Synopsis/Details
18-going-on-10 aimless Otto Nye wishes his overbearing divorced Mom would let him see his deadbeat Dad, and he's also struggling with clingy, saucy, childhood BFF Luci Ferr's push to take their relationship to the next level. At school, Otto and Luci are in eccentric teacher Brahma's challenging bio-evolution class, where each student is assigned a "simulated" planet to evolve on their computers, with a scholarship to the student who develops the most planetary complexity. As Otto initially struggles to keep up in class, Luci pranks prissy Dahlia Yama, whose father is Brahma's boss at school. Escalating the catfight, Dahlia feigns interest in Otto with the aim of driving Luci postal enough to get herself kicked out of school.
As Otto and Luci's relationship is threatened by Dahlia's seduction, the class project just putters along in the background (e.g. a jealous Luci sends an asteroid to wipe out Otto's dinosaurs) -- until a miraculous accident propels Otto's planet off the charts of evolutionary complexity. When Brahma spots Adam and Eve on Otto's world, she confesses to Dr. Yama that the class project's not a simulation; she's created a parallel universe as compensation for her physical infertility and rejection by the National Cosmogeny Institute. To protect his upcoming promotion to school chief, Dr. Yama orders the complex life on Otto's world wiped out, but Otto and Brahma conspire to trick him by staging Noah's Flood. After some back-and-forth between Luci and Dahlia, Otto figures out Dahlia's game. Not one to lose a catfight, Dahlia tips off her father, who offers Otto a devil's deal -- the first-place scholarship in exchange for obliterating his planet the next morning -- or else Brahma's teaching career is ruined.
That night, Otto and Luci break into school, shaping the last two centuries of modern history, from Albert Einstein to World War 2, guiding the humans to develop a spaceship program while jacking up global warming to convince the Earthlings to bail on their doomed planet before Dr. Yama toasts it. The humans escape, Otto wins the scholarship, the respect of his family, and Luci's heart.
Story & Logistics
Story Type:
Rite of Passage
Story Situation:
Rivalry of superior vs. inferior
Story Conclusion:
Ambiguous
Linear Structure:
Linear
Moral Affections:
Bad Man, Disinterestedness, Duty, Judge, Virtue
Cast Size:
Several
Locations:
Few
Special Effects:
Minor cgi, Other practical effects
Characters
Lead Role Ages:
Male Teenager
Hero Type:
Ordinary
Villian Type:
Corrupted
Stock Character Types:
Femme fatale, Girl next door, Mad scientist, Villain
Advanced
Subgenre:
Parody
Equality & Diversity:
Diverse Cast, Passes Bechdel Test
Life Topics:
Coming of Age
Time Period:
Alternative future, Ancient history, Contemporary times, Prehistory
Relationship Topics:
Abusive relationship, Courtship, Jealousy