Short synopsis

Our story begins with an eight year old boy, Jim. It’s morning and he isn’t feeling well and doesn’t want to go to school. His mother is sympathetic and agrees to keep him at home, but his father disagrees, and an argument ensues between the parents. Jim intervenes and tells them he’ll go to school. The day at school goes quite well as there is rugby which he is quite talented at. However, at the end of the day he finds himself reluctant to go home to the conflict between his parents. In a confused state he hangs back and sits on a bench in the school grounds.

At this point we switch to a very different scene. There is a wizard (Jasper) in the land of Not Not. He is sweeping his floor and begins to cough; he is clearly not well. In the corner of his sitting room is a trunk (the Magic Toybox) which he crawls over to. He knocks on the lid of the trunk. A group of toy animals leap out who are delighted to see him.

Immediately the wizard collapses unconscious. The toy animals gather around in consternation.

Whilst resting on his couch Jasper tells them that although they have been together for a hundred years, his time with them is at an end. The toys are inconsolable. Jasper tells them not to be sad as all things must pass. He explains that they have a job to do.

They insist that they don’t want a job, they just want to be with him in the land of Not Not. He asks them to watch carefully. At this point a large glowing red heart emerges from his chest. Holding it in front of him, he announces that this is the Heart of Harmony and he is its guardian. Now that he is passing, it will be their job to find the new guardian for the Heart. His final warning to them is that there are many people who will try to steal this powerful Heart from them and use it for selfish ends. So, they must beware. The Toys ask him how they should go about their quest. His only advice is to let the Toybox be their guide. The wizard fades away and the Heart, which turns white, is left behind.

The rest of the story covers the escapades of the Toys with the Heart… and Jim.

When they jump back in the Toybox and close the lid, they are on a journey. When they next open the toybox, they are in a green field near Jim who sits despondently.

The Heart is immediately stolen by a megalomaniac (Naarg) in a flying saucer. The Toys realise they must pursue Naarg using the Toybox. First though, they persuade a very reluctant Jim to join them on their quest. When next they open the box, they are on Naarg’s spacecraft. Having retrieved it from him it is immediately stolen again by a cunning monkey (The Monkey King). They pursue him in the Box to his jungle citadel, high up in the trees. During this time, Jim is slowly gaining confidence as he learns that he can help the toys in small ways to retrieve the Heart. In a final showdown, Jim confronts the Monkey King and is knocked by one of his gorilla guards down to the jungle floor (the Down Below). Shortly afterwards with a battle continuing in the citadel above, the Heart also gets knocked into the Down Below. Jim spots it falling. Using his rugby skills, he catches it.

The Toys look down, delighted that he has caught the Heart. But then they notice something else, the Heart is turning red. They realise that Jim is the new guardian. The Owl flies down to him and tells him to hold the Heart close to his chest. The Heart dissolves into his being. They all continue their journey in the Toybox. Jim and the Toys arrive back in Jim’s bedroom at home. His life is transformed, everything is the same but everything is different and it’s all fine. The story is about the power of love in our own heart to transform ourselves and the world around us.