Felix wears a blue hoodie over a striped shirt in front of a building with text that reads, tvokids presents.

Felix asks, IS THERE A DOCTOR
IN THE HOUSE?

In a window of the building, Annie wears a pink dress.

Annie says, YES AND HE'S A MOUSE.

In a window above Annie, Dr. Cheddar wears a stethoscope. He waves.

A narrator says, YOU’LL FEEL BETTER WITH DR. CHEDDAR.

Text on the building reads, Dr. Cheddar.

[Bright music plays]

In his office, Dr. Cheddar wears a red and blue button down shirt, and sunglasses on his head. A suitcase is open on his desk.

Dr. Cheddar says, WELL, I'M ALL PACKED UP.
OH, I SHOULD LET ANNIE KNOW
THAT I'LL BE AWAY FROM
THE OFFICE FOR A FEW DAYS.

[Dr. Cheddar chuckling]

Dr. Cheddar types on his keyboard.

He says, HELLO ANNIE.

In a video call, Annie looks sad. She seems distracted as she watches a cat figurine. The figurine has a raised, waving paw.

Dr. Cheddar says, I, HUH, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT THERE?
OH, THIS?

Annie says, HUH?

She looks away from the cat.

She says, OH, THIS?
OH, I DON'T REALLY KNOW.
MY NEW NEIGHBOR GAVE IT TO ME
AFTER I LOST FLUFFERBUTTER,
MY STUFFED CAT.

Annie looks at the figurine.

She says, HMM. SHE SAYS THIS IS FROM A
FAR AWAY PLACE CALLED JAPAN.

Dr. Cheddar says, WELL, THAT MUST BE
A VERY SPECIAL GIFT.

Annie says, YEAH, I GUESS.
BUT...

Dr. Cheddar says, IN JAPANESE CULTURE, THESE
CATS ARE CALLED MANEKI-NEKO.
THEY MOVE THEIR PAWS
BECAUSE THEY'RE MEANT
TO BRING YOU GOOD LUCK.

Annie says, FLUFFERBUTTER DIDN'T DO THAT.

Dr. Cheddar says, WELL, THIS ISN'T
THE SAME AS A TOY.
AND REMEMBER, JUST BECAUSE
SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT
DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S BAD.
I'M SURE AFTER YOU SPEND
SOME TIME WITH YOUR NEW GIFT,
WELL, YOU'LL GROW TO LOVE IT.

[Dr. Cheddar chuckling]

Annie says, OKAY, DR. CHEDDAR.
I'LL TRY.

Dr. Cheddar pulls his sunglasses down over his eyes.

He says, ATTA GIRL, ANNIE.
WELL, I'M OFF TO THE COTTAGE
NOW FOR A LITTLE R AND R.
CIAO, ANNIE.

Dr. Cheddar ends the call. In her home, Annie pulls open a drawer filled with socks.

She says, FLUFFERBUTTER.
OH. COME OUT, COME
OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE.

[Annie grunting]

Annie kneels on the floor. She looks under a piece of furniture.

[Annie groaning]

Annie shakes her head. She stands beside her Maneki-neko.

She says, I CAN'T FIND
FLUFFERBUTTER ANYWHERE.

Annie looks at the Maneki-neko.

She says, YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY
ARE KIND OF CUTE,
THE WAY YOU MOVE
YOUR ARM LIKE THAT.
SORT OF LIKE, SORT OF
LIKE…

[Annie humming]

Annie imitates the Maneki-neko.

She says, YEAH.
IT'S KIND OF CUTE.
DO YOU THINK YOU WANNA
HAVE A TEA PARTY WITH ME?
WE CAN DRESS UP AND STUFF.
OKAY. OKAY.
WAVE YOUR ARM UP AND DOWN
IF YOU WANNA HAVE A
TEA PARTY WITH ME.

Annie watches the waving cat.

She says, OKAY, GREAT.

In his office, Dr. Cheddar turns to his desk.

[Dr. Cheddar sighing]

Dr. Cheddar says, WHAT A RELAXING VACATION.
VERY UH…

[Dr. Cheddar hiccupping]

Dr. Cheddar says UH…

He holds his stomach.

He says, FULFILLING.
HMM. I WONDER HOW ANNIE
GOT ON WITH HER GIFT.

Dr. Cheddar types on his keyboard.

He says, HELLO, ANNIE.

In a video call, Annie wears a colourful headband. She has a tea set on the table with her Maneki-Neko.

She says, HEY DR. CHEDDAR.
GUESS WHAT?
ME AND MANEKI-NEKO
ARE BESTIES NOW.
WE'RE HAVING A TEA PARTY.

Dr. Cheddar says, OH, WELL I'M SO
GLAD TO HEAR THAT.

Annie says, WELL, I GOTTA GET BACK
TO MY TEA PARTY NOW.
WELCOME BACK DR.
CHEDDAR, AND BYE-BYE.

She waves like the Maneki-Neko.

Dr. Cheddar says, BYE-BYE, ANNIE.

He waves and ends the call. He turns away from his tablet.

He says, THIS IS DR. CHEDDAR,
HOPING YOU FEEL BETTER
ABOUT GIVING NEW
THINGS A CHANCE.

[Soft music plays]

Felix, Dr. Cheddar and Annie watch fireworks go off in the sky at night.

They say, WOAH!

Dr. Cheddar says, WOW, LOVELY.

Ontario Creates. tvokids. Canada Media Fund. Canada, The Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit. ACTRA.

Production Executive, TVOkids Agustin Guevara.

Created and Produced by Frank Meschkuleit and Dina Meschkuleit.

Copyright 2023 Dr. Cheddar Productions Inc.