Victor Frankenstein was in his English class at school one sunny day when he was given an assignment to study any classic fairy tale and retell them in any creative outlet the students chose Victor was rather bummed out; he never really liked fairy tales to begin with. So when he went home that afternoon, he told his mother about it.
"Well, Victor, I don't know what to tell you. I, for one, can't see why you're not excited about this." Victor's mother, Susan said.
"Because it's fairy tales, mom. And you know that I hardly read those anyway." Victor objected.
"What's this about fairy tales?" A new voice asked.
Victor and his mother turned around to see the faces of Victor Van Dort and his beloved wife Victoria standing together in the doorway. Ever since they've met, Victor Van Dort has cared about Victor Frankenstein very much and vice versa and after some time, they became just as close as brothers.
"Oh, nothing Big V." Little Victor said. "It's just a project I have to do for school. I have to read one fairy tale and I need to retell it in any way I want. But right now, I've got nothing."
"Well, perhaps we could be of some assistance?" Big V asked as he put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Yes, Little Victor. My husband and I know lots of fairy tales and I'm certain your parents do too. I'm sure we can help you figure something out." Victoria said, nodding her head.
"You'd really do that?" Little Victor asked.
Everyone nodded their heads and smiled in response. He thought about it and even though he wasn't fond of doing the assignment itself, he decided that he should at least give it a try. Then he thought of something.
"You know, the slip said I could have a partner inside and outside of school. And Mrs. Pearl said that we have to choose one sometime tomorrow or we won't get credit." He said.
"Well… who else do you have in mind?" Susan asked.
"I don't know. I guess I'll have to think about that." Little Victor answered.
The next day, Little Victor still couldn't decide who to choose as a partner for his project, but he did know who he didn't want to work with. He would not work with Edgar, Nassor, Toshiaki, or the Weird Girl with the huge eyes, that was for sure. Even though he now considered Bob as a friend, he was already taken unfortunately. Then there was only one option left; the girl next door who also happened to be the mayor's niece: Elsa Van Helsing. Little Victor decided to ask her if she would be his project partner at lunch. In the cafeteria, Victor was a little shy at first, but he knew what to do.
"Hey, Elsa." He said as he sat down next to her.
"Hi, Victor." Elsa said, turning her head in his direction. "How's it going?"
"Good. Hey, do you… know anything about Mrs. Pearl's latest assignment?" Victor asked.
'What the heck did I say that for? Of course she knows!' He thought, doing a mental facepalm.
"Yeah, I know about it. But I don't have a partner." Elsa responded.
"You don't? Oh! Well… that… that's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. I don't have a partner either and… I was sorta…"
"You want me to work with you?"
"Uh… yes?"
"Oh. Okay, I'll be partner."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Well… that's great. Meet me at my house after school, okay?"
"Sure."
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Elsa arrived at the Frankenstein house just in time. Little Victor was just going over some ideas about what story to do.
"Hey, Victor." Elsa said as she made her way to the sofa.
"Oh, hi Elsa." Victor said, looking up from his list to look at his friend. "Take a seat."
"Thanks. Have you thought about which story we should do?" She asked before sitting down.
"I have no idea. I can't decide." Victor said as he looked back at his list of stories.
"Can't decide on what?" Big V asked as he entered the living room with Victoria at his side.
"Nothing, Big V. We're just looking for a story to do for our project." Little Victor answered.
Big V nodded his head before noticing Elsa sitting on the couch.
He said, "Little Victor, is this your partner?"
"Yeah. Guys, this is Elsa."
"Elsa, what a lovely name." Victoria commented.
"Thank you, ma'am." Elsa said politely.
"Okay, I'd like to focus on this project here." Little Victor interrupted. "We still need a story and so far, I don't have a lot."
"Well, which ones do you have so far?" Elsa asked.
"Just a few stories I gathered right from the top of my head: The Tortoise and the Hare, Johnny Appleseed, and Tom Thumb. But that's it."
"Well, there are still lots of stories to choose from." Victoria said.
"Like what?" The ten-year-old asked.
"Jack and the Beanstalk, Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin…" Big V said.
"Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, The Little Mermaid…" Victoria added.
"Rapunzel, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little…" Elsa said before pausing. Then her eyes widened as she had an epiphany. "Hey! Hey, I've got it! Maybe we could do Little Red Riding Hood!"
"Oh, I love that story!" Victoria cried.
"That's a wonderful idea, Elsa." Big V said before turning to his younger counterpart. "What do you say, Little Victor?"
Victor thought about it for a minute or two before he slowly nodded his head and smiled; that was a pretty good idea.
"Okay, then. Little Red Riding Hood it is." He said before his eyes widened; he had an idea of his own. "Hey, I just thought of something! For the project, we could make a movie!"
"A movie? That's a great idea!" Elsa exclaimed.
"Yes, Little Victor. You do make the best homemade films after all." Big V said.
"Okay, we have a story and we know how we want to present it. Now that we know what to do, we'll need to get started right away." Little Victor said. "We'll need to write a script, create a set, set up the equipment, make costumes, pull a cast together and—"
Victor's sentence was suddenly interrupted by an excited yap which came from his beloved Frankenstein dog Sparky as he came bounding into the living room.
"… And we'll need Sparky to be in it, too." Victor said with a smile as he bent down to scratch behind his dog's ears.
"You'll need Sparky to be in what?" Mrs. Frankenstein asked as she walked into the room.
"We're going to make a movie for our school project, Mrs. Frankenstein." Elsa said.
"Oh, really? How exciting." Susan said.
"Hey, would you guys like to be in it?" Little Victor asked, his focus on Elsa, Big V, and his wife.
"Us?" Victoria asked.
"Yeah. I said I need to pull together a cast for this movie and… I'm looking at the perfect cast right now."
"Why… it would be my honor." Big V said.
"I'd love to." Victoria added.
"Of course… but who's going to play who?" Elsa asked.
"Don't worry, I've already figured that out." Little Victor said with a smile.
Over the next few days, Victor and the others had been working tirelessly on the project. Big V designed the costumes while Mrs. Frankenstein put them together, Victoria and Elsa had written the scripts for everyone, and Little Victor and Mr. Frankenstein designed and made the sets and set the proper equipment up. After four days, everything was done and everyone was as ready to start filming as they'll ever be.
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One day while Victor was reading over the script, Edgar came into the backyard and shouted,
"Hey, Victor!"
Victor nearly dropped his own script when he heard the all too familiar voice ring through his ears. He turned around to meet the crazed stare of Edgar.
"Edgar… what are you doing here?" Victor asked in an uneasy tone.
"Nothing… What are you doing?" Edgar asked.
"Nothing; just going over some stuff."
"Hey, do you have a partner for Mrs. Pearl's fairy tale project? Because if you don't, we could work together since I don't have a partner."
'Really? I wonder why.' Victor thought, desperately trying not to roll his eyes.
"As a matter of fact, I do have a partner… Actually, I have quite a few partners. A whole team, in fact."
"A team?"
"Little Victor? Could you come here for a moment? I need your opinion on something." Big V's voice called from the back door.
"Coming, Big V! See you later, Edgar. I've got a lot of work to do." Little Victor said before quickly walking into the house and leaving the hunchbacked boy behind.
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"And… cut! That's a print!" Little Victor said when everyone finished the final scene of the movie. "You guys did great today!"
"Thanks, Victor." Elsa said.
"Yes, thank you." Big V added.
"Okay, now all I need to do is edit this footage and the project is done." Little Victor said before taking the camera into the house with Sparky following close behind him.
After some careful editing, the movie was finally ready. At school the next day, Victor and Elsa had both gotten an A+ on their project. Mr. and Mrs. Frankenstein were very proud of their son, but the person who was prouder than anyone was Big V. As he was giving Little Victor a hug, his eyes widened as he had an epiphany.
"Little Victor? Do you think you should show the film to all of us?" Big V asked.
"As in… a private screening?" Little Victor asked.
"Exactly."
"Yeah, why not?" Edward asked his son.
"That's… actually a pretty good idea. Maybe we could invite Elsa, too? We could show it tonight." Little Victor suggested.
"Alright, dear. I could even make some snacks and refreshments if you want." Mrs. Frankenstein offered.
"Sure, mom."
That night, everything was ready for the screening. A knock on the door signaled Elsa must've arrived but when Little Victor went to answer the door, he was surprised to see a group of people he didn't recognize.
"Oh! Uh… hello." He said.
"Hello there, young man." A rather plump woman said.
"Victor, who's at the door?" Mrs. Frankenstein called.
"Your name is Victor?" The woman asked.
"Yes." The boy answered.
"Little Victor, whatever is keeping you? We must start the…" Big V began before noticing the figures standing in the doorway. His eyes slightly widened when they met their gaze.
"Oh, it's you." The short fat man groaned, glaring at Big V.
"It's… good to see you too, Mr. and Mrs. Everglot." Big V said nervously before turning his head to look at the other couple. "Hello, mother, father."
"Oh, Victor!" The plump woman cried. "It's so nice to see you again."
"It's been too long, hasn't it?" The stick-thin man exclaimed.
"Uh, Big V? Aren't you going to introduce us?" Little Victor asked, nudging his friend in the stomach with his elbow.
"'Big V'? What on Earth does that mean?" The thin woman dubbed Mrs. Everglot asked.
"Nothing, madam. It is… just an amusing alias this young boy calls me… since we both have the same name." Big V chuckled as he put a hand on Little Victor's shoulder.
"I see… Well, aren't you going to invite us in, boy?" Mr. Everglot asked.
"Oh! Yes, yes of course. Come on in." Little Victor said.
"Thank you." The group of four said in unison before making their way into the house.
"Mother, father?" Victoria asked when she saw her parents enter.
"Ah, Victoria." Mrs. Everglot said before noticing the screen in front of the sofa, the projector in one corner of the room, and the drawn curtains. "Tell me, what is all of this for?"
Before her question could be answered, someone cleared their throat. Everyone looked at the doorway to see Elsa standing there.
"Oh, Elsa. I'm glad you could make it. Come in." Little Victor said.
"Thanks. I wouldn't miss this for anything." She said before stepping inside with a black poodle following her. "Oh. And I hope you don't mind, but I brought Persephone with me. She wanted to see the movie too."
"Persephone?" The thin man asked before spotting the poodle standing with the girl. "Oh, look at that, dear. Ain't she a pretty little thing?"
"Hmm?" Mrs. Van Dort asked before turning her attention to the little poodle. "Ooh! Look at her! What a beauty!"
"Thank you, ma'am." Elsa said as she gave Persephone a gentle pat on the head.
"If nobody would mind, I'd like to see the movie my son made before the night is over." Mr. Frankenstein said.
"Movie?" Mr. Van Dort asked.
"Yes, our son makes his own films and we're about to watch one of his newest ones right now." Mrs. Frankenstein said proudly before she thought of something. "Would you like to join us?"
Victoria and Big V's eyes widened at what they just heard; they looked at each other with concerned looks.
"Watch a film? Made by a child?" Mrs. Everglot scoffed. "Perish the thought."
"Oh come now, Maudeline. I think it would be fun. Can't you at least give it a try? My husband and I are, aren't we William?" Mrs. Van Dort asked before her husband nodded.
"Mother, Victor and I have seen a few of the boy's films and they're very entertaining. I say it's about time you saw one." Victoria commented as her husband sat down beside her.
"Well… alright. Just this one time." Mrs. Everglot said before she and her husband made their way to the couch with the Van Dort's.
"Great." Little Victor said as he made his way to the projector.
"Um… it looks like we'll need a few more chairs." Mrs. Frankenstein said.
"That's okay, mom. Elsa and I can just sit on the floor with the dogs. Speaking of which…" Victor said before whistling for Sparky.
As if on cue, Sparky came bounding into the room barking happily before sitting down right next to Persephone.
"Okay, is everyone comfortable?" Victor asked.
Everyone nodded their heads 'yes' in unison before Victor turned on the projector and took his seat next to Sparky. Soon the movie was starting with…