Rosalie And Teddy
Into The Wild
 

Eight-year-old Rosalie lives in the mountains in a cabin and a large Teddy is her inseparable friend.  Since his feelings and hers are the same, she knows exactly what he is feeling at all times! Rosalie and Teddy are a little scared of monsters, and even things that look like monsters like their red vacuum cleaner. They are afraid of the geese and chickens in the barnyard and of going too far from the cabin  because of the life out there.  However, Rosalie knows that she must face what she’s afraid of, so she gives Teddy a serious lecture about braving their fears of the outside world. She tells him that he is a bear after all, and should be brave, and roar at whatever he fears, not cringe from it.  One day, she announces that they will run away  into the fields and woods below the cabin. Teddy’s expression tells her that he doesn’t want to leave his safe blankets, but Rosalie insists. Once outside, Rosalie is enchanted in a world where the mountains are changing into Fall colors, and the trees, grass and flowers are whispering to each other. She keeps telling Teddy to start looking instead of averting or covering his eyes.  They meet a bird who sings to them, rabbits who run away from them, a snake who uncoils her body but then seems to smile at them, and a baby deer who tries to have a conversation.  Rosalie talks to all of them, explaining to Teddy during each encounter that these creatures are wild and free, therefore not wanting to be stroked or interfered with but just loved for who and what they are.  Finally, a black mother bear with her cub come walking towards them. Rosalie and Teddy are terrified but Rosalie tells Teddy there is no point running away because bears run faster, and if they stay still, the bears will think they are rocks. Then the cub starts running towards them and wants to shake paws with Teddy (who is a kind of bear after all). The paw shake has a magical effect on Teddy who immediately finds his voice, remembers his bear-self, his memories of being a bear in the wild, and is able to have a conversation with the baby bear. When the cub leaves, Teddy tells Rosalie that he has found his voice, and although he has always understood her, his stitched mouth prevented him from talking to her.  He opens his mouth enough to show off his tongue and he shows her the claws that are beginning to form on his paws.  Rosalie is excited for him, but they are both afraid and in tears because they don’t know what will happen next.  Rosalie wonders if Teddy will decide to remain with his bear family and gradually become wild or choose to return with her. Teddy is afraid of what lies ahead. Rosalie says that Teddy must choose for himself because it would be wrong to tell him what to do. Then Teddy says he doesn’t see why he needs to choose because why can’t he be both ‘wild’ and Rosalie’s teddy bear? Rosalie agrees that he is definitely part-bear and part teddy now, just as she is partly ‘tame’ and partly ‘wild,’ as she has discovered now from her outdoor family. So what’s to choose? They talk about it and settle for him visiting his bear family now and then but returning to Rosalie’s cabin because she is his true mother and he loves her too much to leave.  Besides, the baby bear told him that in bear-world the mother leaves the cub alone when he is big enough to survive.  Rosalie, on the other hand, will never leave him. Teddy tells Rosalie, as they walk back home, that she won’t have to care for, or worry about him anymore, because he can protect her from any kind of monster. His bear-self will roar at them.  The last scenes show them swinging on the swing together, talking, and under the blankets, with Teddy’s arm around Rosalie. 

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