aCATemy Awards!!!

+++BREAKING NEWS++++

All members of Little Productions and all actors and crew members involved with CCSI have received aCATemy Awards from Skeezix!
See individual blogs for acceptance speeches and pictures!
(Links are at the bottom of the sidebar)

The Santa Caper

On a beautiful day in December, at the crack of dawn, one after another of the little elves wakes up, yawns, stretches, and rises.

Each puts on his or her little pointy shoes and off they run into the kitchen to greet Santa who should be sitting there, reading the paper, waiting for the hot coffee Mrs. Claus is preparing.
But what is that! No Santa!


“Mrs. Claus, where is Santa?”

“I don’t know” answers Mrs. Claus, “I thought he was with you guys, I haven’t seen him all morning. Maybe he is in the barn with the reindeer.”
Off they go, into the barn.

“Good morning Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. Have you seen Santa?


“No, we haven’t” says Rudolph. Donner explains “Last time we’ve seen him was yesterday evening” and Blitzen continues “When he came in to say good night.”
“Why are you asking” inquires Dasher, and Comet cuts in screaming “Where is our Santa?”


“He usually comes in before breakfast to greet us all” says Vixen. “Yes, and he brings us a treat!” cries Cupid. “That’s true” adds Prancer “and he pets us all too!” “And it is late – and he hasn’t been here today” Dancer sums up the situation. “What a mystery” Pepper Minstix mumbles. “Let’s go and check his room.” And off they race into Santa Claus’ room.

Empty!

But there is a note, on the nightstand, leaning against his alarm clock.
Alabaster Snowball picks it up and reads:

“Oh my” Sugarplum Mary screams, “they kidnapped Santa! What are we going to do?”

“We have to call in the police and let them help us find Santa Claus!” Wunorse Openslae says.

“But you read what they say: Do not involve the police!” whines Bushy Evergreen.

“They always say that” replies Shinny Upatree, “it doesn’t mean anything. We need the police to figure this out! I will call NPPDCCSI (North Pole Police Department Cat/Canine Crime Scene Unit), they will find clues that will help us to get Santa back!”

Half an hour later Detective Schlau and Dr. Hinweis arrive. They put yellow ribbon around the room so no one can go in there anymore and they start looking for clues.

“Dr. Hinweis, look at this, I found some colored eggshells. Let’s get them to the laboratory and see if we can match them to something.”

"Yes, Detective Schlau. And look ovew hewe – I found a paw pwint. And it looks exactly like a wabbit footie…. I will telepowt to the laboratory immediately and check these things out myself."

“Hmmm, colored eggshells and a rabbit footprint. I think we should pay the Easter Bunny a visit!”

Off Detective Schlau goes, knocking on Easter Bunnies door. No answer. He knocks again. Nothing. Just when the detective is ready to knock down the door, it opens and a very tired and hung-over looking Easter Bunny dressed in a Santa Claus outfit appears.

“Are you the Easter Bunny and are those Santa Claus’ clothes?” Detective Schlau asks.

“Yes. And yes. But they are mine now” and the Easter Bunny yawns, “I won them in our poker game last night!”

“What do you mean ‘poker game’? Where is Santa Claus? What happened here last night?”

“Please don’t tell Mrs. Claus. She would not approve, that’s why Santa hasn’t told her. We meet once a month to play a little game of poker,” the Easter Bunny confesses, “and last night was our game night. Santa lost everything but would not stop so he bet his clothes. That’s why I have them, because he lost again!” “And then,” Detective Schlau inquires “what happened then? Where did he go? Where is he now?”

“How would I know” the Easter Bunny exclaims, “we all had way too much eggnog, Santa borrowed one of my outfits to wear on the way home, and he left. What’s going on? Why are you asking about Santa?”

“Santa Claus was kidnapped” Detective Schlau explains. “We are looking for clues to what exactly happened.”

At that moment Dr. Hinweis teleports back and looks at the Easter Bunny. "I just matched the eggshells we found at the scene of the cwime to samples of youw eggs that we have on file." “We also had found a paw print, Size 17” adds Detective Schlau. “May I ask: what size paw do you wear?”

“This is ridiculous” screams the Easter Bunny, “I was here all night, alone! Look around, there is no Santa here.”

They all start looking around when all of a sudden the Easter Bunny cries “My left hiking paw is missing! And some of my eggs are broken and most of the shells are gone! Someone is trying to implicate me in this crime! Whoever kidnapped Santa stole my hiking paw and my eggshells and left them at the scene of the crime!”

“O.K.”, Detective Schlau sighs. “Let’s start over. Who was at the game last night and could have stolen these things and taken Santa?”

“It was just the three of us, as usual” the Easter Bunny explains. “Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and me.”

“Well, Dr. Hinweis, let’s pay the tooth fairy a visit” says Detective Schlau and off they go.

“Come on in” chirps the Tooth Fairy once they arrive at her home. “So you want to know where Santa is? We left together last night; he could hardly walk – too much eggnog as usual – so I gave him a hand. But then we met a friend of his who supposedly lives closer and he took over. I don’t know who it was, it was dark and I couldn’t really see anything. I can show you were we parted ways.”

Off they go to a place where the road bisects, one way leading to the Tooth Fairy’s place, the other to Santa Claus’ home.

"Look" exclaims Dr. Hinweis "signs of a stwuggle! I have some wipped fabwic, and some haiw on it. I will send it to DNA analysis immediately, maybe we'll get a match! And it seems as if someone left a twail of colowed eggshells fow us to follow. There must have been some eggs in the Easter Bunny's outfit that Santa wowe and he used them to his advantage!"

So they follow the trail of colored eggshells deep into the woods. Minutes turn into an hour, feet become tired, and Detective Schlau and Dr. Hinweis feel as if someone were watching them…But no one there except the trees.

"Look Detective” Dr. Hinweis all of a sudden shouts “the trees are alive!” They both look up and sure enough – there is a head on every tree! And they wear jewelry too!

“Hello”, chirps the closest one “who are you?”

Before they can answer another tree whispers “I know! They are CCSI!”

“Hellooo”, murmurs a third, “we can all see that; it is written on their uniforms!”

Before the trees can get into a serious argument, Dr. Hinweis’ cell phone rings. She listens and shouts "We have a match! The DNA belongs to the Chwistkind!”

Luckily CCSI headquarters had an address on file for the Christkind and when they arrive at his house Detective Schlau takes the lead and breaks the door with his shoulder while Dr. Hinweis screams "Police. Lay down on the gwound!"

“Please don’t kill me” cries the Christkind “I didn’t mean any harm! Except for a really bad headache Santa Claus is fine, he’s sitting right there! I only kidnapped him because I wanted Christmas to be what it used to be – about family, love, and peace not about presents, greed, and shopping! I thought if Santa Claus was gone and couldn't bring the presents people will remember, sing, talk, and relate with each other.”

And after Detective Schlau released Santa Claus from his chain and Dr. Hinweis gave him some eggnog-hangover-rescue-pills, he forgave the Christkind, and didn’t press charges. From now on the Christkind will ride with Santa in his sleigh and hand out love, peace, joy, and Christmas Spirit (40 proof, ho ho ho ho ho ho ho) because these are the most precious presents of all.

Story and characters are entirely fictional and any similarity with existing imaginary figures are absolutely intended.

Episode Two

The Santa Caper

Written by Karl
Directed by Ruis
Produced by Opus & Roscoe
Executive Producer & Casting by Sassy

Click here for:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
and
Part Four

Reviews by Tybolt and Samantha


Synopsis:

Just days before Christmas Santa comes up missing! The elves find a Ransom note in his bedroom warning them NOT to call the police. The CCSI team show up at the scene of the crime in search of clues as to what might have happened to Santa. Will the clues lead them to Santa in time to save Christmas? Or will the little children of world be disappointed on Christmas morning, when they wake up and find that Santa never came?

Staring:

Dr. Hinweis - Asta
Detective Schlau - Roscoe
Easter Bunny - Dragonheart
Tooth Fairy - Momo Cat

Santa - Tigger
Christkind - Victor Tabbycat

Mrs. Santa Claus - Gemini

The Elves
Bushy Evergreen - Miles
Shinny Upatree - Sanjee
Wunorse Openslae - China Cat
Pepper Minstix - Percy
Sugarplum Mary - Bonnie
Alabaster Snowball - Opus

The Reindeer
Rudolph - Zoey
Dasher - Willow
Dancer - Adan
Prancer - Sammy
Vixen - Pyewacket
Comet - Tigger The FBI Cat
Cupid - Trixie
Donner - Daisy
Blitzen - Pepi

The Forrest Trees
Jeweled Christmas Tree #1 - Charlie
Jeweled Christmas Tree #2 - Momo Dog
Jeweled Christmas Tree #3 - Yao-Lin

With:
Photo In Frame - Pinot
Cameo Appearance - Sassy

Little Productions Graphic Design Team
Karl
Ruis
Opus & Roscoe
Daisy
Asta

Red carpet - The Santa Caper

Limousines brought the entire crew and cast of CCSI II: The Santa Caper to the Little Studios for the opening night. Around the studios it was swarming with stars, press and celebrity photographers for the best Red Carpet shots.

The Kidnapped Kitty Caper

Detective Gil Fishham here, senior detective for the New York City CCSI: Cat & Canine Crime Scene Investigation.

One warm spring afternoon, I was called to the house of Miss Fistacuffs on the report of a missing cat. The elderly woman met me at the door, visibly upset. "Baroness Momo the Fluff of Dicken St Charles is gone," she said with tears running down her wrinkled face. "You must help me find her. I live alone and Fluffy is the only friend I have."

I proceeded to ask Miss Fistacuffs a series of questions: "Where did you last see Fluffy? Was it normal for her to come up missing for a few days? Does she have any enemies who would like to see him dead?" Miss Fistacuffs went on to tell me that Fluffy was last seen walking toward the shore, that she never stayed out after dark and, she assured me, that a sweet cat like Fluffy most certainly had no enemies.


I was lost and didn't know where to start. What I had was a missing cat. What I didn't have was a suspect, a motive, or even a body. I started off for the shore thinking that the fish market would be the a good place to start looking for a missing cat.

When I arrived at the fish market, I noticed a group of young sailors standing outside. I stopped them, showed them a photo of Fluffy, and asked if any of them had seen the feline. After taking a long hard look at the picture, the young sailors assured me that they hadn't seen the cat around, but suggested I go inside and ask the guy who is at the market everyday, Mr. Pesce, the fish market man.


I went inside the market and approached a burly looking man with a thick, black moustache who was standing behind the fish counter. Showing him the photo of Fluffy I asked, "Have you ever seen this cat around the market?" Scowling at the photo he answered, "Oh her. Yeah, I know that sneaky cat." He went on to tell me that Fluffy showed up at his stand several times a week, always trying to--and often succeeding in--stealing a fish.

"So you didn't like the cat?" I asked.

"What do you think?" he responded. "She was always trying to steal from me!"

"Did you hate her enough to commit MURDER?" I pressed.

Mr. Pesce's face softened. "Look," he went on, "I didn't like the cat, but the only critters I kill are the ones that come from the sea."

I went on to ask if he recalled seeing Fluffy on Thursday afternoon, the day she disappeared. After giving the question some thought he answered, "Yeah. The little rat stole one of my fish and took off running toward the docks."

I thanked him for his time, warned him not the leave the city, and started off toward the docks. I now had a suspect and a motive, it was time to go and find the body.

When I arrived at the docks, I found a large shipyard. There were boats everywhere, some loading cargo, some unloading cargo, others on dry land resting on wooden planks. As I walked toward the water's edge, I noticed a fierce looking dog standing guard. "Excuse me!" I shouted to get his attention. Snarls, the guard dog, approached me cautiously. "What do you want?" he grumbled at me. I introduced myself and then cut straight to the questions. "Do you know this cat?" I asked, holding up the photo of Fluffy.


The doberman rolled his eyes. "Yea, I know that cat," he growled. "She is always running through the shipyard with a fish in her mouth. I have asked her a million times not to cut through here. It's too dangerous with all the humans working," he went on to explain.

"I bet that made you mad when she ignored your request. Dogs never like it when cats don't take orders. Did it make you mad enough to commit murder?""Look," Snarls growled again, his lip snarling to reveal sharp, white fangs. "I don't know what you think you know about us dogs, but we get a bad wrap when it comes to feline relations. Just because I am dog, don't mean that I don't like them cats. I never touched a fur on her little head! The last time I saw her was Thursday afternoon; she come running through here with a fish sticking outta her mouth. She jumped up on that there fence. I run over to tell her to be careful, but I guess my bark startled her cause she fell backwards over the fence. By the time I got around to the other side to see if she was alright, she was already gone. Figured she must have scampered on home."

I thanked Mr. Snarls for his help, told him not to leave town and headed back to my office. I now had two suspects, two motives and still no body.

I was almost to my office, lost in thought, when my phone rang. It was a text message from Miss Fistacuffs telling me to get to her house right away. There had been a break in the case.


I arrived at Miss Fistacuff's house only to be greeted by the smiling old woman. "Good news!" she chirped. "They found Fluffy and she is alive!"

Alive? But how? I was sure the poor cat was dead at the hands of an angry fish market man or at the paws of an angry shipyard dog. How could this be?

Miss Fistacuffs went on to explain that Fluffy had fallen from a wall, at the shipyard, only to land in a shipping container. That container was on a boat heading to France. It had arrived just this afternoon and as the crew was unloading the container, they heard a weak meow coming from inside. There they found Fluffy, hungry and thirsty, but perfectly safe.


I congratulated Miss Fistacuff on her good news and said good bye, happy to know that at that moment Fluffy, the missing cat, was on a plane headed back home. In just a few more hours, she and Miss Fistacuffs would be reunited again.

Just another ordinary day of a CCSI detective.

Case closed.

Episode One

The Kidnapped Kitty Caper

Click here for

Part One and Part Two

Written by Opus and Roscoe
Directed by Ruis
Produced by Sassy


Synopsis:

Fluffy, the cat, has come up missing without a trace. Detective Gil Fishham from the CCSI team arrives on the scene to investigate the house cat's strange and sudden disappearance. The clues deliver him to several suspicious characters, all with motives, but will he be able to sift through the deception to figure out who is the guilty party? Without a body, it will prove difficult to prove who murdered Fluffy and why.

Staring

Detective Gill Fishham - Latte
Baroness Momo the Fluff of Dicken St. Charles - Momo
Miss Fistacufs - Miss Daisy
Snarles, the junkyard dog - Tigger
Mr. Pesce, the fish market man - Asta
Sailor Sam - Ruis
First Mate Matt - Simba
Second Mate Sandy - Momo The Dog
Third Mate Chris - Maggy
Fourth Mate Sunny - Zoey

Little Productions Graphic design team:
Opus and Roscoe
(Asta made the photo of herself)