Norman the Snowman: On a Night of Shooting Stars (2021) Movie Script
1
Late night on November 13, 1833,
an enormous number of shooting stars
were witnessed in North America.
The term meteor shower
was not yet available at the time.
As many as 20 shooting stars appeared per
second, and the incident shocked the people.
It is still remembered today as
the largest meteor shower in modern history.
Norman the Snowman
- On a Night of Shooting Stars -
Snow!
Snow brings a friend to the boy.
His name is Norman.
Yes, hes a snowman.
Norman the Snowman.
Hes a friend the boy can only see in winter.
Do you think hes an ordinary snowman?
No, hes more than that.
Come on. My nose is pointing down.
Oh, sorry. How about this?
I cant feel confident
with my nose pointing down.
I think youre confident enough.
What was that?
Nothing.
Good to see you again. How have you been?
Fine. My body is still a bit stiff, though.
Youve grown a little taller.
Yeah. Just a little.
So, did anything exciting happen to you?
Let me see
Oh, yeah. This year
Norman told the boy about the north country.
The boy told Norman about summer.
It was exciting for each to
learn what he didnt know.
In this town where snow rarely falls,
they kept talking every night
during the few days before the snow melted.
Look. A shooting star.
Youll get to see a lot more tomorrow.
Huh?
Tomorrow night is a meteor shower night.
The sky will be full of shooting stars.
I want to see that!
Okay. Well watch it together.
Thats a promise!
Sure.
Celestial bodies called comets
are revolving around the Sun.
When the comets pass close to the Sun,
they discharge large amounts of dust.
And that creates a belt of dust
like a river around the Sun, like this.
Meteor showers occur when
the Earth passes through this dust.
As the Earth enters this belt of dust,
it gets hit by many dust particles in its way.
The dust hits the Earth at a great speed
and makes the Earths atmosphere glow.
Those glows are what we see as shooting stars.
Thats the mechanism of meteor showers.
Not sleeping enough?
Oh, um...
Excuse me.
Well, over time this dust
gradually disperses and gets thinner.
But just after a comet has passed,
it floats very densely, like this.
In this state, if the Earth...
...passes through here
...what do you think will happen?
Take a look at this lithograph.
This is an illustration of
the Leonid meteor shower of 1833.
There were no photo cameras back then,
so we dont know how accurate this is.
But some records say that 20
shooting stars appeared within a second.
Try to imagine 20 shooting stars per second!
Those who actually saw this must have
felt the sky completely covered, like this.
Not sleeping enough, I see.
Youve learned about meteor showers.
Unfortunately its cloudy today.
We probably wont be able to see it tonight.
So you should all go to bed
early tonight, instead of staying up.
Especially
...those who have been sleepy today.
What is it?
Come on.
Whats the matter? Lets go.
Norman?
Norman!
There you were.
Well... we sure got a lot of snow.
No chance to see the meteor shower?
With those clouds
Yeah... Too bad.
I was hoping to see it.
Yeah
But its clear over there.
If we get to that break
in the clouds, we might see it.
Yeah, its light over there.
Do you think we can?
Its a long way. Can you make it?
No problem.
You want to see it that much?
Sure! I already dreamed
about it many times today.
How could you dream during the day?
Well, during class
Never mind. Forget it.
Then shall we?
Yeah!
Wait for me! Slow down!
Norman?
Norman, Im sorry.
I didnt mean to hurt you. Are you all right?
Take that!
Ill get you back!
Hey, look at this.
Look.
Foxes.
What are they doing?
Hunting practice, maybe.
Are they friends?
A family, I think.
Friends, Im sure.
I dont know
Well, lets get going.
Yeah.
Its real quiet.
Yeah.
Its like all sounds are gone.
Its starting to snow again.
Should we keep going?
Huh?
With the snow, we might
not see shooting stars after all.
What should we do?
Never mind should. What do you want?
What?
What matters is what you want to do.
You sound just like my mom.
What did you say?
Never mind.
Shooting stars make your
wishes come true, right?
Thats just a myth.
Huh? No, its not.
Your wishes come true!
What wish do you want to make?
That we can see shooting stars.
Wishing that to a shooting star? Thats absurd.
Do you think so?
Yeah, I do.
Anyway, you shouldnt depend
on a star to make it easy for you.
You make your wish come true yourself.
Youre so confident, Norman.
So, what do you want? Are we going or not?
Were going. To see shooting stars.
Norman?
Huh?
What do you think that is?
Its coming this way.
Lets go and see.
Hello!
Hello!
Hey! What are you doing?
Im towing the front.
The front?
Thats right. Today
...its the warm front.
The warm front is quite delicate, you see.
The warm front, he says.
Im not very fond of the warm front.
I didnt expect to meet a boy and a snow pile here.
What are you doing?
A snow pile? Im a snowman.
BOY Were looking for a break in the clouds.
We want to see the meteor shower.
Then you came to the right place.
When this front passes through
youll soon see the stars.
Really?
Yes, really. Take a look behind you.
Wow
Hes right.
I hope you get to see a lot of shooting stars.
Sir
Shooting stars make your
wishes come true, right?
That... is just a myth.
Huh?
I told you.
But it is true
...that whatever wish youre making
when you see a shooting star will come true.
What do you mean?
In the first place, you cant make a wish
to a star you never know when youll see.
But what if you were making that
wish all the time without stopping?
You would be making that wish
even when a shooting star appears, right?
I guess so.
What I mean is
..that whatever youre always strongly
wishing for is bound to come true in the end.
The shooting star myth is only
a measure of how strong your wish is.
A shooting star doesnt grant your wish.
Your wish comes true because youre
making it even when you see a shooting star.
Look. A shooting star.
Were you making a wish just now?
Just now?
Right. Thats what it means
to make a wish to a shooting star.
Just now I was
...wishing to see shooting stars.
Sorry I laughed.
I had never heard of wishing to
a shooting star to see shooting stars.
See? I told you its absurd.
But I think thats quite an interesting idea.
Look. This just might
turn into something exciting.
Wow.
Your wish to see shooting stars
is bringing shooting stars.
And those shooting stars are
bringing even more shooting stars.
Its like a snowball effect.
Shouldnt he say snow-man effect?
I havent seen such a meteor shower in a while.
Not since
...the year 1833.
I saw a picture of that. Did you
really see that great meteor shower?
Yes. That was in America.
It was a truly awesome meteor shower.
How old is this man?
Thank you very much, sir.
My pleasure.
I got to see something wonderful. Thank you.
So long.
So long.
Good bye!
That was awesome.
If we didnt know it was a meteor shower,
we might think the world was coming to an end.
There arent as many now.
Its almost over.
Norman
I think youve grown smaller.
Maybe its that warm front.
Its suddenly warm, so I think I melted a bit.
Where do the winter constellations
go during summer?
Theyre in the sky even in summer.
Its just that theyre up during
the day, so we cant see them.
What do you do during summer, Norman?
I stay up in the sky too.
I melt to water and sink into the ground.
Then I evaporate to become a cloud and
fly across the sky back to the north country.
But I never remember much about summer.
So my wish is to see summer
with my own eyes someday,
though that might be impossible.
Are you always wishing for that?
Yeah. All the time.
Then itll surely come true someday.
Do you think so?
You dont sound like you.
Huh?
You sound uncertain.
Thats Mom.
I knew you would be here!
Did you see the shooting stars?
Yeah.
Fantastic, wasnt it?
Yeah.
Ive never seen anything like it.
Oh, you made Norman again this year.
Yeah.
How are you?
His nose is pointing down.
Maybe hes melted a little.
Good. This looks more like Norman.
Youre right.
This looks more like Norman.
Mom, did you make a wish?
Huh? What?
Did you make a wish to a shooting star?
Ah.
Thats just a myth.
Huh?
A shooting star doesnt grant your wish.
It comes true
I know!
Because youre wishing it
even when you see a shooting star.
That hurts!
Well, shall we go home?
Yeah.
What about Norman?
Go on! I wont melt away yet.
He wants to watch the stars.
The boy thought to himself
that he would always be with Norman,
that they would forever be friends,
even when he grows up to become an adult.
Just then,
the last shooting star that night
flashed across the sky.
Producer : Masaaki Oikawa / Takanori Toyokawa
Written, Directed & Animated : Takeshi Yashiro
Late night on November 13, 1833,
an enormous number of shooting stars
were witnessed in North America.
The term meteor shower
was not yet available at the time.
As many as 20 shooting stars appeared per
second, and the incident shocked the people.
It is still remembered today as
the largest meteor shower in modern history.
Norman the Snowman
- On a Night of Shooting Stars -
Snow!
Snow brings a friend to the boy.
His name is Norman.
Yes, hes a snowman.
Norman the Snowman.
Hes a friend the boy can only see in winter.
Do you think hes an ordinary snowman?
No, hes more than that.
Come on. My nose is pointing down.
Oh, sorry. How about this?
I cant feel confident
with my nose pointing down.
I think youre confident enough.
What was that?
Nothing.
Good to see you again. How have you been?
Fine. My body is still a bit stiff, though.
Youve grown a little taller.
Yeah. Just a little.
So, did anything exciting happen to you?
Let me see
Oh, yeah. This year
Norman told the boy about the north country.
The boy told Norman about summer.
It was exciting for each to
learn what he didnt know.
In this town where snow rarely falls,
they kept talking every night
during the few days before the snow melted.
Look. A shooting star.
Youll get to see a lot more tomorrow.
Huh?
Tomorrow night is a meteor shower night.
The sky will be full of shooting stars.
I want to see that!
Okay. Well watch it together.
Thats a promise!
Sure.
Celestial bodies called comets
are revolving around the Sun.
When the comets pass close to the Sun,
they discharge large amounts of dust.
And that creates a belt of dust
like a river around the Sun, like this.
Meteor showers occur when
the Earth passes through this dust.
As the Earth enters this belt of dust,
it gets hit by many dust particles in its way.
The dust hits the Earth at a great speed
and makes the Earths atmosphere glow.
Those glows are what we see as shooting stars.
Thats the mechanism of meteor showers.
Not sleeping enough?
Oh, um...
Excuse me.
Well, over time this dust
gradually disperses and gets thinner.
But just after a comet has passed,
it floats very densely, like this.
In this state, if the Earth...
...passes through here
...what do you think will happen?
Take a look at this lithograph.
This is an illustration of
the Leonid meteor shower of 1833.
There were no photo cameras back then,
so we dont know how accurate this is.
But some records say that 20
shooting stars appeared within a second.
Try to imagine 20 shooting stars per second!
Those who actually saw this must have
felt the sky completely covered, like this.
Not sleeping enough, I see.
Youve learned about meteor showers.
Unfortunately its cloudy today.
We probably wont be able to see it tonight.
So you should all go to bed
early tonight, instead of staying up.
Especially
...those who have been sleepy today.
What is it?
Come on.
Whats the matter? Lets go.
Norman?
Norman!
There you were.
Well... we sure got a lot of snow.
No chance to see the meteor shower?
With those clouds
Yeah... Too bad.
I was hoping to see it.
Yeah
But its clear over there.
If we get to that break
in the clouds, we might see it.
Yeah, its light over there.
Do you think we can?
Its a long way. Can you make it?
No problem.
You want to see it that much?
Sure! I already dreamed
about it many times today.
How could you dream during the day?
Well, during class
Never mind. Forget it.
Then shall we?
Yeah!
Wait for me! Slow down!
Norman?
Norman, Im sorry.
I didnt mean to hurt you. Are you all right?
Take that!
Ill get you back!
Hey, look at this.
Look.
Foxes.
What are they doing?
Hunting practice, maybe.
Are they friends?
A family, I think.
Friends, Im sure.
I dont know
Well, lets get going.
Yeah.
Its real quiet.
Yeah.
Its like all sounds are gone.
Its starting to snow again.
Should we keep going?
Huh?
With the snow, we might
not see shooting stars after all.
What should we do?
Never mind should. What do you want?
What?
What matters is what you want to do.
You sound just like my mom.
What did you say?
Never mind.
Shooting stars make your
wishes come true, right?
Thats just a myth.
Huh? No, its not.
Your wishes come true!
What wish do you want to make?
That we can see shooting stars.
Wishing that to a shooting star? Thats absurd.
Do you think so?
Yeah, I do.
Anyway, you shouldnt depend
on a star to make it easy for you.
You make your wish come true yourself.
Youre so confident, Norman.
So, what do you want? Are we going or not?
Were going. To see shooting stars.
Norman?
Huh?
What do you think that is?
Its coming this way.
Lets go and see.
Hello!
Hello!
Hey! What are you doing?
Im towing the front.
The front?
Thats right. Today
...its the warm front.
The warm front is quite delicate, you see.
The warm front, he says.
Im not very fond of the warm front.
I didnt expect to meet a boy and a snow pile here.
What are you doing?
A snow pile? Im a snowman.
BOY Were looking for a break in the clouds.
We want to see the meteor shower.
Then you came to the right place.
When this front passes through
youll soon see the stars.
Really?
Yes, really. Take a look behind you.
Wow
Hes right.
I hope you get to see a lot of shooting stars.
Sir
Shooting stars make your
wishes come true, right?
That... is just a myth.
Huh?
I told you.
But it is true
...that whatever wish youre making
when you see a shooting star will come true.
What do you mean?
In the first place, you cant make a wish
to a star you never know when youll see.
But what if you were making that
wish all the time without stopping?
You would be making that wish
even when a shooting star appears, right?
I guess so.
What I mean is
..that whatever youre always strongly
wishing for is bound to come true in the end.
The shooting star myth is only
a measure of how strong your wish is.
A shooting star doesnt grant your wish.
Your wish comes true because youre
making it even when you see a shooting star.
Look. A shooting star.
Were you making a wish just now?
Just now?
Right. Thats what it means
to make a wish to a shooting star.
Just now I was
...wishing to see shooting stars.
Sorry I laughed.
I had never heard of wishing to
a shooting star to see shooting stars.
See? I told you its absurd.
But I think thats quite an interesting idea.
Look. This just might
turn into something exciting.
Wow.
Your wish to see shooting stars
is bringing shooting stars.
And those shooting stars are
bringing even more shooting stars.
Its like a snowball effect.
Shouldnt he say snow-man effect?
I havent seen such a meteor shower in a while.
Not since
...the year 1833.
I saw a picture of that. Did you
really see that great meteor shower?
Yes. That was in America.
It was a truly awesome meteor shower.
How old is this man?
Thank you very much, sir.
My pleasure.
I got to see something wonderful. Thank you.
So long.
So long.
Good bye!
That was awesome.
If we didnt know it was a meteor shower,
we might think the world was coming to an end.
There arent as many now.
Its almost over.
Norman
I think youve grown smaller.
Maybe its that warm front.
Its suddenly warm, so I think I melted a bit.
Where do the winter constellations
go during summer?
Theyre in the sky even in summer.
Its just that theyre up during
the day, so we cant see them.
What do you do during summer, Norman?
I stay up in the sky too.
I melt to water and sink into the ground.
Then I evaporate to become a cloud and
fly across the sky back to the north country.
But I never remember much about summer.
So my wish is to see summer
with my own eyes someday,
though that might be impossible.
Are you always wishing for that?
Yeah. All the time.
Then itll surely come true someday.
Do you think so?
You dont sound like you.
Huh?
You sound uncertain.
Thats Mom.
I knew you would be here!
Did you see the shooting stars?
Yeah.
Fantastic, wasnt it?
Yeah.
Ive never seen anything like it.
Oh, you made Norman again this year.
Yeah.
How are you?
His nose is pointing down.
Maybe hes melted a little.
Good. This looks more like Norman.
Youre right.
This looks more like Norman.
Mom, did you make a wish?
Huh? What?
Did you make a wish to a shooting star?
Ah.
Thats just a myth.
Huh?
A shooting star doesnt grant your wish.
It comes true
I know!
Because youre wishing it
even when you see a shooting star.
That hurts!
Well, shall we go home?
Yeah.
What about Norman?
Go on! I wont melt away yet.
He wants to watch the stars.
The boy thought to himself
that he would always be with Norman,
that they would forever be friends,
even when he grows up to become an adult.
Just then,
the last shooting star that night
flashed across the sky.
Producer : Masaaki Oikawa / Takanori Toyokawa
Written, Directed & Animated : Takeshi Yashiro