Aliens invaded our planet, waging war until we agreed to a peace treaty: On each human’s 13th birthday, one of their young would be sent to battle one of ours– a new rite of passage. It’s the night of Jonathan’s birthday and he has to come face to face in a battle with a monster from another world. His family is gathered in support with hopes and dreams of his survival.

We are introduced to Richard, a clever monster who has other plans for the evening. Plans to beat the system to finally be free. The short includes a puppet with animatronics built/performed by John Kennedy (formerly of Henson’s Creature Shop, now on Sesame Street) and operated/performed by Rickey Boyd (Muppets in Space, Dinosaurs) of Magnetic Dreams.