The story “Morty and the Magic Bananas” is based on the series Rick and Morty. Both the characters and the genre of the narrative are inspired by the Cartoon Network series.
More specifically, Rick and Morty is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network’s nighttime Adult Swim programming block. The series follows the misadventures of cynical mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his good-hearted but fretful grandson Morty Smith, who split their time between domestic life and interdimensional adventures. The show revolves around the adventures of the members of the Smith household, which consists of parents Jerry and Beth, their children Summer and Morty, and Beth’s father, Rick Sanchez, who lives with them as a guest. The adventures of Rick and Morty, however, take place across an infinite number of realities, with the characters traveling to other planets and dimensions through portals and Rick’s flying car.
The fact that my narrative is based on something already existing puts extra pressure on the writing of the screenplay since it must feel like another episode of the series and not something ‘foreign’. [From the dialogues to character catch phrases, to character development, to environmental design.]
That is why prior to actually writing the script I focused on familiarizing myself as much as possible with the series. I downloaded scripts of already aired episodes on the series, read them thoroughly, and marked existing patterns in the scripts.
Additionally, I conducted research on the characters and the series.
Rick is an eccentric and alcoholic mad scientist, who eschews many ordinary conventions such as school, marriage, love, and family. He frequently goes on adventures with his 14-year-old grandson, Morty, a kind-hearted but easily distressed boy, whose naïve but grounded moral compass plays counterpoint to Rick’s Machiavellian ego.
The general formula of Rick and Morty consists of the juxtaposition of two conflicting scenarios: an extremely selfish, alcoholic grandfather dragging his grandson along for interdimensional adventures, intercut with domestic family drama
Occasionally, characters will acknowledge an episode’s narrative or hint at the presence of a fourth wall, suggesting that they are aware of the fact that they are characters of a TV show.
Harmon (Rick and Morty co-creator) describes Rick as a self-interested anarchist, who doesn’t like being told what to do. He believes that the character’s life on a larger scale has caused him mental illness, and opines that “the knowledge that nothing matters—while accurate—gets you nowhere”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_and_Morty
Rick and Morty. (2020, December 26). Retrieved December 06, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_and_Morty