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"The
Demons of Destiny" tells the story of an adolescent girl, plagued
by inner demons, struggling to achieve her goal of graduating middle
school with her friends. The girl, named Destiny, is in danger of
failing Ms. Barnett's class, which would result in her having to
repeat eighth grade. To pass, Destiny must complete a major term
project which she has yet to start -- and it is due the next day!
The assignment is a storybook with four original stories.
Encouraged
by her friends Jamie and Christy, and with Ms. Barnett's admonitions
in mind, Destiny begins working on her first story, The Dwarves
Who Are Obsessed With Pizza. This story tells us about a group of
Dwarves, new to the forest, who go out to find the forest's only
pizza stand. While waiting for The Pizza Man to make their extra
large pizza, they sing 'Do You Know Where Pizza Comes From?' They
are bitterly disappointed, however, when their expensive pizza turns
out to be extremely small and very burnt. Retreating into the woods
to consider their options, the Dwarves hit upon the idea of making
their own pizza.
Inside Destiny's
mind, the Demon Goddess decides that Destiny's story is going too
well. She summons the Demon of Laziness, and orders him to disrupt
the project.
Back in the
forest, the dwarves' story begins to fall apart as they realize
that making their own pizza might involve hard work. Excuses are
followed by a nap.
The Demon of
Laziness appears, and tries to convince Destiny that putting off
her assignment in favor of a nap would be a good idea. Destiny succumbs
and dozes off.
She is jarred
awake by the telephone. Jamie and Christy are calling to check on
her progress, and they manage to get her back on track. Destiny
begins her second story, Surprise Party In Nursery Rhyme Land. Ms.
Muffet, who is grown up, is planning a surprise birthday party for
her twin daughters, Curds and Whey. Humpty Dumpty is to act as the
doorman, and he has been instructed not to let anyone in to the
party unless they say a rhyme. The guests, various nursery rhyme
characters, begin to arrive, getting by Humpty Dumpty only after
some difficulty and a lesson by Humpty's favorite, Mr. Rogers. Curds
and Whey arrive, sad because they think their birthday has been
forgotten. Even though it's their own home, Humpty Dumpty insists
that they say a rhyme to get in. Just as they are about to.
The Demon Goddess
summons the Demon of Distraction.
The story begins
to fall apart as each time the twins say their rhyme Humpty misses
it. This is because he is being distraction by the Mr. Rogers collectors'
items brought out in a bag by Tuffet, the twins' sister. Curds and
Whey finally give up trying and begin to leave.
The Demon of
Distraction appears. He tells Destiny about other things she could
be doing with her time, and persuades her to stop working and go
to the mall. Destiny calls Jamie and Christy to invite them to the
mall. Her friends set Destiny straight and she gets back to work.
The third story
is The Death Zone. A wizard has summoned a group of loyal subjects
to his castle, which appears to be in a state of decay. The wizard
explains that his staff, the source of his magic, has accidentally
been lost and he needs them to retrieve it -- from the Death Zone.
Despite frightening rumors, the subjects decide that they will go,
and they sing, 'We're Going to the Death Zone.' Once in the Death
Zone, the group prepares to look for the staff........
The Demon Goddess
summons the Demon of Fear.
Back in the
Death Zone little demons terrorize the group. Feeling that it may
be too dangerous to continue, they decide to abandon their quest
and leave the Death Zone.
The Demon of
Fear appears, and prompts Destiny to think about death. With tales
of horror, the Demon of Fear is able to work Destiny into a state
of anxiety that prevents her from continuing.
A call from
her friends helps to calm Destiny so that she can go on. The fourth
story comes from Destiny's need to continue her schoolwork combined
with the realization that she is getting hungry. She begins Recognition
Assembly at the School for Food. The first students to arrive at
the assembly, assorted fruits, are dismayed over the recent demise
of their friend, an apple who was probably done in by maggots. They
sing of their contempt for those creatures in the song 'Maggots!'
The assembly is to feature a concert by a band made up of maggots.
The fruit-students decide to sabotage the concert by de-tuning their
guitars. The other students, a group of asparagus, arrive. Another
student, also an asparagus, introduces the band, Metal Militia.
The maggots of Metal Militia play poorly and are jeered off the
stage by the assorted fruit. The asparagus, realizing that the sabotage
may have occurred, try to get the maggots to give it another try.
The maggots seem encouraged.
The Demon Goddess
summons the Demon of Self-Doubt.
The story takes
a turn for the worse when the maggots decide that, even with their
instruments tuned, they wouldn't do well. They sing the song 'We
Stink!'
The Demon of
Self-Doubt appears and hurls merciless insults at Destiny, singing
'Doubt Yourself'. Destiny's self-esteem begins to drop, and she
decides she can't continue.
Talking to
her friends on the phone convinces Destiny that she can't give up.
In the song 'Inside My Head,' Destiny resolves to fight her inner
demons and to conquer them.
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