The Missing Ink (of the Xia)

Twenty-something Cal wants to be a voice actor, if he can just believe in himself enough to get there. Unfortunately, this challenge becomes the least of his problems when he encounters noxious cartoon executives Susan and Manon…who have discovered an ancient and mysterious ink! The magical solution, found amongst the ruins of the Xia Dynasty in China, has the power to cartoonify living tissue! Figuring into the story is Susan’s lovely assistant Maia, whom Cal is smitten with, and retired veteran voice actor Eddie Zorander whom Cal seeks for guidance. Then there’s Marco, the schlubby minion helping to carry out the pair’s burgeoning maniacal plan…which entails stealing from (or worse) inactive voice artists of the past…with the grand plan of power and immortality. When an audition from hell gets a bit more hellish, Cal catches his first glimpse at the mutating powers of the ink via Susan’s abusive exchange with a pitiful audio engineer. Covertly peering through the window of the record booth, Cal witnesses something supernatural beaming from Susan’s gloved hands! This freakish harbinger would spark a connection with Maia (woot) and lead to deep revelations with Eddie. Curiosity killed the cat, but in this case…it gets Maia taken captive(!) as Susan and Manon’s plans approach full fruition. If you’re wondering if this involves a cartoon spaceship- you’re right! (if you’re not wondering that, well, it’s happening) This leads Cal on a mission to rescue Maia along with wheelchair bound Eddie and a Chinese super-spy by the name of Lin Ling- who has been sent to retrieve the highly dangerous, dynasty destroying ink. At Pruitt Studios, Manon Pruitt’s namesake animation headquarters, we launch into the third act- literally! After a battle to rescue Maia in the launch bay leaves Cal unconscious- and his friends all but beaten by the treacherous cartoonified Susan and Manon, the ship takes off- with Maia on board!! Recovering in the now empty launch bay- surrounded by Eddie, Ling, and other characters not mentioned by name here but oh so entertaining, Cal is faced with a life or death decision: the only way he can rescue Maia is to transform into cartoon by ingesting ink- via a method that will almost certainly bring death- and launching in a small prototype ship. But before he can get a vial into his gullet, Eddie has already gulped - and now the unlikely friends transmogrify, transmute, re-form into two endearing animated characters from the past…and they blast off in the prototype!! We’re in space! There’s a chase! We end up weaving through an asteroid field (yea- kinda like that, only different- but not too different) and landing. There are fisticuffs, laser and ink blasts, tense moments of drama (laced with knee slappers) and Maia is rescued! There’s a sad farewell as Cal sets the prototype to return Maia (still fully and precariously human) to earth. It launches! And Cal and Eddie, their futures uncertain, ponder what’s next.