The Tale of Despereaux (2008) - Quotes

Voice cast: [[w:Tony Hale|Tony Hale] ] as Furlough Tilling, Despereaux's brother

Voice cast: [[w:Frances Conroy|Frances Conroy] ] as Antoinette Tilling, Despereaux's mother

Voice cast: [[w:Robbie Coltrane|Robbie Coltrane] ] as Gregory the Jailer, Mig's father

Voice cast: [[w:Matthew Broderick|Matthew Broderick] ] as Despereaux Tilling

Narrator: [[grief; [fear; [sea] So, you could call all of this a big misunderstanding if you wanted to. A king was hurt, so he hurt a rat. And a rat was hurt, so he hurt a princess. And a princess was hurt, so she hurt a servant girl without even meaning to do it. And that servant had been hurting for so long, that almost nothing could make her feel better. But was it a mistake, or was it just good luck? Because the servant girl went back to her farm. And the jailer finally found his princess. And the king found something stronger than ]. And the mice finally got rid of their ]. And the people of Dor lived side-by-side with their rats...all except one, who went back to ] and felt a cool breeze each morning, and the sun on his face every afternoon. And we'd tell you that they all lived happily ever after, but...what fun is that?

Narrator: Okay. Remember when we said that grief was the strongest thing a person could feel? Well, it isn't. It's forgiveness. Because a single act of forgiveness can change everything.

Roscuro: [drops the gong bone] No.

Botticelli: What?!

Roscuro: No.

Botticelli: [turns away when he heard the other rats chanting with hunger. Roscuro runs away, unnoticed. Frustrated, Botticelli grabs the bone and bangs the gong. The rats promptly begin charging.] You worthless little...!

Andre: [throws pieces of cauliflower] Cauliflower?

Baldo: Perfect. Yes, it's about time.

Andre: Celery?

Baldo: Good.

Despereaux: [ignored; still ignored, finds a needle] Hello! Down here! The princess is in danger! Look down here!

Baldo: [offscreen] Not too much.

Andre: [offscreen; sniffs] Fantastique.

Baldo: Bellissima.

Andre: [Despereaux hops off, Andre is in pain] Brava...OOOOWW!

Despereaux: The princess is in danger!

Andre: [looks down on Despereaux; picks up Despereaux] Ooh! You're a cute little mouse. W-Would you like some soup?

Despereaux: No, I don't want... The princess is in danger!

Andre: And a talking mouse too.

Despereaux: Listen, you've gotta help me.

Andre: [puts down Despereaux] Perhaps a little cheese?

Despereaux: [infuriated] NO, I DON'T WANT ANY CHEESE! THE PRINCESS, SHE'S IN DANGER! SHE'S LOCKED IN THE DUNGEON!

Baldo: [gasps in shock] In the dungeon?

Andre: [interrupted by the sound of lightning] Oh, don't be silly, my little mouse. Everything is fine. The princess is perfectly safe up in the...

Andre: [looks out his window; turns around] Oh my... Baldo! Look! It's... Baldo? Where are you?

Baldo: [turns to Andre] Look at you. You're still brewing tea. If you want to make a statement, what do I say? Make it a good one.

Andre: [smiles at Baldo; hugs Baldo; cuts carrots and puts them in the soup] Ah, it's so great to see you! Fantastique! Marjoram?

Baldo: Love it. Perfect.

Andre: [smacks his lips] Ah. Superbe!

Despereaux: [offscreen; Princess Pea looks up] Milady. Psst, milady.

Princess Pea: [as she stands up] Oh, my little mouse! It's you!

Despereaux: [[evil] I will deliver you from this ], ma'am.

Princess Pea: Oh, no. Just go find my father. Take this chain from around my neck to show him you're honest and truthful.

Despereaux: Oh, I am. Honest and truthful and loyal and...

Princess Pea: [interrupts Despereaux; Despereaux takes her necklace] I know. But hurry. Here, take it. There isn't much time.

Roscuro: You can do this. You know you can.

Mig: I know I can.

Roscuro: [referring to Princess Pea] She belongs in the dungeon and you belong in the palace like a princess.

Mig: [wears fake crown; as she rips the picture of Princess Pea] Pretty princess. Pretty, pretty princess pie. What a pretty princess. It's my gloves, my comb, my jewelly, girly hat, all sitting on my...princess head. Who's the pretty princess pumpkin pie?!

Roscuro: You are.

Mig: Right. I am.

Roscuro: You are. And you should be dressed in those clothes.

Mig: Quite right. I should.

Roscuro: Mm-hmm. And you should lounge in that bed.

Mig: Lounging. Lounging round, yes, the whole day.

Roscuro: And you should be wearing that crown.

Mig: [confused] I should be wearing a frown?

Roscuro: [hops onto Mig's shoulder] No no no. Not a frown, a crown.

Mig: [gasps; looks at Roscuro] Can't here me own self think. AH!

Mig: Who are you?

Roscuro: I'm here to help you.

Mig: [gasps] Can't be caught with a real rat in my bunk. No, I don't think so.

Roscuro: [closes Mig's lips] And what they found you with the painting of the princess? You think that's as bad as a rat? I want the same thing you do.

Despereaux: What kind of a quest?

Roscuro: Uh, to right a terrible wrong.

Despereaux: But who did you wrong?

Roscuro: [turns to Despereaux] Okay. Do you remember, uh, when they banished the rats?

Despereaux: Sure, yes.

Roscuro: Okay. Well, it wasn't all the rats they banished. I mean, they did, but it was all because of one particular rat...in particular.

Despereaux: [softly] Oh...

Roscuro: [referring to Princess Pea; [voice] Mm-hmm. If I could just tell her I'm sorry, that I'm, you know, I'm really sorry, that I didn't mean for any of this to happen. If she could just hear me say it, you know, just-just hear my ], she-she would...she'd know how much I meant it.

Despereaux: That is a very noble quest.

Mig: [sniffs] Princess. Who's the princess? I'm the princess. I'm the princess! My comb, my hat, my gloves, and my... ...pretty powder on my pretty princess face.

Louise: And whaddaya think you're doing?!

Mig: Ma'am!

Louise: Where did you get all this?

Mig: I just borrowed it, ma'am.

Louise: Borrowed it?

Mig: I was gonna put them all back.

Louise: [yells in Mig's ear; snatches the crown from Mig's head; scoffs; closes the door] See that you do! And you can spend the whole week taking slop to the dungeon for your little...escapade. Princess.

Despereaux: Oh.

Roscuro: See that? Light. Real light. It's mine, but...you can share. It isn't much, but there isn't much anywhere since everything turned gray.

Despereaux: You're not gonna eat me?

Roscuro: No. I don't eat mice.

Despereaux: Then, what do you eat?

Roscuro: [puts down a bowl full of crumbs] Crumbs, when I can find them.

Despereaux: So, you're a gentleman.

Roscuro: [turns to Despereaux] Tell me that story... about the princess. Tell me what she looked like.

Despereaux: Well, she was...

Roscuro: Was she angry?

Despereaux: [[heart] No. No, not at all. Her ] was full of... longing.

Roscuro: What's longing?

Narrator: [[friendship; [loyalty; [rain] And that's how a ] is born. Over the next few weeks, he told Roscuro everything he knew about ] and honor and chivalry and courage. He told him about the princess, and where her longing came from. That she missed the ], and the soup, and even the rats.

Roscuro: Even the rats?

Narrator: [[duty] He told him about their code of honor, about his noble quest, about ] and loyalty. And there, in the darkness of the cellar, two knights pledged devotion to a princess who was trapped inside a castle. Trapped in a life full of pain and longing. Even if no one could tell.

Roscuro: [runs to Botticelli; puts Botticelli's hand down] Wait! Can I, uh, h-have him? C-Can I have this one, please?

Botticelli: What?

Roscuro: [looks at Despereaux] It's just that that one looks... ...tasty.

Botticelli: Well, this is progress. Perhaps we're starting to leave the past behind us, eh? Enjoy, my friend. Don't leave a morsel.

Roscuro: Oh, I, I...I won't.

Smudge: [whistles to the other rats] Lads, let's go, on the double.

Gregory: [picks up his lamp] Who is that? Who goes there? Who is that?

Despereaux: Despereaux Tilling.

Gregory: [his lamp shines onto Despereaux] Are you a man or are you a mouse?

Despereaux: [Gregory picks him up by his tail] I...am a gentleman

Pack Rat #1: It's a mouse!

Pack Rat #2: I'm hungry!

Smudge: Shh! Quiet, lads. Patience.

Gregory: [as he sits down] And what makes you...a gentleman?

Despereaux: A code... A code of honor.

Gregory: Ah-ha! You're a strange little mouse, aren't you? And where'd you find this "code of honor"?

Despereaux: [as he partly slips out of Gregory's knuckle] Well, in a legend. A legend that I read.

Gregory: Fine. Well, tell me this legend of yours. I could do with a good story right now.

Despereaux: Well, it's about a princess and a knight. And his quest to save her honor.

Gregory: Ah, it was the princess who took away my soup.

Despereaux: She didn't take it. In fact, she misses it too!

Gregory: How'd you know all this?

Despereaux: I've seen her.

Gregory: [gasps] Seen her?

Despereaux: I've talked to her.

Gregory: Talked to her?

Despereaux: That's why they sent me down here.

Gregory: [laughs briefly] Hmm. And what did this princess tell you when you had your little audience? Eh? Oh, you must be a royal mouse. Is that it?

Despereaux: She told me that she missed the soup. And the rain. And, most of all, the sunlight. And that she just wanted it all to come back again.

Gregory: [pause; stands up; throws Despereaux to the floor, walks out] Well, I don't wanna hear your little stories about princesses and sunshine. Go tell them to the rats!

Smudge: [him and the other rats went after Despereaux, except Roscuro who stayed behind] Alright, boys, c'mon!

Hovis: [approaches Despereaux] Come with me.

Hovis: Stand there.

Despereaux: Red?

Hovis: [as he ties the red thread around Despereaux's string] So they tell me. So, you're the brave one.

Despereaux: I guess.

Hovis: It's good. It'll carry well down there. Wear it proudly. It's not shame. It's time.

Hovis: [referring to the other mice] It's alright, they're too scared to come down here.

Despereaux: [looks down in the dungeon] In there?

Hovis: [[Courage] I'm afraid so. ], right?

Despereaux: And truth. And honor.

Hovis: Good. But especially courage.

Despereaux: [walks to the edge of the plank] I'm ready.

Hovis: [his machine goes loose] Alright. Then you need to...

Antoinette: Isn't there something you can do?!

Lester: [sighs] Antoinette, stop, right now. Stop that. You have to trust them. They are the Council! They're the Council because, because they're...the Council. They're the Council.

Mayor: [offscreen] Despereaux Tilling!

Mayor: How long have you been working on this book?

Despereaux: Um, a week?

Mayor: A week? You've hardly cracked it.

Despereaux: Well, I was...I just wanted to see how it ends.

Despereaux: [referring to Princess Pea] She was beautiful, like an angel.

Furlough: You are crazy.

Despereaux: [lies down on his bed] And she smelled so amazing, like a garden.

Furlough: Despereaux, you can't talk to a human. That is the worst thing you can do!

Despereaux: No, it's the best thing I ever did.

Furlough: They will throw you in the dungeon. You will get eaten by rats!

Despereaux: It'll be worth it. They could tear at my flesh!

Furlough: [realizes what he said] Oh, this is bad...

Despereaux: [referring to Princess Pea again] And when she held me in her hand, it was-it was so soft, like floating on a pillow.

Furlough: You know what? I'm worried about you.

Despereaux: That's the point, Furlough. There's nothing to be afraid of.

Furlough: QUIET! They'll hear you.

Despereaux: C'mon, just try it. Just for a second, just try being brave.

Furlough: Oh...

Despereaux: And stop cowering!

Lester: [as he opens the bedroom curtains; to Furlough, offscreen] What's going on in here? What's all this talk about princesses and br...bravery? Furlough, I wanna see you in my study right now.

Lester: [minutes later after hearing of Despereaux with Princess Pea] Are you sure?

Furlough: That's what he said.

Lester: A real human?

Furlough: A princess.

Lester: [sighs] We need to tell them. We need to tell the Mouse Council.

Antoinette: [interrupted by Lester] But they'll...

Lester: [realizes what he's saying] This is bad. This is very bad. If they find out.. If they find out that they didn't find out... Oh, then they'll find out that it was me who... Oh no.

Antoinette: BUT THEY'LL SEND HIM TO THE DUNGEON!

Furlough: Oh, he'll get eaten by rats!

Lester: [as Furlough and Antoinette begin to panic; no response] No, not if we beg. If we really beg and show them that he-he's changed. That he's afraid. That he's afraid and he's turned into a mouse. And... Despereaux!

Lester: How was the library?

Furlough: Fine.

Lester: Spoil your appetite?

Despereaux: No. Helped it, actually. Made me hungrier.

Lester: [chuckles] Good lad.

Despereaux: [picks up the big cheese with his fork] Ha ha!

Lester: [shocked, drops his cheese] Did you see they're putting up, uh, a new front on the crumb shop? Quite modern, yes.

Antoinette: Oh, but I liked the old one. Why do they have to keep changing?

Despereaux: [reads the page] Once upon a time". That's great, isn't it? "Upon a time"? And they don't even tell you what time that is yet. It's like you have to find that out.

Furlough: [hands the ripped page to Despereaux; Despereaux reads the page again] You're not supposed to read it, Despereaux. You're supposed to eat it. Good. I'll come back in an hour. And no reading! It's a rule.

Botticelli: [puts his hand on Roscuro's shoulder] You're not eating.

Roscuro: Oh, uh, I was.

Botticelli: No...you weren't.

Roscuro: Well, I'm just...watching, sir.

Botticelli: Well, that's not very grateful of you, after I've taken you under my wing.

Roscuro: [chuckles nervously] Oh, well... I'm grateful, really. I, uh, I am.

Botticelli: You miss something, don't you.

Roscuro: Uh, uh, no I don't.

Botticelli: There's nothing up there, Roscuro. Nothing at all.

Roscuro: [as he begins to walk away; chuckles nervously] Oh, no, I know that. Absolutely. Uh, uh, nothing. Nothing. Nothing at all.

Smudge: [to Botticelli] He's a tough one. You're not gonna turn him. Nah, you're not.

Botticelli: Oh, I don't know. A rat is a rat. It doesn't really matter where you come from.

Lester: [as he runs home; bumps into another mouse] Scuse me. Scuse me. Oh, sorry. Sorry.

Mayor: Tilling?

Lester: Mr. Mayor? Hello.

Mayor: Where are you going?

Lester: Oh, well, my... Uh, my baby is having a... Uh, uh, no. My wife is h-having a...

Mayor: Oh, right. Congratulations.

Lester: Thank you. Thank you, sir. I'm sorry, I-I really... Goodbye.

Princess Pea: [as she looks outside her window] I wish it would rain.

Louise: [accidentally pricks Princess Pea with a pin] You and the whole world, princess.

Princess Pea: OW!

Louise: Sorry, milady.

Princess Pea: [looks outside her window again] Well, at least I can still feel that. Louise, do you think there's a bit of...light somewhere in the world?

Louise: Don't know, princess.

Princess Pea: I think there is. You just need to know where to find it.

Town Crier: From this moment on, soup, the making of soup, the selling of soup, or the eating of soup, is hereby outlawed in the kingdom of Dor! Rats are to be considered illegal as well and are hereby deemed unlawful creatures in the kingdom of Dor! From this moment on, anyone harboring, sheltering or possessing a rat in any way, shall face the full wrath of the law!

Botticelli: You don't need to be afraid. I know it's dark, but you'll get used to it.

Roscuro: W--Who... who are you?

Botticelli: Just a rat, like you. Come with me.

André: [after serving soup at the queen] And voilá!

The Queen: This soup is superb.

André: Wait to taste it majesty.

The Queen: This is...

Roscuro: Whoa!

The Queen: [Roscuro lands into the Queen's soup. Both she and André looked] delicious, absolutely... Oh, it moved! My soup moved!

André: No, it... It did not move.

Roscuro: [emerges from the soup] Oh, Your Highness.

The King: Darling?

The Queen: Oh! A rat! There's a rat in my soup!

Roscuro: Madam, I know this is unfortunate. And I know that while on first glance, I might...

The Queen: A rat! In my soup!

Roscuro: No. Please. Shh, shh, shh.

The Queen: And I ate it!

Roscuro: [the Queen gags and collapses into the soup; jumps out of the soup] Your Highness, hold on... Uh-oh.

Andre: [offscreen] I don't have to stand here and listen to a big talking garbage can!

Baldo: [offscreen] Huh! And I don't to stand here and listen to a coward!

Andre: Coward?!

Baldo: Yes, a coward!

Andre: Call me a coward!

Baldo: Yes!

Andre: OH NOOOO!!!

Andre: Oh, no no no no no no no. That did it.

Baldo: Bellissima!

Andre: Fantastique!

Narrator: [[genius] Now, it's hard to be a ] all by yourself. In fact, sometimes it takes a little help.

Andre: You changed something.

Baldo: You're crazy. I did not touch it.

Andre: I can smell it. What's this?

Baldo: What?

Andre: [picks off a garlic] This!

Baldo: Ow! Garlic.

Andre: Garlic?

Baldo: Yeah, a little garlic. It was already there.

Andre: No.

Baldo: Yes.

Andre: No.

Baldo: Yes.

Andre: [grabs the garlic vine] NOT THIS MUCH!

Baldo: OW!

Andre: [as he rips the garlic vine from Baldo] You ruined my soup!

Baldo: I saved your soup! Those people wait all year, and you want to give them this...dishwater.

Andre: Dishwater?

Baldo: Dishwater.

Andre: [hits Baldo] DISHWATER?!

Baldo: OW! Cut it out!

Narrator: [[honor; [justice; [truth] Once upon a time, there was a brave little mouse who loved ] and ] and always told the ].

Narrator: [Roscuro yawns; Roscuro climbs on a barrel and looks at the sun; [light; Roscuro goes near a sailor named Pietro] No, that's not him. That's a rat. And anyone who knows anything, knows there is a big difference between a mouse and a rat. First of all, rats hate the ]. They spend their lives in the darkness. They're also terrified of people, which is why they slink and cower all the time. And as far as telling the truth as concerned, well, that is impossible, because as everyone knows...

Narrator: ...a rat can't talk.

Roscuro: Tell me that thing again, please.

Pietro: Come on!

Roscuro: Just once, I promise. Tell me one more time and I won't ask you ever again, I swear.

Pietro: [[magic] Fine. We are headed to Dor, one of the most ]al places in the whole world.

Roscuro: No, that's not what you said before. You know, every place has something special, and in Dor, it's the soup!

Sailor: Land, ho!

Roscuro: [sniffs] I can see it! Ooh! I can smell it! I CAN SMELL IT!