...?
Elia wakes up. Was this just a dream? Hmm, yet she doesn't feel the same anymore. The sadness and frustration are gone. She feels brave, determined, and excited!
With her stuffed animals in her arms, she runs to school, and with her head held high, Elia stands before the class. As she speaks the final words of her presentation, Elia knows that her journey through space was only the beginning of an incredible adventure. She is determined to dream her reality and make her dreams come true.