The Movie Planet and the Popcorn Dog - Spaceship 343 - A Bedtime Story

0:04 Hello, friends from across the nation and around the world. I'm Martin, and you are listening to Dad's Bedtime Stories. And this time, we'll be headed back into the spaceship universe. Because that's what I feel like doing. And I got some cool suggestions for it. Specifically this one.

0:27 Hello, my name is River. I'm from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. And I would like a story for the spaceship series where you could go to a planet that's like filled with like movie things and you find a popcorn dog. So and the popcorn dog becomes your best friend and you have a blast. Thanks.

0:58 River, that is an excellent idea. And somehow, when it got into my mind, the story-making machine, and I was storyboarding it, I decided it was kind of like a broken-down movie theater planet with abandoned things and food and all that sort of stuff, including a popcorn dog, of course, because that seemed key to your message. Now, if you like the podcast, please don't forget to rate us and review us wherever it is you're listening. Share it with a friend. Join us on Patreon, where you can get ad-free episodes and any bonus content I work on. And I work on some different things sometimes. Right now, I'm obsessed with making graphic novel versions of some of my favorite series. I'm almost done with the first Cards of Power, but, well,

1:58 making sure the pictures are consistent is harder than I thought it was. And, more exciting than that, I teased to a lot of you that I'd been working on a Wizardcraft game, and last night I decided to post it on Patreon, or the link to it, along with the password to try it out, and I'll be updating it in the next couple weeks as we go but yeah you can be a wizard with golems and special powers and mining and crafting and running a little village all in kind of a retro adventure but it's honestly pretty cool I don't know I had a lot of fun making it and I'm having a lot of fun playing it and if you want to test it out too you can do that if you're a Patreon member and then send me feedback I appreciate that. Maybe one

2:54 day I will package it and sell it on different platforms or something, but I don't know at this point because I've never... Actually, I've not never made a game before. I have actually made games before, but this is the first one of this size and extent that I've made. Anyways, enough about that. Time to get on with our story after a possible word from a possible sponsor. Get as comfy as you can in that bed, close your eyes, and imagine yourself doing what the kid in the story does.

3:31 You find yourself relaxing on spaceship, sitting on your favorite couch, looking out through the enormous front window with all the little stars stretching across the galaxy. Changer, your shape-shifting dog, is curled up at your feet in his favorite form, a fluffy little earth puppy. His paws seem to be twitching a little bit, as if he's dreaming. You wonder what he's dreaming about. Chasing squirrels or something? Incoming transmission. Oh, this looks very interesting. Spaceship says. A colorful advertisement appears across the front screen. Welcome to Movie Planet. A cheerful voice begins speaking. Do you love movies? Do you love adventures?

4:35 Then come visit the greatest movie experience in the entire galaxy. The screen shows an enormous planet covered in theaters and roller coasters and restaurants and gigantic movie screens. Experience your favorite movies in spectacular 2D, incredible 3D, or step right inside the action with our amazing 4D immersion adventures. The advertisement shows a family walking into a movie screen and Well, suddenly finding themselves standing beside a friendly dinosaur. Another family flies through space alongside a superhero. And another group rides a pirate ship across a stormy ocean. Whoa, this looks amazing, you say. It certainly does, spaceship replies. Apparently, they can recreate almost any movie ever made. Would you like to visit? Absolutely,

5:50 I would. Changer wakes up at the sound of your excitement and gives a cheerful bark. Looks like Changer wants to come too. You settle back in your seat as Spaceship changes direction and jumps to super hyperdrive. Next stop, the movies. Moments later, you emerge from your faster-than-light travel beside a huge purple and blue planet. It looks magnificent from here, but as you get closer, something starts to feel wrong. Hmm, Spaceship says, this is strange. You lean forward.

6:41 What is? The advertisement showed a very busy planet, thousands of visitors, bright lights, enormous celebrations, but my scanners are only detecting a few life signs, some artificial, some biological, sort of. You wonder what he means by sort of biological. You approach the surface. Below you, enormous movie theaters rise above sprawling entertainment parks. Giant advertisements still flash across rooftops, though some of them are flickering. And everywhere you look, things seem to be going wrong. A little crazy. One enormous machine is launching popcorn into the air like a volcano that won't stop. Another machine is spraying rivers of bright purple slushy across the plaza. A nearby soda fountain,

7:54 like a literal fountain, is sending enormous streams of fizzy orange pop hundreds of feet into the sky. You watch a pepperoni pizza fly past your window. Did that pizza just fly through the air, you ask? I believe so, and judging by its trajectory, I believe it will land in approximately three seconds. You watch it disappear behind a building.

8:31 This place looks weird. Maybe we should go check it out. Spaceship lands beside an enormous theater, and the doors open. Changer jumps outside, immediately sticking his nose in a pile of popcorn. Don't eat that, you say. We have no idea how long it's been sitting there. Changer looks up at you with a piece of popcorn balanced on his nose.

9:00 He flips it up into the air. and eats it defiantly. It's your funeral, buddy. Spaceship transforms into a smaller version of himself and then floats beside you as you walk around the planet, your boots crunching through a thick carpet of popcorn. Above the entrance to the nearby movie theater, an enormous sign reads, Movie Planet, where movies come alive.

9:38 Near the sign stands a strange-looking antenna. It stretches hundreds of feet into the sky, covered in spinning dishes and glowing receivers, except several of the dishes look kind of bent and sparks are occasionally jumping out between lines. loose wires. Spaceship, what's that thing, you ask? Interesting, this appears to be the planet's central entertainment receiver. My scans indicate that it collects movie transmissions from thousands of planets across the galaxy.

10:22 What does it do with them? Well, it intercepts the movies and recreates them here, sometimes on ordinary screens, sometimes as interactive adventures, and sometimes it actually builds robotic versions of the movie characters.

10:44 Cool.

10:46 Very cool. Spaceship agrees, but the system appears badly damaged and nobody is maintaining it. A beam of blue light extends from spaceship toward a nearby computer terminal. Allow me to investigate. After a moment, he continues. Ah, I believe I have found the historical records. Movie Planet was once one of the most popular entertainment destinations in this region of the galaxy. Millions of visitors traveled here every year.

11:27 So what happened, you ask? Personal immersion technology became popular. People invented small devices that allowed them to experience entire artificial worlds without leaving their home. Eventually, nobody needed enormous movie theaters or entertainment planets any longer. So everyone just stopped coming? Unfortunately, yes. It seems that the inhabitants who previously came here stopped going almost anywhere. They now prefer to sit inside their homes, immersed in virtual realities. The planet was abandoned. Without maintenance, the machines began breaking down and their programming started getting mixed up. You look around at the abandoned attractions. That's kind of sad. It is, Spaceship replies. But the good news is that most of

12:37 the equipment is still operating. Perhaps we can enjoy some of the attractions. You grin. Well then, let's explore. You enter the enormous movie theater. Inside, dozens of screens stretch along a hallway. Some show alien adventures while others display movies you recognize from Earth. On one screen, dinosaurs are stomping through a jungle. On another, a superhero soars between skyscrapers A third shows cartoon animals riding a bright yellow submarine and singing some sort of song. Hey, some of these are Earth movies, you say? Of course, Spaceship replies.

13:32 Earth has been broadcasting entertainment into space for quite some time. Changer watches the dinosaur screen with enormous interest. A Tyrannosaurus roars. Changer gives a tiny bark back. Yes, Changer, very scary, you say? You continue past the regular 2D theaters, then the 3D theaters with their enormous floating holographic pictures. Eventually, you reach an enormous doorway marked 4D Immersion Adventures. Become part of the movie. I mean, 4D doesn't really mean that.

14:19 It's still technically three dimensions, but you understand what they're trying to get across. This is gonna be good, you say, and you step through. Inside, you find an entire artificial city. Buildings stretch overhead, streets wind between them. and a glowing artificial sky hangs above everything. Suddenly you hear shouting, Look out!

14:53 A large silver robot charges around the corner, firing bright red energy beams. You dive behind what looks like a parked hover car or something. Spaceship, what's happening? Apparently you've entered an action movie. Another robot appears, swinging a giant metal fist. Well, I guess we better play along then.

15:22 You tap your watch. Instantly, your space armor unfolds around your body. Glowing sections of protective metal cover your arms, legs, and chest, and your helmet forms around your head. You activate your jet boots and rocket into the air. The robot lunges toward you. You dodge, spin around, and then blast it with a pulse of energy from your right wrist.

15:56 With a boom, the robot crashes backward into a wall. Changer, a little help? You call. Changer transforms. his little puppy body expands into an enormous bear-like creature with thick, rocky armor covering his shoulders and two gigantic boulders for hands. Whoa! Changer charges, and with a crash, one robot goes flying and smashes into another. Then you hear another voice say, RANGERS, TRANSFORM!

16:41 You look over to see five colorful characters leaping from a nearby rooftop, each wearing a special wristwatch, kind of like yours. They press the watches simultaneously, do a very strange and obviously rehearsed dance, and brilliant flashes of light surround their bodies. Suddenly, they're wearing colorful battle armor. The red ranger performs a flying kick. The blue one spins through the air. The green ranger sweeps a robot off its feet. And together, they move with incredible ninja-like speed, dodging and striking the remaining enemy robots. With your armor and Changer's tremendous strength, the battle ends surprisingly quickly. The last robot crashes to the ground. Silence falls over the city.

17:49 The five rangers look around in amazement. Then, the red ranger approaches you. That was incredible. Are you, like, a new battle ranger? You look down at your armor. Eh, not exactly. I'm just visiting. The Blue Ranger points toward Changer. And what kind of battle creature is that? Changer raises his enormous, bolder hands proudly and kind of shrugs. That's just my dog, you explain. The Rangers stare at him.

18:32 We've been battling those evil robots for years, the Red Ranger says. Every day the same thing, basically, but we've never managed to completely defeat them. Years? you repeat. Spaceship speaks quietly through your helmet. I believe I understand. These are entertainment robots, too. THEY WERE PROGRAMMED TO BATTLE EACH OTHER WITHOUT CAUSING PERMANENT DAMAGE. THE FIGHTING WAS SUPPOSED TO RESET FOR THE NEXT GROUP OF VISITORS. YOU GLANCE AT THE ENORMOUS PILES OF BROKEN ROBOTS, AND CHANGER WELL BROKE, AND YOU COME TO A REALIZATION. OOPS, SPACESHIP CONTINUES. Technically, I do not believe you were supposed to actually destroy them. Yeah, I'm getting that impression, you say. Eh, nothing we can do now. Changer shrinks back to his familiar fluffy puppy

19:47 form and trots happily to your side. The rangers don't seem upset. In fact, they're celebrating. You saved the city, the red ranger announces. Well, you say, glad we could help. You wave goodbye and head back toward the entrance. leaving the rangers cheering behind you. As you step outside, a wonderful smell drifts through the air. Popcorn. Warm popcorn. Fresh popcorn.

20:26 And something that smells sweet. Suspiciously like strawberry slushy. Your stomach begins to rumble. Ah, Spaceship, I think it might be time for a snack. An excellent idea. Although, judging by my scanners, the snack area might be the strangest part of the entire planet. You look down at Changer. He wags his tail. Well, I've probably seen stranger. You respond.

21:04 You follow the delicious smells through another enormous doorway until you find yourself inside what might be the biggest food court in the entire universe. Whoa, you exclaim. Hundreds of restaurants stretch out in every direction. There are pizza stands, candy shops, popcorn machines, ice cream counters... and gigantic fountains spraying every flavor of soda you can imagine. Unfortunately, none of them seem to be working properly. One popcorn machine is producing so much popcorn that an enormous mountain is formed beneath it. Another machine is shooting pizzas across the room like flying frisbees. You duck as a pepperoni pizza sails over your head and splatters against a wall. A nearby slushie machine is pouring bright blue slushie into an

22:10 enormous puddle that now stretches across the floor and out the door. Spaceship, can we actually eat any of this stuff? Scanning, Spaceship replies, a blue light sweeps across the food cord. Good news! The food replicators are still producing perfectly edible food. However, I would recommend eating something freshly created rather than anything that has been sitting here for possibly years. Good idea.

22:49 You walk over to the pizza machine. A fresh pizza slice slides onto a tray. You pick it up and take a bite. It's Actually really good. Changer sits beside you and starts wagging his tail, so you tear off a piece and, well, hand it to him. He gobbles it up immediately. Next, you try some freshly made popcorn, a little bit of candy. Then you grab a cup and, well, you stick it under the strawberry slushy dispenser. It doesn't take long before it's half full. It's all rather delicious.

23:36 You look around at the terrible mess as you eat, and something seems to catch Changer's attention. His ears perk up, and he begins to sniff around the place. He makes his way over to the enormous popcorn mountain following his nose. Something in the mountain begins to stir. You think there's something there, buddy? You ask. Spaceship nods and barks. And then, with a poof, popcorn flies everywhere. Something small tumbles out of the pile and lands directly in front of you.

24:24 You stare. It's... a dog.

24:28 A dog?

24:29 But not an ordinary dog. It's, well, it's a little dog that's made entirely out of popcorn. Its body is covered in fluffy white popped kernels. Its ears look like two enormous pieces of popcorn, and its tail is a long curly collection of popcorn that wiggles back and forth. It even has a little round nose and two bright, friendly eyes. The popcorn dog looks up at you. As it barks, a single popcorn kernel pops off the top of its head. What? What are you? Spaceship, is this a robot too? Spaceship scans the little creature. Fascinating. No.

25:24 No.

25:25 It appears to be something different. My scans indicate that the damaged entertainment systems have somehow combined information from the food replicators with characters' designs from the movies. So.

25:44 So.

25:44 The machines accidentally created a living popcorn creature. It seems to be a spontaneous evolution of popcorn... designed to consume the enormous quantities of leftover material. It actually answers the question that I did not speak earlier as to why the food had not completely taken over the area. You look at the little popcorn dog. It picks up a piece of popcorn from the floor and munches it happily.

26:20 Then another and another and another. Well, I guess that explains it. Indeed, Spacer replies. Although, I should warn you that other unusual creatures may have been created by similar accidents. The planet's systems are rather badly crossed. You kneel down. Hey there, little guy. The popcorn dog approaches cautiously. You hold out your hand. He sniffs your fingers. Then, very gently, he licks your hand. It feels like a tiny, warm puff of popcorn brushing against your skin, which is sort of cute and sort of weird at the same time. Then, the popcorn dog jumps up into your arms. You're pretty cute, you say, patting the little thing on the head. Changer approaches and sniffs your new friend. The popcorn dog jumps

27:27 down and sniffs back. They stare at each other for a moment and then they start to wag their tails. Looks like you two are actually going to get along. The popcorn dog gives an excited bark and starts running in circles around Changer. Changer starts chasing him and soon the two puppies are racing around the food court. bouncing through popcorn piles and sliding across the floor. You laugh as you watch them. Alright, you two, let's see what else we can find. You continue through the food court with your two new companions trotting happily beside you. You pass an enormous chocolate fountain, a candy store filled with colorful sweets, and, well, another pizza stand. Lots of pizza stands.

28:23 But as you approach the pizza stand, you hear a deep, rumbling growl. You freeze. Uh, spaceship? Yes. Please tell me that that's just another popcorn dog. I'm afraid it is not. Something enormous moves behind the pizza counter. Then another shape rises beside it. Two gigantic bears step into view, except they aren't any ordinary bears, because their body seems to be made out of pizza. Their fur looks like melted cheese with pepperoni slices covering them. One bear has mushrooms growing along its back. The other has a particularly large pepperoni stuck to his forehead. Pizza? Bears? you ask. Apparently.

29:31 The bears look at you, then they look at the pizza machine beside them, and then they start to growl. Okay, I get it. You think we're going to steal your pizza. But we're not. You can have all of that dirty pizza that's fallen on the ground. We don't need any pizza. I've got my own replicators. You say, but before you can decide what to do, Something enormous rises from the slushy fountain nearby. A gigantic purple and blue blob climbs out and sort of wiggles over towards you. Oh, come on, you exclaim. A slushy monster too? The slushy creature slides toward you. leaving a trail of icy slushy behind it.

30:33 You reach toward your watch, but before you can activate your armor, the popcorn dog steps in front of you. His tiny little body puffs up, his ears stand straight, and he starts to growl. It's a very small growl, but a growl nonetheless, and the pizza bears actually stop for a moment Changer looks at the popcorn dog, then at the bears, and then he transforms as well into a second popcorn dog, only twice the size, which is probably helpful here. The two of them continue to bark and growl. The slushy creature seems to second think things and, well, it starts moving backwards and transforms back into a huge blob.

31:33 The pizza bears look at each other, and then they turn around and run in the opposite direction. You stare at the two popcorn dogs, and then you laugh. Well, good job, you two. You've scared them away. Well done, but maybe we better get out of here before we find something even stranger. I believe that is an excellent idea.

32:03 You make your way back out of the food court to an open area outside where Spaceship grows back to his regular size and lands in front of you, opening up the back hatch. You and Changer climb up the ramp and look back at a very sad-looking popcorn dog. It begins to make a little whimper sound. Its tail drops and, well, it just looks so sad. Sorry, buddy, we have to go. This place is a little weirder than I thought it would be. The popcorn dog continues to whimper. You look over at Changer, who, well, shrugs his little popcorn dog's shoulders. Then, transforms back into an earth puppy. Okay, I mean, if you really want to come, maybe you can hang out for a bit. We can always drop you off later. The little popcorn dog starts

33:13 jumping up and down excitedly and then runs past you into the ship. He and Changer jump up on the couch, curl up around each other, and lay down. Okay, you make yourself at home, you say. The doors close behind you, the ship hums to life, and takes off into the air. You, on the other hand, head directly for the bedroom. You lay down in the bed, pull the covers up to your chin, and close your eyes. With every breath, You let go of a little more tension from your muscles.

34:02 You relax your arms, your legs, your neck, your shoulders, your head. With every breath, you sink down a little deeper into the mattress, and your mind wanders a little further off, off to thoughts of new dreams, new adventures, and new planets to come. Good night, everyone.

35:13 Thank you.

37:13 Thank you.

37:53 You Thank you.

39:20 Thank you.

40:44 Thank you.

41:26 Thank you. Thank you.

43:28 Thank you. Thank you.

45:00 Thank you.

45:54 Thank you. Thank you.

48:30 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.