Save Mojo

(Opening shot: the city skyline during the day. Follow a group of birds as they fly down from the rooftops; during the opening line, they stop on the sidewalk near a park bench, and a man sitting there feeds them bread crumbs.)

Narrator: The city of Townsville! A friendly metropolis where man and nature live in harmony.

(Pan along the sidewalk. A small boy flies a kite, while a woman and her dog eye a puddle.)

Narrator: The citizens of Townsville value their animal companions. (The dog throws itself down to bridge the water; she steps across on its back.) And everyone has a “you scratch my back, I’ll pet yours” attitude.

(After she has reached the other side, it sits up and she pats its head. Close-up of the wheels of a shopping cart as it rolls along a store aisle.)

Narrator: But wait. There’s one animal that doesn’t play well with others.

(Pull back. Steering the cart is Mojo Jojo, with his head hunched down into a tan trenchcoat whose collar is pulled up to hide all but his eyes. Instead of his usual braincap, he wears a yellow one with a big smiley face on its front; a small hat is perched atop it.)

Narrator: The mutated monkey Mojo Jojo. (aside) In one of his more pathetic disguises, I might add.

Mojo: (laughing, raising head) This ordinary hardware supply store has the perfect selection from which to select supplies to begin the construction of my ultimate Townsville destruction device— (Extreme close-up..)—the only purpose of which is to DESTROY TOWNSVILLE!

(Pull back somewhat on the end of this, then farther to show a scrawny teenage employee standing behind him. This fellow looks and sounds quite bored.)

Employee: May I help you, sir?

Mojo: No, I’m good. (The boy walks away; the girls barge in, one by one, on the next lines.)

Blossom: Not so fast—

Buttercup: —Mojo—

Bubbles: —Jojo!

Mojo: (pulling up coat collar) I’m sorry, I think you must have me mistaken for someone else.

(The last word is barely out of his mouth when the girls start laying into him and tearing away his disguise; he collapses groaning to the floor, with his usual clothing revealed and his cape settling over him.)

Mojo: (weakly) Mercy… (The girls move in.)

Blossom: Let’s finish him off, girls!

(Before they can do so, though, five hippies leap into the aisle and place themselves in the way. One of the two women carries a bullhorn.)

Hippies: Not so fast, Powerpuff Girls!

Girls: Huh?

(They stop just short of the group. The force of the bullhorn carrier’s amplified words  pushes the girls back and o.c. This woman is the hippies’ leader.)

Leader: You are in violation of Townsville Ordinance One-Zero-Two-Two-dash-Seven-Six—cruelty to animals!

(She and her cohorts comfort the fallen primate as Blossom addresses them.)

Blossom: Citizens! This is no defenseless animal. This is a criminal mastermind bent on the destruction of mankind. (Zoom in slowly on her.) He’s evil and cruel and doesn’t deserve your sympathy. So if you don’t mind, release the monkey.

(Back to the hippies. Mojo has regained consciousness and is taking all this in, and their leader has lowered the bullhorn.)

Leader: “Evil and cruel”? He is merely acting upon his natural instincts.

(The other woman in the group speaks up. She wears flowers in her hair and sounds about as spaced out as they come.)

Flower girl: (standing up) Would you call the noble lion cruel for preying upon the antelope to feed his young? Is the resourceful beaver evil for felling a tree to build his dam?

Blossom: (laughing nervously) Well, that’s a little different. (Pan to Bubbles.)

Bubbles: Yeah! Lions and beavers are cute.

Leader: Typical. That is why we are here! (Zoom in on Mojo’s face, putting her o.c.) Our furry brothers need protection from the likes of you! (He smiles evilly and stands up; pull back.)

Mojo: That’s right! (catching himself) I mean— (to hippies, pitifully, eyes tearing up) Boo-hoo-hoo. These mean girls always beat me up for doing nothing more than innocently following my natural instincts. All these years, getting maimed and mauled by these malicious monkey-mashers. (normal' tone, aside, to leader) You can imagine the veterinary bills. (pitifully) Ooh, boo-hoo-hoo.

(One of the three men embraces Mojo; he wears a robe and has a long ponytail and beard.)

Robed hippie: There, there, little monkey dude.

(Extreme close-up of the monkey dude’s face. His eyes fill with crocodile tears, and his mouth wobbles as if it is all he can do to maintain his composure. After a moment, he starts to cry.)

Mojo: I’m being oppressed.

(Pull back. All the hippies have gathered around to comfort him again. The girls, meanwhile, cannot believe how easily he suckered this bunch. Buttercup slaps a hand to her forehead, while Blossom shrugs in unmitigated disgust and Bubbles props her chin in one hand. The hippies stand up to face them; their leader has Mojo in her arms and lets off a contemptuous little grunt.)

Leader: Stay back, Powerpuffs! The law protects this harmless creature! (Cut to the girls, shocked by this; she continues o.c.) And that is that.

Buttercup: Harmless?! I’ll show you harmless!

(She charges toward the unkempt bunch, but just before she can lay a hand on Mojo, a second male hippie—this one very large—holds up a “SAVE MOJO” sign. She runs into this and tumbles down o.c.)

Big hippie: Save Mojo!

(Close-up of a “FREE THE CHIMP!” sign held aloft. As his comrades join in the chant, from o.c. below its level, others are held up: “DON’T MONKEY WITH HIS RIGHTS,” “STOP THE VIOLENCE!” This last shows a rough drawing of an angry Buttercup. Pull back to show the five hippies marching in a circle near the front of the store and chanting. The leader has her bullhorn in hand again; each of the others has a sign. Blossom and Bubbles watch the demonstration, while Buttercup is still laid out on the floor.)

(Cut to a point just inside the circle, at the level of the raised signs. The chant continues as all three girls rise a bit higher.)

Blossom: I’m afraid they’re right, Buttercup. Mojo is an animal. A freakish, evil, twisted animal, but an animal no less. And he’s protected under the law. (Cut to Mojo amid the hippies and zoom in; she continues o.c.) And so is this peaceful protest. As long as they’re around, we can’t touch him.

Buttercup: (from o.c., groaning) Stupid laws.

(Mojo'  grins again and chuckles to himself. Fade to black. )

(Snap to a close-up of him at the controls of one of his vehicles; the camera points in through the windshield. Pull back to reveal that he is piloting a small hovercraft toward a construction site. He stops near the base of a building framework, and a jointed arm extends from the rear of the craft and bends to point ahead over the windshield. Attached to the end is a giant horseshoe magnet, whose field makes the girders tremble. Close-up of two rivets; they are wrenched out by the attraction, and the camera turns down to show several others being yanked away. Stop on the building’s foundation, and pull back. The hard hats of two workers are pulled off their heads, and they struggle to keep hold of their jackhammers as these too are drawn toward the magnet. Around them, the ironwork starts to buckle as well.)

(Cut to the fence around the site. The hippies stand just outside, signs in hand, and watch.)

Leader: Wow! What a rare glimpse of animal magnetism!

(Head-on view of Mojo.'  Rivets keep flying toward him as the camera turns up to the magnet. The girders are drawn to it next, after which the girls fly straight up past the lot. Cut to them. )

Girls: Not so fast, Mojo Jojo!

(animation goof: Blossom's mouth moves but Buttercup and Bubbles' don't move in this live)

Mojo: (moaning pitifully) I’m being oppressed. (The hippies leap.)

Hippies: Not so fast, Powerpuff Girls!

(They square off, one on one. Blossom argues with the leader, Buttercup with the robed hippie, Bubbles with the third man—sunglasses, scrubby beard, dreadlocks held back in a knit cap. Mojo cruises past behind them. The three pairs are not heard on the accompanying audio track.)

(Wipe to a close-up of him, as seen at the start of the previous sequence. He smiles and picks up a clipboard and pencil; close-up of the former. On it is a list headed “Stuff Needed for Townsville Destruction Device:” There are four items with check boxes: Raw Materials, Weapons, Power, Computers. He marks off the first of these and points the pencil at the second before lowering the clipboard. Behind it, we can see that it is now nighttime; a complex of buildings stands at a short distance. A wall topped with barbed wire surrounds it, a guard house sits by the main drive, and loudspeakers are set up on a tall post inside—evidently this place is intended to be off limits to rank-and-file civilians. However, this fact does not stop Mojo from flying his hovercraft over the fence; the hippies soon meander into view and gather at the front gate, again carrying their signs. A moment later, the glare and smoke cloud from a huge explosion rise over the barbed wire.)

Flower girl: Whoa! His karma-gathering skills are explosive!

(An alarm goes off inside the complex, and searchlight beams begin to swing back and forth in an attempt to locate the intruder. Through this chaos, Mojo rises into view and slowly o.c. Clamps extend from the bottom of his ship and have hold of a large missile, a tank, a fighter jet, and a container with a skull and crossbones on it. Cut to the girls in flight.)

Girls: Not so fast, Mojo Jojo!

Mojo: (moaning, not as pitifully as before) I’m being oppressed. (The hippies leap.)

Hippies: Not so fast, Powerpuff Girls!

(Another set of one-on-one face-offs ensues without audio: Blossom and the leader, Buttercup and the shades wearer, Bubbles and the flower girl. Again Mojo cruises past behind them all, with his load of stolen gear in tow. The hazardous-material container is no longer there.)

(Cut to a close-up of Mojo, again smiling, as in the start of the last two sequences. He picks up the clipboard again; close-up of it. He checks off “Weapons” and points his pencil at “Power” before lowering the board o.c. It is still nighttime, and we are now looking at a nuclear power plant. Mojo eases his hovercraft close to one of the cooling towers. Attached to its rear is an enormous object that looks like a propane storage tank standing on end, with three dark bar gauges running up its side. A hose extends from the top, snakes into the tower, and starts to siphon material out; close-up of the center gauge as it begins to fill. When it is almost maxed out, cut to the hippies near the fence, with signs in hand once more.)

Shades hippie: Whoa. Even at night, he’s so full of energy.

(Close-up of the gauges, panning across. They fill up one by one, after which the camera cuts to a view of the skyline. All the lighted windows go dark, leaving only the silhouettes of the buildings visible against the starlit sky—Mojo has drained the power grid. In the living room at home, the Professor and the girls are happily watching TV; suddenly the view snaps to black as the house’s power is cut off. Three pairs of glowing eyes open in the darkness, with their brows lowered in anger, after which the girls take off.)

(Cut to Mojo and his giant storage-battery contraption, then zoom in on him. He looks quite smug, but the next words draw his attention to his left.)

Girls: (from “o.c.”) Not so fast, Mojo Jojo!

(On the end of this, their eyes appear in the black sky on that side—they are actually in frame, but the lack of light due to the power shortage prevents them from being seen.)

Mojo: (sweetly) I’m being oppressed. (The hippies run up.)

Hippies: Not so fast, Powerpuff Girls!

(Again the silent one-on-one confrontations: Blossom and the leader, Buttercup and the robed hippie, Bubbles and the shades wearer. Mojo floats past behind them all, towing the battery.)

(Wipe to yet another close-up of him, as seen three times earlier. He picks up his clipboard and pencil; close-up of the list as he checks off “Power” and points to “Computers.”)

Mojo: (from o.c.) All I need now— (Pull back to frame him; it is daytime.) —is a computer powerful enough to run the ultimate Townsville destruction device!

(He reaches down behind his seat and produces a lit bomb. The hovercraft’s windshield swings open, and he tosses the explosive over the side. A moment later, there is an explosion from o.c. below and clouds of smoke rise toward him; cut to the blast site as the vehicle’s clamp descends into view. It is the roof of the girls’ house, as evidenced by the fact that their bedroom can be seen through a very new hole in same.)

(Turn down to follow the clamp in close-up as it is lowered through the holes that have been blown through its various levels: first the bedroom, then the living room, and finally the lab. A piece of machinery is seized in the pincers; pull back to show it as a large bank of computer equipment at a distance from the Professor. He has his back to it and is mixing some chemicals, paying no mind to the theft in progress. However, when the computer is torn loose from its moorings and hauled up, he turns to look.)

Professor: Hey!

(Cut to outside the house, near the roof; the machine is hoisted clear, after which Mojo swings the hovercraft away from the structure. The girls fly up from within and confront him.)

Blossom: Now you’ve gone too far!

Bubbles: Our own house?!

( Close-up of Mojo, inside the craft.  The girls are visible past one shoulder as he aims a smug glance over the other one.)''

Buttercup: You’re just getting lazy.

Mojo: (bored tone) Being oppressed.

(Pull back to frame the entire house. The hippies have toted their signs all the way out here.)

Hippies: Not so fast— (Back to the previous shot.)

Buttercup: (to them) Yeah, yeah, we got it.

(Mojo waves goodbye to the girls, and the hovercraft drive mechanism kicks into gear. Close-up of them.)

Blossom: That’s it! We’re going to the Mayor! (They take off.)

(Turn down from where they were to point through the holes in the house. The Professor calls up from the lab.)

Professor: Hurry back with my computer, girls! I need to check my e-mail!

(Cut to the exterior of Townsville Hall as they approach, then to just inside the closed door of the Mayor’s office. They burst in.)

Blossom: Mayor! (as they float to him, looking out window) Mojo’s building an ultimate Townsville destruction device, and these stupid—

Mayor: Tut-tut. (Close-up behind him.) I know all about it, and something must be done.

(Pull back to frame the entire window. He is looking at Mojo’s observatory, from which a far-reaching network of support beams now extends. Trillion-pound weights hang from these and dangle precariously over the surrounding buildings.)

Mayor: It’s blocking my view! (hustling girls toward door) So you girls skedaddle now and take care of it. Goodbye!

(He shoves them o.c. and starts back across the office. However, they quickly return.)

Buttercup: But, Mayor, we can’t! (They block his approach to the desk.)

Bubbles: Mojo is protected by the law.

Mayor: Well, who would pass a stupid law like that? I say we kick him out of office!

(Buttercup’s jaw hangs wide open in total disgust, while her sisters clap their hands to their faces.)

Buttercup: Mayor, you passed it!

Blossom: That’s why we’re here.

Bubbles: We need you to change it.

Mayor: I can do that? Well, then, I am gonna do something about that silly shoplifting law.

(He makes quotation marks with his fingers on the word “shoplifting.” After he finishes speaking, he walks past the girls, who stare after him in silent disbelief at his obtuseness. Blossom voices a frustrated groan.)

Blossom: Mayor! (Cut to him walking; she continues o.c.) Try to focus! (flying into view, holding a sheet before him) Read this.

(He stops on these last two words, then adjusts his monocle and leans in for a closer look.)

Mayor: (reading) “No one shall be allowed to harass, mistreat, or hurt an animal raised by others, or any animal living in the wild.” (Blossom pulls the paper away.) What does this have to do with stealing pretty dresses?

Blossom: Wait! What did you say? (He is caught by surprise.)

Mayor: (shaking head hastily) Nothing, nothing.

Blossom: You said “any animal living in the wild.” That’s it! Come on, girls! (They take off.)

(Cut to a long shot of the observatory. The hippies stand at the base of the volcano and are visible only as five small dots from this distance.)

Hippies: (awed) Woooow! (Cut to them.)

Leader: Isn’t the addition to his nest amazing! (The girls arrive.)

Blossom: Hey—

Leader: (quickly raising bullhorn) Not so fast—

Blossom: Wait, wait! We’re not here to cause trouble. Just hear us out, okay?

(The leader mulls this over for a second and then lowers the bullhorn.)

Leader: (suspiciously) Okay.

(Close-up of a bank of controls and pan across it as Mojo reaches into view to work them.)

Mojo: (from o.c.) Yes! My day of greatness has finally come!

(Pull back to frame him. He is in the observatory, seated at this panel and pushing buttons at breakneck speed. Zoom in slowly.)

Mojo: And I, Mojo Jojo, will finally rule Townsville—

(On these last two words, cut to the panel again. He hits some more buttons and then comes to a glowing red one. Covering it is a protective shield, which he flips out of the way. After this, extreme close-up of his face and pull back.)

Mojo: —and then the world! All thanks to those dirty hippies—who I’m gonna smash first!

(He laughs, but the sound of the doorbell cuts him off; he looks toward the entrance.)

Mojo: (groaning, annoyed) Who could be visiting at a time like this?

(Cut to just outside the entrance, where the hippies have now gathered. He glares up at them.)

Mojo: Yes, yes, what is it?

Leader: Hi, Mojo! We have some great news that will make you very happy.

Mojo: You’ve made me quite happy already. Now go away! (The girls fly up.) Hey! Who invited them? I mean— (moaning pitifully) —I’m being oppressed.

Flower girl: Not anymore. We’re all on the same side now. (Blossom floats over to her.)

Blossom: That’s right.

Mojo: Huh?

Robed hippie: We’re all in agreement that you should be able to run wild. (Blossom floats over to him.)

Blossom: So we’re gonna take you home. (Zoom in slowly on Mojo.)

Mojo: I find your ramblings to be nonsensical, as I am already in my home. I would expect you to understand that, since you yourselves have entered my place of residence to have this conversation with me, Mojo Jojo, in my own dwelling.

(By this time, his figure fills the screen. A barrier suddenly slides down in front of him; it has a slot through which he can see out, and some air holes drilled in it at about mouth level. The eyes behind it stare out in total confusion. Pull back to show that he has been locked in a large steel crate such as is used for transporting animals. Three ropes are attached to its top, and the girls grab one each and take off, hauling the contraption off the doorstep. Pan in the direction of their flight and stop on the hippies, who wave after him.)

Hippies: Goodbye, Mojo!

Leader: (eyes tearing up) Enjoy your freedom!

(Close-up of his eyes again. A crash shakes the camera and startles him; pull back to show that the crate has been set down in a jungle. It is hauled up and o.c., freeing him—but he has been stripped of all his clothing, braincap included, and left wearing nothing but a diaper. Pull back again; there are chattering monkeys all over the place.)

Mojo: Where am I?

(The chatter gives way to the girls’ laughter as the camera cuts to an overhead view of the location—a tropical island in the middle of the ocean. The girls are flying up and away from this place; pull back to keep them in frame.)

Blossom: This is even better than leaving him in jail.

(Back to Mojo. Next to him, a monkey pokes an anthill with a stick.)

Mojo: Hey! This is not a proper home for Mojo Jojo! (to self) I feel so unnatural.

(The monkey pulls the stick out—now swarming with ants—and holds it out to him.)

Mojo: No, thank you. I will not eat such filth. I have standards, you know.

(Apparently the other primate does not share those standards; it starts chowing down on the insects. Another monkey leaps onto Mojo’s shoulders and starts trying to pick lice out of his exposed brain. His eyes pop when he realizes what is going on, and he seizes his would-be grooming buddy.)

Mojo: GET AWAY FROM ME!!

(He throws this monkey into the one by the anthill; pan to follow both as they tumble across the ground and stop in front of a towering purplish creature whose head is cut off by the top edge of the screen. They start crying up at it, and the camera turns up to show the rest of this beast—a rather sour-looking gorilla. It looks back toward the source of the trouble. Cut to an overhead shot of Mojo, looking up with great trepidation, as the gorilla’s shadow advances over him to the sound of heavy footsteps that shake the camera. His perspective: the great head leans down toward him, with its mouth exposing a great many sharp teeth.)

Mojo: (small voice) Save…Mojo…

(The gorilla roars and snarls at him for several seconds before lunging. All that can be seen after the strike is the red interior of its mouth.)

Mojo: NOOOOO!!

(The standard end shot comes up.)

Narrator: (a bit uneasily) Aw, cute little nitpickers. (normal tone) And so once again the day is saved—thanks to the Powerpuff Girls!