Based on the classic fairytale, this live-action film focuses on young Jack's adventures up the enchanted beanstalk and into a magical world of fantasy and danger as he desperately tries to save his family and his community, all while discovering his own heroic identity. The adventure opens in a fairy-tale schoolhouse where an inattentive and distracted Jack (Colin Ford) struggles to learn the philosophies and definitions of heroism, despite the efforts of the school's crotchety Headmaster (Christopher Lloyd). The lessons finally sink in when Jack learns that his devoted Mother (Katey Sagal) has lost her job and that desperate times lie ahead. Calling upon the hero's lessons concerning self-sacrifice, Jack ventures into a mysterious pawn shop manned by an eccentric Booker (Wallace Shawn) and trades his most valued possession. In return, the Booker gives him a handful of magic beans. Jack's pride at his own selflessness quickly disappears when his Mother explains to him that he has been swindled by the Booker and that the beans are worthless. The beans are then thrown out the window, discarded and forgotten. Then comes the magic.