Noah’s Ark: The True Story is the hilarious retelling of the famous story from the perspective of the animals.

​

Years ago it went to a VP at Dreamworks who said it was the best animation story he ever read and he gave it to Jeffrey Katzenberg. Mr. Katzenberg loved it, and had everyone there read it, but he ultimately passed as he said he couldn’t bear to do another biblically based story after the grief he got for The Prince of Egypt. Still, a year later he asked to read it again, because the humor a kept coming back to him. I step aside from the project but now as we live through this global upheaval and climate change, it is still just as hilarious but now seems prescient.  

​

NOAH’S ARK—THE TRUE STORY opens with Homer’s first public appearance. Not your ordinary dog, scientists have dramatically increased Homer’s intelligence and fitted him with a computerized voice box. Homer announces he wants to serve as a bridge between humans and the other species, to set us humans straight so to speak and he has traced our misunderstanding of animals to its beginning, the story of Noah’s Ark. The first thing we got wrong, Homer explains, was making Noah the hero of the story. The real hero is Noah’s dog, Cali.

​

And so Homer starts the true story of Noah’s Ark:

​

In the time that the earth began undergoing cataclysmic climate changes, and the earth is scorched by a horrible drought, we meet a young orphan girl Libbe traveling to a large city hoping to sell healing potions. She spots a dying puppy on the roadside and risking her own life, she rescue’s Cali. Together they make their way, eventually finding sanctuary at Noah’s vineyard, one of the last still working farms. The family adopts Libbe and Noah adopts Cali.

​

The land is ruled by a despotic King. (Honestly, I wrote this character before the terrible Trumpian turn in our country, though you will find it hard to believe.) We see his court through the hilarious and clear eyed POV of a caged parrot named Joho. In addition to observing the corrupt humans of the King’s court, Joho thinks only of escaping and meeting the sky, motivated by the famous flying story of the seagull.

​

Only the animals notice the radical change in weather heading toward the land and upon hearing the call of the wild in dream time, the great kingdoms of the animals: the meat and plant eaters, the winged and hoofed creatures and the scavengers meet in a wide-open meadow. They need to devise a plan, as the winged creatures have sounded the alarm that the drought will end with a devastating flood. It is young Cali’s first time at an assembly of the kingdoms. Each kingdom has an anointed leader: Thor, an eagle, Liza, a lioness, Meg, an elephant, Big Al, a gorilla and One-Eyed Jack, a coyote. Americus is a magnificent stallion who has been captured by the humans and endures an unkind, terrible fate upon having injured the despotic and cruel King. The only time Americus runs free now is in his dreams and so, the scene begins with the animals waiting for the much-loved horse. 

​

The animals decide they need a giant ark and a human to build it. They select the kindest human they know; the man Noah who has a deep fondness for the four legged and winged creatures. Still, just in case Noah won’t do their bidding, and realizing that God is the one creature the humans love more than themselves. Enter the parrot Joho. He speaks the human language but lives in a cage in the palace and only dreaming of ‘meeting the sky’. The animals decide Joho will find Noah, pretend he is the mysterious God creature, and command Noah to build an ark for the animals.

​

Of course to save them, Joho must escape his cage and find his way to Noah’s vineyard.

​

So, the story begins. Numerous heartwarming and amusing characters tell this fast paced, fun and funny story of Noah’s ark. It is full of unexpected surprises, twists and turns, while always staying with the deeper themes and meaning of the original version of the famous biblical story.