Most scenes together: Roscuro & Botticelli (4), Andre & Baldo (4), Roscuro & Narrator (3)
Wait! [puts Botticelli's hand down] Can I, uh, h-have him? C-Can I have this one, please?
It's just that that one looks... [looks at Despereaux] ...tasty.
Well, this is progress. Perhaps we're starting to leave the past behind us, eh? Enjoy, my friend. Don't leave a morsel.
Oh, I, I...I won't.
[Botticelli snaps his fingers and the arena rats pulled the cat in as the cat scratches the floor as it is being dragged back to its cage]
You can do this. You know you can.
I know I can.
She belongs in the dungeon and you belong in the palace like a princess.
Smudge Lads, let's go, on the double.
Gregory Who is that? Who goes there? Who is that?
Despereaux Tilling.
Gregory Are you a man or are you a mouse? [his lamp shines onto Despereaux]
I...am a gentleman [Gregory picks him up by his tail]
It's a mouse!
I'm hungry!
Smudge Shh! Quiet, lads. Patience.
Gregory And what makes you...a gentleman?
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"?
Gregory Fine. Well, tell me this legend of yours. I could do with a good story right now.
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.
She didn't take it. In fact, she misses it too!
Gregory How'd you know all this?
I've seen her.
Gregory Seen her?
I've talked to her.
Gregory Talked to her?
That's why they sent me down here.
Gregory Hmm. And what did this princess tell you when you had your little audience? Eh? [laughs briefly] Oh, you must be a royal mouse. Is that it?
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 Well, I don't wanna hear your little stories about princesses and sunshine. [stands up] Go tell them to the rats! [throws Despereaux to the floor, walks out]
Smudge Alright, boys, c'mon! [him and the other rats went after Despereaux, except Roscuro who stayed behind]
Milady. [Princess Pea looks up] Psst, milady.
Princess Pea Oh, my little mouse! It's you!
I will deliver you from this evil, 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.
Oh, I am. Honest and truthful and loyal and...
Princess Pea I know. But hurry. Here, take it. [Despereaux takes her necklace] There isn't much time.
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.
What?!
No.
You worthless little...! [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 don't need to be afraid. I know it's dark, but you'll get used to it.
W--Who... who are you?
Just a rat, like you. Come with me.
"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.
You're not supposed to read it, Despereaux. You're supposed to eat it. [hands the ripped page to Despereaux] Good. I'll come back in an hour. [Despereaux reads the page again] And no reading! It's a rule.
So, you're a gentleman.
Tell me that story... about the princess. Tell me what she looked like.
Well, she was...
Was she angry?
No. No, not at all. Her heart was full of... longing.
What's longing?
And that's how a friendship is born. Over the next few weeks, he told Roscuro everything he knew about loyalty and honor and chivalry and courage. He told him about the princess, and where her longing came from. That she missed the rain, and the soup, and even the rats.
Even the rats?
He told him about their code of honor, about his noble quest, about duty 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.
This is...
Whoa!
...absolutely... [Roscuro lands into the Queen's soup. Both she and André looked] Oh, it moved! My soup moved!
No, it... It did not move.
Darling?
Oh! A rat! There's a rat in my soup!
Madam, I know this is unfortunate. And I know that while on first glance, I might...
A rat! In my soup!
No. Please. Shh, shh, shh.
And I ate it!
Your Highness, hold on... [the Queen gags and dunks her face into the soup] Uh-oh. [jumps out of the soup]
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!
Once upon a time, there was a brave, little mouse who loved honor and justice and always told the truth.
No, that's not him. [Roscuro yawns] That's a rat. And anyone who knows anything, knows there is a big difference between a mouse and a rat. [Roscuro climbs on a barrel and looks at the sun] First of all, rats hate the light. They spend their lives in the darkness. They're also terrified of people, which is why they slink and cower all the time. [Roscuro goes near of a sailor named Pietro] And as far as telling the truth as concerned, well, that is impossible, because as everyone knows...
...a rat can't talk.
Pietro Come on!
Just once, I promise. Tell me one more time and I won't ask you ever again, I swear.
Pietro Fine. We are headed to Dor, one of the most magical places in the whole world.
No, that's not what you said before. You know, every place has something special, and in Dor, it's the soup!
Land, ho!
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 grief. And the mice finally got rid of their fear. And the people of Dor lived side-by-side with their rats...all except one, who went back to sea 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?
