[clears throat] Thank you for coming.
You're probably wondering why I asked you here.
I have an important question. I need you to put your thinking caps on.
[laughs]
I need to know what you both would want in an ultimate tree house.
[gasps] Tree house?
Yep, tree house, in this very tree.
I've been thinking about it all morning.
Then I thought, "Karl and Addy could help me come up with ways
to really make it ultimate."
-So that's why you're here. -[Karl gasps]
[strains]
Yes, Karl.
Well, I think it needs a ladder so I can reach the branches.
Ladder for branches.
Mm-hmm. That's good.
Anything else?
How about a tire swing?
And one of those zip lines that zip you to the ground.
Absolutely.
And we'll put a telescope on the top and an umbrella in case it rains.
[Karl] And a rope ladder!
And a water balloon cannon and a fireman's pole!
Snack pulley, lots of secret compartments, trapdoor!
We gotta have a trapdoor.
[Michael] Reading nook, drinking fountain.
Ooh, we should add a catio for Jasper.
It's like a patio, but for cats.
Make sure it's big enough for Stillwater.
Yeah, and we'll need a rope bridge that goes to Stillwater's garden.
Or the moon! And a twisty slide that does three loops
and a giant trampoline and-- and an airplane launcher!
Um, I'm not sure an airplane would fit in our backyard.
Paper airplane launcher?
Done.
-[Addy] Wow. -[Karl] Whoa.
That is one ultimate tree house.
We'd better get started.
Everything's all set. I'll start by taking measurements.
Can we add a battery-powered light by the reading nook?
How about a pirate flag?
[mewls]
These are good ideas. I'll add them to the plan.
Don't forget the twisty slide.
I won't.
Hello there.
Hi, Stillwater.
Good morning, Karl.
Good morning, Addy. Good morning, Michael.
What are you picking?
Mint leaves.
I'll use them to make tea this afternoon.
Would you like to join me later?
Sure, but this morning we're building an ultimate tree house.
See?
Oh, that looks like a very ambitious project.
It's gonna be amazing when it's done, but we need to get to work.
I understand.
When the tea is ready, I'll let you know.
Safety first, everyone.
With your help, we'll be done super fast.
Screwdriver.
Rope.
Banana.
[chews]
Thanks.
Almost done.
Phew.
It wasn't easy, but there it is, our very own...
Snack pulley!
See, you hook the snacks on the pins,
and the pulley lifts them into the tree house.
Great work, Michael. It's really well-built.
Yeah. Good job.
How long will the rest of the tree house take?
The rest of it?
We may have a problem.
It took all morning to build this one tiny part.
At this rate, it'll take years to build the rest of the tree house.
And we have school tomorrow.
Take a breath. One step at a time, remember?
[breathes deeply]
Okay, maybe we could build something easier like the zip line.
That shouldn't take long.
[Jasper meows]
[Michael] Oh, right.
Jasper needs that catio so he can nap.
I'm thirsty. Could we make the drinking fountain?
If we build the bridge first, maybe Stillwater can help us.
Fine. We'll do the bridge, but nothing else.
That's four projects at once, and I haven't even started the trampoline.
-Don't forget the paper airplane launcher. -Karl, wait!
[groans]
It's okay. We don't have to build the zip line.
But then it won't be the ultimate tree house.
It's too overwhelming. I don't know where to start.
[bell jingles]
Oh, Stillwater's tea must be ready. Should we go over?
Yeah, I think I could use a break.
Be careful. It's still hot.
Michael, how is your tree house coming along?
I don't know.
It's way more work than I thought it would be.
I don't think I'm ever gonna finish.
Maybe I should just quit now.
Hmm.
I can understand your frustration.
Sometimes big ideas can be overwhelming when it comes time to make them happen.
Yeah, that's exactly how I feel, overwhelmed.
I can't even figure out where to start.
This reminds me of a story I once heard about a great contest.
W-What sort of contest?
A cake-baking one.
Cake? Ooh, tell it! Tell it!
Please?
[laughs] Of course.
[Stillwater] Three contestants were chosen to see who could make the finest cake.
There was a great deal of pressure,
for a distinguished judge would declare one of them
to be the greatest cake maker in the land.
The first two had planned exquisite designs with fancy decorations,
while the third took a simpler approach with his cake.
[sniffs]
[clicks tongue]
[clears throat]
[grunts]
How dull.
Ah, he'll never win with that plain lump of batter.
[Stillwater] Soon, the time came for judging to begin.
Beautiful cake.
Lovely cake.
Adequate.
And now for the taste test.
-[gasps] -Taste?
Of course.
What good is a cake if it does not taste delicious?
Ah. Bitter.
[Stillwater] The first two had put all their focus on decorations
and paid no attention to the ingredients of their cakes.
Salty.
[Michael] That's the first thing they should've thought about,
making their cake taste good.
Mmm! [gasps]
Perfection!
[Stillwater] With that, she crowned the third contestant the winner.
And the greatest cake maker in the land was thankful he focused on his foundation
instead of the fluff.
What did you think of that story?
It made me hungry.
-[laughs] -[chuckles] Oh.
I think I get it.
The others were trying to do too much.
They should have baked a delicious cake first,
then spent time on the fancy stuff.
Thanks, Stillwater.
I feel less overwhelmed now, and I know what I have to do.
Bye, Stillwater.
Bye, Stillwater. Thanks for the tea.
[Addy] What are you building now?
We're going back to basics.
Karl, the first thing you asked for was a ladder to help reach the branches.
If we start now, we'll have one before it gets dark.
So, we're not going to have a catio?
We won't have a catio yet, but someday we'll get to it.
You need a yummy cake before you decorate
and a strong tree house before you make it ultimate.
I think we're ready.
Mom and Dad both said it was safe to use.
Karl, would you like to climb first?
I made it! Yeah!
Michael, come climb with us.
Hang on. I'll be right back.
Snack, anyone?
-[Karl] Sure. -[Addy] Send it up!
So, what do you think of our ultimate tree house?
Perfection.
[rustling]
[breathes deeply]
What a beautiful day for a picnic in the park.
And for bird-watching.
And rope jumping.
And most of all, tree climbing.
I can't wait for you to meet the General, Stillwater.
It's the biggest, best climbing tree in the whole park,
probably in all of tree history.
[chuckles] Sounds like quite the tree.
Today, I'm even going to try and make it to the third floor.
That's the third-highest branch from the ground
that, like, a zillion kids can fit on.
Oh, yeah, the third floor.
I was probably around your age when I got up there for the first time.
Me too. [laughs]
It took a couple tries, but I made it eventually.
See, Stillwater?
Everyone knows the General, and now you will too.
Race you to the General, everybody.
[laughs] You kids go on ahead.
I'll look out for a good spot to set up our picnic.
Okay, then Addy, Michael, ready, set, one, two, three, go!
-Hey! [laughs] -[Karl giggles]
[chuckles] Oh.
[children laughing]
Karl?
Huh?
Where's the General?
It's not there.
Maybe they moved it.
Tommy!
Hey, Addy.
[Addy] Hey.
Do you know what happened to the General?
It got some kind of tree disease, so the park manager had to cut it down.
[sighs] I loved that tree.
Yeah, we all did.
You mean it's gone?
I'm sorry, Karl. This is hard for me too.
Stillwater, they cut down the General.
-Oh, my. -[Karl sniffles]
It was my favorite tree in the whole world that I climbed every time I came here,
[sniffles] and now it's gone.
[sniffling, crying]
This must be very upsetting.
[sniffles]
Would you like to sit with me over here?
[sniffles]
Why couldn't they try and save it
like when I broke the branch off your cherry tree?
Well, I'm sure they tried everything they could.
But sometimes, if a tree is very sick,
gardeners may have no choice but to cut it down for safety.
Otherwise, it could fall over and hurt someone.
[sniffling] That would be bad.
Yes, it would.
There are still lots of other trees here in the park we can climb.
I don't wanna climb another tree.
I wanna climb the General and make it to the third floor.
I know, but you can't anymore.
What about that big tree over there? It's almost the same.
But it's not.
If I can't climb the General, I'm not climbing any other tree ever again.
-[Addy] But Karl-- -And I mean ever, never, never!
I wanna go home.
Sorry, Stillwater, but I don't feel that hungry anymore.
Me neither.
I feel bad about the General, but I feel even worse for Karl.
There will be many other days for a picnic,
but it seems Karl could use a little more help right now.
Hello, Karl. How are you feeling?
Sad.
I'm sad about the General,
and I'm sad that I won't be able to climb trees anymore.
That's a very serious decision.
I know how much you enjoy climbing trees.
Would you like to tell me why you made the choice to stop?
Because if I climb trees, it'll just make me think about the General,
and then I'll feel sad again.
It's natural to want to avoid something that's causing pain.
But you know,
sometimes when we try and push our feelings away,
that's when they push back the hardest.
Sometimes feelings need to stay and visit awhile
before we can send them on their way.
I hope it's not a lot of while.
Let me ask you another question.
What sorts of things do you remember about the General?
I remember it had a big trunk and shady leaves.
-Mm-hmm. -And how good it felt
getting up on a branch and waving down at everyone.
Oh.
You see, you still have happy memories about the General,
not just the sad ones you're feeling right now.
Is there a way to feel more of the happy remembers?
I once knew someone about your age who wondered the very same thing.
Only his name was Carlitos,
and he lived quite a long way from here.
[Stillwater] Every day after school,
Carlitos waited for the ringing of a very special bell.
[bell ringing]
Felipe! Felipe is here. It's paleta time, everyone!
-[girl] Hi, Felipe! -[Karl] What's paletas?
[Stillwater] Paletas are a mix of fruit and juice frozen on a stick.
[Karl] That sounds good.
[Stillwater] They are, and Carlitos loved them very much.
But if there was one thing Carlitos loved more than the paletas,
it was Felipe who made them.
-Felipe! -I have coconut for Maria.
Thank you, Felipe.
-[Carlitos] Over here! -Mango for Julio.
-Thank you, Felipe. -I'm right here, Felipe. I'm right here!
And last but not least, a Carlitos special.
-[Carlitos] Felipe! -Where are you, Carlitos?
[Carlitos] Down here.
I'm right here, Felipe. I'm right here.
Ah, there you are.
[together] Strawberry, kiwi, and pineapple too.
[Felipe] Just for you, Carlitos.
[Stillwater] One day, however, Felipe moved to another town.
[Stillwater] Knowing that he would never have another of Felipe's paletas again,
Carlitos vowed this one would be his last.
[sighs] Goodbye, Felipe.
If it cannot be yours, I will never have another paleta again.
[Stillwater] But the very next day...
[bell ringing]
Felipe?
Felipe!
[ringing continues]
That's not Felipe.
Carlitos, come!
Maria? Julio?
How can you be eating paletas when Felipe isn't here?
[Maria] What's wrong? Don't you like paletas anymore?
Paletas are my favorite in the whole entire world.
Felipe's paletas.
Just because we're having new paletas doesn't mean we'll forget about Felipe.
[Stillwater] Carlitos thought about this.
Would Felipe want him to never have a paleta again?
Here. We saved you one, just in case.
It's pretty good.
Different, but still good.
And even better, it helps me remember Felipe,
how delicious his paletas were,
how he always made a special flavor just for me,
and how he was my friend.
The new paletas made Carlitos think of Felipe,
but they're happy remembers, not sad ones.
Even when we lose the things we love,
it doesn't mean they will be gone forever.
Because of your memories, the General will always be a part of you.
Can we go back to the park?
You'd like to go back?
Yeah, I think I want to tell the General goodbye,
a happy goodbye, not a sad one.
I'd be glad to take you.
Hey look.
Other people came to say goodbye too.
I see Mrs. Wilson,
Tommy and Maya, and Tom the barber.
Goodbye, General.
Sorry I never got to the third floor, but I sure had a lot of fun on the way up.
[gasps]
[gasps] Karl, you found an acorn.
I bet it came from the General.
Wanna go plant it?
It could grow into a whole new General.
Maybe later. Right now, I really feel like climbing the tree that you showed me.
It's not as tall as the General, but it's still pretty tall.
Maybe we could name it the Captain. Come on!
[laughs] I'll go see if he needs a boost.
Wanna know something, Stillwater?
Certainly, Karl.
I know I can't climb it anymore,
but I still think the General's gonna keep going,
just in a different way.
You do?
Yeah, in our happy remembering and with this.
I think the General's going to live forever.
["Never Ending Dream" playing]
♪ With our spirits We were floating through the trees ♪
♪ Like creatures, we were soaring high Blowing off some steam ♪
♪ Or a mountain And its effervescent green ♪
♪ A never-ending dream ♪
♪ I found a little bit of honey ♪
♪ And now I'm a little sweeter inside ♪
[singing in Japanese]
♪ It's just a little bit funny ♪
♪ But now I have the world on my side ♪
[singing in Japanese]
[song fades]