Tom Thumb (1972) - full transcript

Once upon a time there
was a lumberjack

a poor lumberjack living with his
family in the deep of the woods.

Each day, blow, rain, freeze,

he delivered his bundles
to the castle.

At the donjon's top of this
castle lived the King.

He was good, generous and
very happy to be the King.

The Queen was as sweet as beautiful and
her hairs were like moonshine rays.

And the little Princess
was called Rosemonde.

She never went out because her
parents didn't want her to
meet the harsh cruelties of the world.

Being their only child they had to
constantly invent things to entertain her.

The king who was very
skilfull with his hands



built wonderful toys for
the little princess Rosemonde.

She lived there cherished and constantly
surrounded in a enchanted world.

But she was alone.

Oh, my coins!

Three lost coins.

How many bundles to make
to compensate the loss?

Fortunately the lumberjack
didn't know his math.

He could not even say how many
children he had with his wife.

First, two twins, Black and Blackie.

Hardworking and inseparable though
they had to be separated sometimes.

What happened to one of them
inevitably happened to the other.

Then two other twins,

Brown and Chestnut.

No-one knew which one
was the most greedy for food.



It didn't matter anyway since
their own mother herself

could hardly tell who
was Brown and who was Chestnut.

And still two other twins,
Red and Redhead, dirty,

dedicated but more courageous
than them you die.

And at last, their last child,

born alone this time.

At his birth he was hardly
taller than a thumb.

And for this reason
he was called Thumb.

Tom Thumb.

The name had stayed.

And sometimes it provoked
bouts of anger bigger than him.

No, I'm not small!

No, I'm not small!
I'm stronger than my brothers.

And more courageous!

I'm not small! No, I'm not small!

The rest of the time Tom Thumb

always alone and far from his brothers

lived in the woods with
his game companions,

the woods animals.

He was discovering the world.

He was dreaming.

Tom Thumb was often dreaming.

And all his dreams led him to
this castle whose silver pinnacles

were shining bright in the sun
and where, people said,

lived a small princess,

as alone as him.

This day, above the walls,

a luminous and shining object
went up in the skies.

It was the last toy
invented by the King.

A flying butterfly.

Oh, my butterfly!

Oh, Hughes, her butterfly fly away!
-What? Her butterfly?

You there!

What are you waiting for to get this
butterfly? What a great misfortune Sire!

The princess must not worry.
I send the guards.

We'll bring it back promptly.

Tell the soldiers to be
careful and don't damage it.

They will be as gentle as
fairies my Queen.

Disciplined and tired

the soldiers searched the woods in
vain to find the escaped butterfly.

Tom Thumb had already find it.

Hidden in a burrow he waited
until the guards moved away.

But he didn't wait long.

One after the other, drove to dizziness
after staring at the sky for so long,

the soldiers fell like cut up flowers.

Tom Thumb decided to wait
until nightfall

to get inside the castle
and give himself

the butterfly to the mysterious
little princess.

Who's there?

Come on, answer!

At last! Who's there?

There's nobody?

Say something.

There's certainly someone.

If there's someone

why I'm not seeing him?

If there's no-one

why did he knock?

Once inside the castle,
Tom Thumb had to find

the little princess
without wakening anyone.

Where was she sleeping?

At the top of the donjon? No.

It was the King and
Queen's apartments.

Suddenly,

at the turn of a spiral staircase,

Tom Thumb discovered
a wonderful place.

There, behind a golden grid,

the enchanted garden
of the little princess.

Princess, I know that no-one
must enter your castle

but I killed the guard and I put an
entire army to flight to come to you

and I don't even know your name.
What's your name?

Rosemonde.

You're the first little
boy that I see.

Are you real?
-I'm real. Look.

Oh, my butterfly!

Here.

Where did you find it?

In a tree in the woods.

You went to the woods?
-I live in the woods.

And you're not afraid?

Of what?
-You must never go to the woods.

Why?

Because little children never get out
of the woods. -Who told you that?

My dad and my dad knows everything.

Your dad, it's the...
-Yes.

The King.

Where is he?

Up there.

He loves me more than
anything in the world.

It's true that you never
went out of this castle?

Never. -It's beautiful outside you
know. In the forest

everyone is free,
the animals, the rivers...

Why don't you open the door
to your pets?

I did that once for my greyhound.
She was so beautiful...

So sweet.
-You don't have her anymore?

No. One day I tied my blue rose
to her collar but she escaped.

I quickly went to the top
of the tower to call her.

She ran towards the forest.

She entered in a burrow.

I heard two screams.

Two little screams.

And then nothing.
I never saw her again.

My blue rose too. I will
never see it again.

And without my blue
rose I will never be happy.

What is it?
-Mummy.

Three times during the night the Queen
woke up and went to see if her little princess

didn't have bad dreams.

The King had found this
clever stratagem

to pull the Queen softly
out of her sleep.

He didn't know that he had
invented the alarm clock.

Hughes!

Hughes!
-What is it?

Hughes! Our little daughter has disappeared!
-Call the guards! Call the guards!

Sire, the guards are in the woods.

Let's wake up the servants.

Find the princess!
Search everywhere! Everywhere!

Over there! Follow me!
Look inside the canons!

Don't frighten her!

My name is Tom Thumb.

Will I see you again Tom Thumb?

I swear to you.

Nature's catastrophes are
unpredictable.

No one could predict

that a misfortune would
fall on the Kingdom.

Famine.

Everybody saw the desperate animals
escaping from the woods

towards more hospitable countries.

And then fruits fell from
the trees and rot.

Even the grass from the fields
became impossible to eat.

The flowers wilted.

Everywhere everyone was crying famine.

Famine my Lord!

Famine!

We die of hunger in our house.

Do not only think about you!
Poors are not alone to suffer.

What about the rich people?
Look. I'm forced to ration.

The two fat ones are for me.

Get closer.

Have mercy!

My youngest child, Tom Thumb,
has only skin on his bones.

You mean the midget born during the
eclipse a few years ago?

That's him.
-Well.

Don't search further.
The famine is his fault.

Children born during an eclipse
were drown in ancient times
because they brought misfortune.

It's all your fault!
-My fault?

Furthermore you irritate the King.

I irritate him?
-Of course. What do you want to prove?

A respectful lumberjack doesn't have
7 boys when he serves a King who
had a hard time to get a legitimate daughter.

We wanted a girl every time you know.

Do like us!
Here we don't have any child!

Not three! I said two rats
by man at every meal.

Have mercy my Lord!

Last years acorns were
still growing on oaks.

This year there's nothing.
-I told you no. Now it's over. Get out!

Just a rat my Lord!
The smallest rat! A rat child!

I'm hungry.

Hungry...I'm hungry.

To eat, to eat...

What are they saying?

They talk about eating.

Tom Thumb is not back?

No.

Where is he?

If they go without food any longer
our weakest boys will die.

Even at night

Tom Thumb ran through the woods
searching for some food that

didn't exist anywhere anymore.

His stomach was crudely empyty

and his heart full of the
memory of the little Princess.

Will I see you again Tom Thumb?

What is it?

What are you doing?
-I heard some noise.

Woman...
-Yes.

If I was courageous...

I would kill the children myself
to stop them from suffering of hunger.

You wouldn't do that?

Tomorrow...

I will lose them in the forest.

While they put some bundles
we will escape without being noticed.

When we get back I will hang
you to a beam my poor woman.

And I will hang myself after you

to punish myself.

This way...

we will be erased from
this cruel earth

where we were too
honest to survive.

Tom Thumb cried for a long time.

A long grief for a long night.

But at the sunset his tears dried out.

An idea came to him.

Without being noticed

he went to the spring

to collect white rocks.

And Tom Thumb?

By God, you're right!

Tom Thumb!
-I'm coming!

Tom Thumb!

Where are we going?
-Walk on. You'll see.

Why are we going so far?
-I'm tired.

Me, I like to walk through the forest.

Why are you crying mum?
-Yes, why?

Come on lads! To work!

Everyone makes a bundle.
A big one.

Come on, scram!
-Yes dad.

Come on now.
-No.

Come on!

We're first!

Mummy!

Where are you mummy?
-Where are they?

Is it the right tree?
-Yes it's the right one.

They can't be too far then.

Dad! Mum!

Don't be afraid. Come on.
I will lead you to our house.

I threw some little white
rocks along the way.

She snoozed!
-She snoozed?

She snoozed!
-Huh?

She snoozed.
-What?

She snoozed?
-Yep.

She snoozed!
-What?

She snoozed!
-But, but...

Who snoozed?
-The little princess, come on!

Fire in every chimney! Some wood!
Go get the...

The "what" Sire?
-You know him well, the one who...

Who "what" Sire?
-The one who has so many sons.

Ah, the lumberjack!
-Of course, the lumberjack!

You caught cold the other day
when you went after your butterfly.

Oh my God!

Hughes! She snoozed again.
It's the second time.

Nobody listens to me in this house!

Fire! Hell fire immediately as if we
were in august! Get the lumberjack and
give him everything he wants!

The lumberjack only wanted food.

And the King in order to warm the
castle and heal the little princess
from her snoozing

had given half of his
personal food supplies.

Our poor little children that we
lost just when we finally get some food.

It smells like soup.

Cabbage soup. Something to eat.

You think we still wish to hang
ourselves when we'll have a full belly?

We'll see.

timings : meatisgood
translation : aloysius70
Cinemaggedon exclusive - Not for sale.

And me! And me!

Let me pass!

Give me to eat!

The day following this fastuous meal

the lumberjack and his wife
realized too late that

they should not have
eaten everything so fast.

The memory helping they were more
hungry yet than the day before.

The same causes inevitably
producing the same effects

the father without his wife's knowing

decided to lose the
children again in the woods.

Taken by surprise

Tom Thumb had only time to take a piece of
bread in replacement of the white rocks.

The last remain of the royal food supplies.

Here.

What are you waiting for?
To your bundles!

What if he wanted to lose us again?

We must pay attention
to the sound of his axe.

As long as we hear
it there's nothing to fear.

Ouch!

A hedgehog!

My next meal!

Daddy! Daddy!

Daddy! Daddy!

It's not here or we'd see
the marks in the tree.

It's surely the wrong tree.

Certainly.
-Come on.

Tom Thumb.

Did you throw rocks?

I threw bread.

Crumb breads.

Follow me.

Birds have eaten every crumb.

We'll never find our way home.

I'm scared.

What do you see?

A wall.

Go have a look.
-That's it. Go have a look.

Come on. Climb up.

It's full of eggs!
-What is it exactly?

It's wonderful. Come here.

What kind of gardener could
make such strange fruits grow?

Ready to pick up, ripe to the core,
of a gigantic size.

All were bigger than the
biggest of their species.

A giant orchard.

Let's go!

A house!
-Where?

There. Behind the wall.

I'm scared.

It's him. It's him who
said we could get inside.

That we could eat.

He did well but you must
leave immediately. Immediately!

We're lost Mrs and we
can't find our way home.

Where's your home? -One league
from Princess Rosemonde's castle.

This way. Walk straight ahead
and walk fast. I beg you. Fast!

Take everything you want but go away!
Go away!

Good bye Mrs.

Why are you crying?

It's you who did that?

The wolf! It's the wolf!

In the trees! Quick!

You must not sleep! If you sleep you
fall and if you fall you're devoured!

Let's sing! Let's sing a song together!

What? A song?

Tom Thumb...

What did she say?
-I don't know.

She has everything to be happy
but she still has nightmares.

Come back to me Tom Thumb.
-WHAT?

What?

She said "Come back to me Tom Thumb".
-I heard. Thank you.

Who is Tom Thumb?
-That's it.

I think I understand. That night
with the butterfly. -Well?

That butterfly didn't come back
on its own. It was brought back here.

Who?

Tom Thumb.
-You hear...Tom Thumb.

But who is Tom Thumb? -The last born
of the 36 kids of this damn lumberjack.

A midget?

I send the guards to take him.
We drown him in the well and
we throw rocks to cover the body.

But Hughes it's a child!
-A child?

Do you know that even the
peasants are afraid of him?

It's him who brought the famine.
He's born during an eclipse

My sweet Tom Thumb...

I beg you my good Sire.
You could break her heart.

I will take that deadly
idea out of her mind.

What are you doing? Where are you going?
-To search a husband for her. It's time now.

A husband? Who?
-Let me do. I'm the father.

My horse! Saddle my horse!

My Sire!

Lower the drawbridger!

It's Tom Thumb?

When dawn arose

wolves were still keeping
watch at the bottom of the trees.

They stayed there all day long.

A terrible day.

It's only in the evening,
disappointed,

that they left to
find another prey.

Tom Thumb, you see something?

There! A light!

I'm scared.
-Come on, it's not gonna eat you.

Tom Thumb?

Go ring the bell.
-No.

I'll have a look first.

It's all red?
-What?

Red?
-Walls, ceiling, furniture.

Everything is red.
-I don't want to go inside.

Me neither.
-Did you see someone?

One of us must go alone first.

If he doesn't come back.
-Then we won't go.

Who will go inside?

No Tom Thumb!

What's that?

Who's there?

Speak! Who's there?
-It's the lady...

The lady in black.

We're lost Mrs.
-Yes we're lost.

Go away immediately.
-We're scared my brothers and I.

No go away!

Have mercy! Have mercy Mrs!
The wolves are after us!

Have mercy! Have mercy Mrs!

Come in.

Do you know where you
are my poor childs?

Why everything's red?

Because of the stains.
-What stains?

Blood stains.

My poor childs...

You're in the Ogre's house!

And he eats little childs raw.

Ogres wives are big talkers
like other wives.

And this one told everything
to Tom Thumb and his brothers.

How she married a sweet and
handsome horticulturist who gave
her 7 lovely little boys.

How one morning suddenly transformed
into an ogre he ate one, then two and
so on every day until the seventh boy.

It's the only thing he wanted
for his breakfast.

On the seventh day...

he told me "tomorrow I eat you".
-And he ate you?

No.

He gave me 7 little girls.
-And he ate them?

No.

But if you don't leave immediately
he will eat everyone of you!

And you!

But if we go Mrs the wolves
will eat me and my brothers.

Maybe it's best if it's
your husband eating us.

Maybe he will have mercy for us.

It's him.

I'm going to hide you.

There.

I'm hungry!

I can smell fresh meat!

And I know what I'm speaking of!

I can smell fresh meat!

It is fresh meat!

What a good looking little man!

How nice!

What a nice smell!

So now you're hiding
stuff from me woman!

You'll see what you'll see
damned woman!

Tonight my little girls and I...

we're eating you!

Can we eat the little boys too?
-Yeah!

The little boys too.
-No. Not the little boys.

Why?
-I refuse.

She refuses? She refuses?

Is this a manner to talk to an ogre?
-They're a gift.

A gift?

So you receive gifts now?

No, I mean a gift from me.

For who?
-For you.

For our wedding anniversary.

What's the date?

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow? I thought we got married
in winter? -Well, not this year.

Not this year? Alright.

What a sweet mother you have!

My little princesses! My gluttons!

Oh you...

But we must hurry woman. If we want them
juicy by tomorrow morning we must fill them up

as soon as tonight.

I'm sure you like cakes.
Don't you, children?

Of course Sir.
Especially with cream.

How cute they are.

How sweet they will taste!

Come on...

I don't want a single crumb left.

You don't eat my boy?

Don't you want to grow up?

Come on, faster!

Hey Black.

Wake up.

We must flee or he will eat us.

When I say go you run with Blackie
to take the bar out of the door

and then we all run away.

Say Mr Ogre?

Say Mr Ogre?

You're never thirsty?

I'm always thirsty.

When my father is really thirsty

he swallows in a go a
cask full of wine.

My father is really strong.
-A cask?

What size?

I don't know.

This size.

This size?

Well...

he's not that strong your father.
Look.

Look at me.

Run now! Fast!

Good bye Mrs and thank you.

Good bye Mrs and thank you.

And these smart boys thougt that
good daddy Ogre was taking a nap!

We apologise Mr but...

Who?

Mr "who"?

Mr Ogre.
-That's better.

Let us go.
We won't make a great meal.

It's true! You will surely get
pimples after eating you.

Nonsense. To the bed! Everybody!

This time I think it's cooked for us.

Why these crowns?

Within Ogre's living memory

no-one ever ate a queen.

It was the bed of my poor boys.

It's there that he devoured them.

Are you coming now woman or what?
-Yes. I'm coming.

I'm coming right now.
-I'm coming "who"?

I have a name after all.
-Mr Ogre.

That's better.

There is an Ogre category,
not very common,

that Mr Buffon has classified under
the name fetichus orcus.

Or fetishist Ogre. They take pleasure
in collecting their victims effects.

Our Ogre clearly belonged to this category.

Good God!

It makes me hungry!

Skinny or not...

I'm going to eat my birthday gifts.

The crown, the crown...

Damned! I was on the verge to do foolish
things and eat my own children again!

I drank too much earlier.

A full casket is really too much.

Wake up! We must run away!

Shut up! Be quiet!

Hasten up!

Over there. We'll
pass through the window.

What have I done? What have I done?

I ate my own children!

And it's the second
time it happens to me!

I must be cursed!

What's the matter with you?
Sun isn't up yet. Come back to bed.

What's the matter with me?

It matters that...

I devoured my little vampires,

my little daughters darlings!

My seven daughters!

I mistook them with your gift!

It's not the time to faint!

Come on, watch your behavior!

Wake up cursed woman!

Give me my seven leagues boots.

I must catch them back to
kill them and to eat them!

The small rufians!

They will pay!

They will pay!

The scoundrels!
-But my little girls...

Stop whining, it's disgusting!

Girls! I will give you other girls

and more beautiful yet!

Ah, women! Ah, women!

To us!

My seven little rufians!

The Ogre is coming!
Hide yourselves!

Faster!

There they are!

But where is he hiding?

But where is he hiding?

But where is he hiding?

The smallest one. Too bad.

I will make short work of him.

I'll have him, I'll have him!

I'm falling! I'm falling!

The seven leagues boots were fairies.

They had the gift to adapt to

whoever dare wearing them.

Hey you over there!
Look where I am now.

Hey big fat ogre, don't
you recognize me?

I'm Tom Thumb! Little Tom Thumb!

It's me who made you eat your
seven little daughters.

Mummy!

The Ogre is dead!

The Ogre is dead!

The King!

Sire!

The Ogre is dead! He's been killed!

The Ogre is dead? -Yes Sire.
A young hero has killed him.

"Long live the young hero!" -Where is
this young hero? Show him to me.

He's coming Sire. He's coming.
You must reward him Sire.

In name of God who sees all of us and
in front of my beloved people...

I promote this young hero High Constable!

High Constable!

It's him! The High Constable!

Rosemonde, I want you to come!
Do you hear me?

A King don't break the door of a
young girl's room. Shame on you!

Shame on you!
-I want her to marry the High Constable!

Will you tell me in the end who
is this High Constable?

I don't want the High Constable!
I want Tom Thumb! -Little Princesses
don't marry small lumberjacks.

Why? -It's like that.

Then I refuse to marry anyone.
-You will marry the High Constable!

Sire! Sire! The High Constable!

I don't want to see him.
I won't even look at him.

What? It's him?

But who made him High Constable?

It's me.

He killed the Ogre so in the enthusiasm...
-Don't apologise my good Sire.

Everyone will love you better
for this deed and me first.

The story of Tom Thumb
travelled all around the kingdom.

It reached the ears of a man
named Charles Perrault.

He found it so beautiful that
he promptly put pen to paper

and started to write it.