Work Text:
The hand of a lynx (Pawbert) turns the dial of an old-style radio, which starts playing:
With your smile, turn the world upside down
Sit down, I'm gonna tell ya
A little story 'bout a sad little fella
The first real image of this video is little Pawbert, running around on his overalls and white shirt on the garden of the Lynxley Manor.
He was a Dapper-Dan Cinderella
Oh, and lemme tell ya, it made the other fellas jealous
He is laughing as he plays with a lion-shaped doll. Meanwhile, younger Cattrick and Kitty are seeing him play, and their eyes narrow.
They made him cry. Na, na, na
Spit in his eye. Ha, ha, ha
Kitty steals the doll from the little Pawbert, and Cattrick pushes him into the ground.
How could they pick on such a friendly little guy?
Pawbert watches as his siblings run laughing at his pain, and then he looks down with a trembling lip and teary eyes.
That house was kinda broken
Not a place for you to get some doors open.
Pawbert is walking down the hallways of his house, looking around at the locked doors that would not open, until he arrives at an open, one, where an older lynx was.
Run by a backwards, back-woods broken-man
Still he was copin'. Yah he was dreamin' hopin'
That older Lynx is his father Milton, and he is hunched over documents and photographs depicting his quest for the lost patent. He looks upset, as there is a bottle of whiskey nearby and an empty cup. Little Pawbert approaches him from behind, reaching to touch him.
He'd get away. Na, na, na. Maybe someday. Ha, ha, ha
But on the radio, his momma used to play...
Milton turns, we don't see his eyes, but his mouth is a snarl that startles Pawbert, who steps back, as Milton grabs, a fist raised, ready to punch the boy. That's when the scene changes to an old radio playing.
When it feels like all the world is wearing a frown
Put a smile on and spread it around
Little Pawbert has a bruised face as a female lynx, his mother, tends to his wounds. He looks about to cry, but his mother places a hand on his chin and makes him look at her gentle, caring face.
"With your smile turn the world upside down"
She sings the part above to him, and little pawbert smiles back at her, looking much more positive.
Da da, da da da da
Da da da da da da da
The sequence now shows a slideshow in black and white. Pawbert as a kid running through his garden with toys. Pawber, a little older, being bullied by his siblings, but smiling at them in answer, what surprises the two. Pawber making tricks for the other kids, getting them all to laugh and smile. Then an older Pawber, buying himself a pullover that matches one his mother made for him once.
Well now he had the spirit
And he would smile every time he'd hear it
Pawbert is now older, and he is fixen his pullover and smiling dashingly for a camera.
Soon he knew every single lyric
Oh, and he would sing it
And in his sleep, he'd dream it
Pawbert is in an open park, and he is singing and telling stories, and a crowd gathers around him, and the mammals, especially the children, clap for him as he bows proudly.
All day and night. Na, na, na
Through every fight. La, la, la
Pawbert is singing on top of a rock as the sun is replaced by the moon. Then his siblings are trying to bully him again, but he smiles about it, so they just get tired and leave.
You wouldn't judge him if you knew what it was like
Milton slaps Pawbert's mother hard, sending her to the ground, and Pawbert is behind a curtain hearing it, before walking away.
And how, as luck would have it
He got rewarded for his weird new habit
Pawbert is on the park again, entertaining a few kids with toys shaped like mammals and one shaped like a snake. He is approached by people who offer him a contract for his own TV show for kids.
He earned a fat green stack of cabbage
And he planned to stash it 'till he was livin' lavish
He has the contract as he looks around the scenery of his new show, and he is marveled by it all. He signs it, and then shakes hands with the man who offered him the deal.
That fateful day Na, na, na
He ran away La, la, la
And he could hear the song his momma used to play
Pawbert was on his house, wanting to tell everyone the good news, but he finds his siblings sitting in chairs, looking somber, and then he sees what is on the table, his expression morphing from a smile into an expression of horror. It is his mother's favorite dress, ripped as if by claws and bloodied.
When it feels like all the world is wearing a frown
Put a smile on and spread it around
Milton is also on the room, and he is wiping his claws with a cloth, telling Pawbert his mother was "useless". He turns his back to him, as the younger lynx grabs an axe from an armor and strikes his father with it. Cattrick and Kitty try to stop him, but Pawbert pushes them off and they can only watch in horror as Pawbert axes his father over and over, slowly developing a manic smile as he does.
With his smile he'd turn the world upside down!
The scene changes for Milton's POV, as the older lynx blinks and looks up at Pawbert, who is now licking blood off his fingers. Milton tries reaching out to him with a shaky paw, while Pawbert looks at him with glowing predatory eyes, before lunging with a wide and toothy grin.
Da da, da da da da
Da da da da da dada
Da da, da da da da
Da da da da da dada
Hah hah hah!
A new sequence shows. First Pawbert on his TV show, with many kids cheering him. Then a newspaper speaking of "LYNX LAIR" and how successful it is. Then the scene changes for Pawbert on a party, looking like a social butterfly. Next scene is Pawbert on a desk, reading a letter sent by "DE'SNAKE". Then it changes to him meeting Gary in person, and then the two of them finding Reptile Ravine and the patent. Then more newspapers with the headings "CENTURY-OLD FARSE EXPOSED", "TRUE FOUNDER REVEALED" and "LAST LYNXLEY HEIR 'HEARTBROKEN' FOR FINDING OUT HIS ANCESTOR'S LIES". Then, the final scene shows Pawbert, in a comfy chair, holding a glass of wine and with Milton's pelt covering him, Cattrick and Kitty stand on the corner of the room looking scared, and then Pawbert laughs.
When it feels like all the world is wearing a frown
Put a smile on end spread it around
It is the Zootenial of the city, and Nick and Judy are on the party, with the fox teasing his partner, before Pawbert comes to them wearing a tuxedo and with Gary wrapped on his torso, smiling at the two cops before they all look forward at the stage.
With my smile I turned the world upside down
The four of them see the show, the light of the stage shining on them and causing Pawbert's shadow to morph into the upside-down grinning face of a demoniac lynx.