When the action figures aren't the only guys who fight…

Normally, Jeff the professional actor delights his nine-year-old son Gene at playtime, the way he brings a stuffed animal or plastic figure to life. But Jeff doesn't agree with Gene that pirate action figures are supposed to growl, cuss, and fight to the death. Both humor and tension break out when the two play pirates, and the rough-and-tough figures in Jeff's hands keep turning into pacifists, full of stagey soliloquies that urge Gene towards more peaceful play.

The boy tries not to let this derail his plan for a bloody siege and execution. But Jeff's example, and Gene's own conscience, will test Gene's impulses to the limit.