STORY



								Synopsis Between the backdrops of the icy South Pole and a colourful harbour city unfolds the adventure of penguin brothers Jasper and Junior, who with the help of 9 year old Emma, rescue the eggs of the rare Kakapo bird from the evil hands of mad Dr. Block. It is breeding season in the local penguin colony in the South Pole. Penguin Jasper can't wait to break out of his shell and bombards his patiently hatching dad with a never-ending stream of questions from within. All the greater is Jasper's disappointment that there apparently isn't very much to discover outside his shell. Jasper's subsequent progressive theory, that there must be more to the world than just snow and ice is dismissed and ridiculed by the penguin colony. When one day, a colourful Kakapo parrot, in search of eggs that were stolen from him, gets washed onto the shores of the ice cap, and relates about the big and exciting world that exists out there, Jasper is delighted to finally prove the existence of another world to his parents and fellow penguins. However, while Jasper dashes ahead, proclaiming to be right all along, the colourful bird is washed away and does not return. Jasper's cries of excitement for the fortchcoming demonstration of 'proof' creates pandemonium, during which the eggs of the community get completely mixed up and only after much painstaking identification, does order get restored and the eggs back to their corresponding parents. Jasper is severely called to task by parents and elders for being utterly selfish and very inconsiderate. A despondent Jasper hangs around listlessly and so, when Junior finally hatches, the first thing he sees is his big brother Jasper, who he instantly hero-worships and follows around in utter adoration. After this last humiliating failure, Jasper loses heart and begins to seriously doubt his own convictions and talks himself into believing that he had imagined everything in the first place. He even goes as far as to reprimand Junior for the latter's curiousity and playfulness. One day, when he has full responsibility for Junior, it is precisely Junior's curiosity which leads them to a cruise ship, anchored not far behind the icebergs. It is there that they meet up again with the Kakapo, who is by then pantingly trying to climb up the hull of the ship. Jasper is still annoyed with the Kakapo, who he feels had let him down by disappearing earlier, which caused the chaos and his subsequent humiliation; they argue heatedly to and fro and then come to a deal : the Kakapo must accompany Jasper back to the community as living proof that there indeed is another world out there, and in return he, Jasper, would help Kakapo to find his stolen eggs. At this point Jasper has no idea that this will be the first step on a journey laden with danger. As they finally get aboard, the ship pulls up anchor. And Junior, who has been warned to await Jasper's return and not move an inch from the spot where he has been parked - the anchor line! - also ends up unnoticed aboard the ship. Jasper's journey takes him and his brother far away to 'the end of world', deep into the Northern Hemisphere. And the dramatic hunt for the stolen eggs of the Kakapo (who, behind a façade of bravado and feigned experience, has the regrettable inherent characteristic of freezing at the first sign of danger, therefore being incapable of any strategy or defence) turns out to be a mere fragment in a much larger plan, in which the dubious industrialist and manufacturer of a popular children's drink Dr. Block plays a major role as also an opera singer, whose luggage is being used for smuggling purposes without her knowledge. More than a mouthful for three birds who can't even fly! Luckily for them, nine year old Emma comes to their aid. For her this adventure is an ideal opportunity to prove to her father, the Captain of the ship, how good and clever she can be in the real world, after giving up the imaginary one full of non-existent 'friends', created to combat her loneliness aboard a ship without other children. Our group of diverse 'protagonists' come together with the desire to follow a common goal, but before they can form a successful working relationship, they must first cross the barriers of mistrust and pass tests of loyalty and friendship with flying colours. Things come to a head and the friends break into Dr. Block's cabin, believing themselves to be successful in retrieving the stolen eggs, before they realise that they have walked into a trap, which also results in the group being torn apart. Jasper lands back in the ocean, thinking Emma has betrayed him. The Kakapo and Junior are in the hands of a triumphant Dr. Block and Emma has not managed to convince her father that Dr. Block is not just another difficult passenger, but a diabolical man with a diabolical plan. As the ship docks in the harbour and the eggs are successfully whisked past Customs, the situation appears to be quite hopeless. Only after Emma follows a clue laid by Jasper, are the two of them able to re-group for a new round, that takes them to Dr. Block's secret laboratory, where they finally get to the bottom of the dark plan. Because Dr. Block absolutely hates children, he wishes to isolate and extract from the eggs of the cowardly Kakapo species, an additive for his popular children's drink, that will slowly but surely upon intake, bring about a change in children, making them fearful and obedient. In a furious showdown in Dr. Block's laboratory, the eggs change hands several times; and Junior, in a misguided attempt to help Jasper, ends up in serious danger. Only Jasper's brave last attempt, together with his newly found friends and little Junior, results in Dr. Block being trapped in his own macabre apparatus and who is then forced to capitulate. Alls well that ends well. Meanwhile, the Kakapo eggs have hatched and so the ship leaves on a new cruise, this time exclusively for newly born rare birds and one little girl (Emma). They all finally end up in the South Pole, where Jasper is celebrated as a hero and adventurer, after having proved to the penguin community that the world consists of more than a plateau of ice and snow. And Jasper has one last surprise for a startled Emma on the latter's return trip - he too is aboard, as official delegate sent by the penguin community to discover and report back on all the perils and wonders of this strange new world via letters-in-a-bottle! And from that point on in the South Pole, no penguin youngsters are allowed to be laughed at, no matter what they claim… because one never knows what suspense-ridden surprises can emerge from behind the ice bergs… JASPER THE PENGUIN Created by: Eckart Fingberg, Michael Maedel