The Dude is first introduced. He's in a grocery store opening a carton of milk and smelling it to see if it's fresh. We see that he's a very laid-back and carefree guy based on the way he dresses and his actions
Two people break into The Dude's house when he comes home from grocery shopping and they assault him. They ask where the money is and say that a woman named "Bunny" owes money to "Jackie Treehorn". One of the men urinates on The Dude's Rug before they realize that they confronted the wrong Lebowski
The next day The Dude goes to the bowling alley he frequents with his friends who are a part of his bowling team. His friend Walter tells him that he needs to confront the other Lebowski to get a new rug from him
The Dude confronts The Big Lebowski and explains what happened and asks for a new rug. The Big Lebowski says he isn't responsible for that and tells The Dude to get a job and buy a new rug
The Dude lies to The Big Lebowski's assistant and tells him that he's allowed to take any rug from the house that he wants to and so he leaves the mansion with a new rug.
The Dude receives a call from The Big Lebowski who needs his help. His wife, Bunny Lebowski has been kidnapped and The Dude is tasked with handing over the ransom money of $1,000,000 to the kidnappers. The Dude will receive $20,000 if he is successful
The next day, The Dude is relaxing on his new rug, listening to music when suddenly he sees 3 people have entered his home and they punch him.
The Dude has a surreal dream (pictured) and wakes up to find his new rug is completely missing
The Dude is in the car with his friend Walter to make the ransom drop-off but Walter suddenly has a plan to deliver an briefcase with underwear in it instead and to keep the money for themselves. The Dude objects but Walter is successful in his plan
The Dude and Walter go bowling after the drop-off and when they leave they discover that the car is completely missing and so is the briefcase filled with cash that was inside of it
The woman who broke into The Dude's house in an earlier scene reveals that her name is "Maude Lebowski" and that she is The Big Lebowski's daughter. She stole his new rug because it was a gift to her late mother.
Maude explains that Bunny Lebowski was involved in the adult industry and owes a lot of money to a pornography producer and that she believes Bunny planned a fake kidnapping in order to extort money out of The Big Lebowski, her father. She tells The Dude to retrieve the money from the pornographers who she believes are currently in possession of the money.
The Dude is confronted by The Big Lebowski at his home and they demand to know what he did with their money because the kidnappers said they received a briefcase filled with underwear
The Big Lebowski shows The Dude that the kidnappers mailed them a severed toe, which has the same color nail polish that Bunny Lebowski wears. He warns The Dude that he must get him the money or his life will be in danger
3 German men and their ferret, who describe themselves as "nihilists" break into The Dude's house and assault him while he's taking a bath. They demand that he give them "the money"
The Dude's car is recovered by the police but the briefcase with $1,000,000 is completely missing
The Dude goes to Maude's house to explain that Bunny was really kidnapped. Maude explains that the 3 German men who broke into his house demanding more money are part of a techno group Bunny is affiliated with and they used to be pornstars under the same studio as her and so Maude still believes Bunny "kidnapped herself"
While The Dude is driving his car he finds a failed homework assignment in his car. He believes this kid whom the homework assignment belongs to must have stole the money after taking his car for a joyride.
The Dude and his friend Walter come to confront the kid and get the money but he doesn't have it. They leave the whole ordeal with a completely shattered windshield and go out to get burgers from In-N-Out
Jackie Treehorn, the owner of the pornography studio whom Bunny is involved with is introduced. He asks The Dude where Bunny ran away to. The Dude explains that he thought Jackie had her and Jackie demands that The Dude retrieve the money that Bunny owes him. He offers to pay The Dude if he can get the money from The Big Lebowski
The Dude tells Jackie where he believes the money is and Jackie doesn't believe him. The Dude passes out because he was drugged by Jackie
The Dude has another surreal dream
We see Bunny driving and singing in her car. The camera pans to her pinky toe which is completely intact
A private investigator appears in The Dude's driveway and explains that he was hired by Bunny's parents to bring her home. She has a habit of suddenly running away
We cut to the 3 German nihilists and they're in a diner with an additional woman. The camera pans down to her foot, which is missing a pinky toe and is bleeding
The Dude realizes everything. Bunny never got kidnapped, she just ran away. The nihilists took advantage of her running away and staged a kidnapping, they are working independent of Jackie Treehorn. Jackie Treehorn, just wants the money that Bunny owes him and doesn't know anything about a kidnapping. The Big Lebowski filled a briefcase with fake money in hopes that Bunny would be killed because she's irresponsible with his money and set up The Dude as a scapegoat
There's a showdown between the nihilists and The Dude and his friends. The nihilists still want their money even if Lebowski knows the truth. The showdown ends with the defeat of the nihilists but results in 1 casualty (a heart attack)...
Despite having no prized rug, his car being completely destroyed, and losing the life of one of his best friends, "The Dude Abides". He continues with his laidback and hedonistic lifestyle and the narrator remarks that he will continue to "Take er easy for all us sinners", cementing The Dude's status as a slacker messiah of sorts
In The Big Lebowski, we meet Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a laid-back Los Angeles slacker whose greatest passions are bowling and drinking. His life takes a bizarre turn when thugs mistake him for a millionaire named Jeffrey Lebowski and urinate on his prized rug, "the one that really tied the room together." Determined to replace it, the Dude sets off on a comical odyssey that embroils him in a tangled web of mistaken identities, nihilist kidnappers, porn moguls, and a trophy wife.
The Dude navigates a surreal landscape of LA's underbelly, and through hilarious misunderstandings, mistaken assumptions, and a healthy dose of bowling, the Dude stumbles towards a resolution, leaving audiences with unforgettable quotes and a lasting impression. The film is a cult classic known for its quirky characters, quotable lines, and a blend of humor and noir sensibilities.
Visually the film has a very rustic atmosphere with the very plain style of clothing, colors including browns, grays, and generally muted primary colors as opposed to vibrant ones. There are multiple drawn out slow motion sequences with very rural sounding music playing in the background to help establish a laid-back tone and this contrasts with the extremely wild and over the top actions that take place. This is done to solidify and push The Dude's philosophy (or lack-thereof). His life is all about being laid-back and relaxed and generally taking everything that happens on his chin. "The Dude Abides" and he embraces his carefree lifestyle regardless of what's put in front of him.
Words: Laidback, Convoluted, Quirky, Surreal, Hilarious
Thesis Statement: Mistaken identity, bowling misfits, and mayhem collide in a hilarious quest for The Dude to replace a rug that "really tied the room together."
it might make sense to look a bit closer into one of the things collected. In this case the carpet. Could be a start for a visual language to create different scenarios with. ...Apparently it's a fan thing, too 😊
Hudson Motion Inspo1 from UIC DESIGN on Vimeo.
Hudson Motion Inspo3 from UIC DESIGN on Vimeo.
Bowling balls rolling down alley. Camera following ball as it travels down lane. Periodically the name on the ball will change with a different icon underneath. Background associated with sky/dreams
Lanes appear in different portions of screen. Ball rolls down to reveal a name and icon associated with the character/credit. Background image will reflect the character the actor plays
Title imposed over bowling lane which leads into...
The ball striking the word Lebowski and scattering letters
Vectorized version of scene where The Dude is laying on the rug. zoom in to head which fades into a kaleidoscope which represents the character The Dude is thinking of. surreal, dreamlike, laidback visuals. Each fades into the next
Hudson - Motion Test 1 from UIC DESIGN on Vimeo.
Hudson - Motion Test 2 from UIC DESIGN on Vimeo.
Hudson - Motion Test 3 from UIC DESIGN on Vimeo.
Hudson - Motion Test 4 from UIC DESIGN on Vimeo.
Hudson - Motion Test 5 from UIC DESIGN on Vimeo.
The transition between every phase of the storyboard is a blurry fade to white. Almost as if shifting into a dream or shifting between dream sequences. The credits will get revealed with the motion of the kaleidoscope. There is a linear wipe effect added to each name and that wipe will follow the angle/path of motion of the moving parts.