The Gardens of Versailles
-Come on, gentlemen, hurry up!
5cm to the left, please.
Absolutely everything must be perfect.
This is Versailles!
-Yes, M. Le Nôtre.
-Gentlemen gardeners, work with care this morning.
The stakes are high.
This afternoon, the king will inspect this parterre
in person!
-YES, M. LE NOTRE.
-What do you think, my dear Lupin? -Hm?
-These formal gardens, aren't they spectacular?
This new parterre will be magnificent!
Thanks to M. Le Notre's talent. -Ah huh...
Not bad, yeah.
-Admire these sculpted bushes. They're called topiaries.
The gardeners do a fantastic job.
-Oh!
This one looks like a brioche.
Yummy. Too bad you can't eat it.
-Come on now, what's going on?
-Oh!
But what's happening? Oh, no!
It can't be!
-Moles!
-Moles? Did you say moles?
-I bet you, it's Arlette, Georgette and Colette.
-Er... Who are these people?
-My friends. They're moles. They're really cool.
-Come on!
We've got to get rid of these moles.
To your traps and pitchforks! -YES, M. LE NOTRE.
-Hurry up, gentlemen!
The parterre is in danger.
-They're going to get tools traps and pitchforks.
That's awful...
I'm worried about your friends, we must warn them.
-You're right about that, we have to make them go away.
But it's not going to be easy.
Arlette! Colette! Georgette!
There's someone I want you to meet, show yourself.
Lupin? -Yes, it's Lupin.
Don't move, we're coming.
Uh...
What, where are you? -I'm over here.
-Damn. Stay right there.
-Nope, still not.
Okay, you're getting warm.
-AH? -Hot...
Now you're burning.
Oh? Bingo.
-OH, HI, LUPIN.
-No. This is Belfort.
-Pleased to meet you.
A pleasure. -Oh, say...
I like the way he talks. I'm Arlette.
-I'm Colette. -I'm Georgette.
-We've got a problem. You're going to have to move.
-We do? And why is that?
-Oh no, they're back already!
Quick, hide.
We've got to help the moles. Scare off the gardeners with your "boo".
-What's wrong? There are too many of them and they have pitchforks.
And I'm a wolf. -Yes, you are. I beg your pardon.
Sometimes I forget.
-Hm...
What we need is a big diversion.
Something really big.
-A huge diversion?
An elephantine diversion?
-How does the fate of these rats concern me?
-They are moles.
-How does the fate of these moles concern me?
Do they care about me? No!
They're pleb animals.
-Of the little people. -Hm.
-You know what the little people say to you?
-Calm down, let me do it.
Mrs Rosa, I completely understand your point of view.
But when I think of these magnificent gardens
which will be devastated if we do nothing...
-Gardens? Devastated? Oh, come on...
This is Versailles!
Charge!
-She'll kill us!
-First the moles, and now a pachyderm?
Stop that creature!
-Our diversion's working.
-We're at the top of our game. *Note: There's a French play on words. "Taupe niveau" literally means "Mole level".
-Lead her to the right.
No, the other right!
This is a nightmare!
Don't let her walk on my flower bed! Control this animal!
-YES, MR. LE NOTRE.
-No, my beautiful boxwood borders!
Let me down, pachyderm! These gardens are mine!
Versailles, that's me! -Rosa was perfect.
-Yeah.
It's good to see this snob helping the little people!
Hey, Arlette, Colette, Georgette?
It's us again! Get over here!
-Oh, a trap! I don't want to see this.
-You can open your eyes now.
-Are you all right? Is anyone hurt? No, no. I'm fine.
-I was so afraid you were going to get caught in one of the traps.
-You mean those things? -No problem, we know all about them.
-We know how to avoid them because we can recognize them by smell.
It smells like iron.
-It's not just the traps, Mme Colette.
-I'm Arlette.
-Oh, pardon.
You should know that the gardeners will hunt you down mercilessly.
They've got pitchforks.
-They're not telling stories. You're in serious danger.
-Take a look! Moles and... -What the...
It's a wolf!
-Holy rhododendron! These groves have become a jungle.
Do something, right now!
-Okay, let's run.
My fork...
-Damn moles, get them!
-Oh, it's time.
-What are you doing?
This isn't over. Come back here!
-Sorry, Monsieur Le Nôtre. -The meal break is important.
-It's time.
This is Versailles, monsieur.
-Since that's the way it is, let's go.
To lunch.
-Oh...
-It was a close one. These humans are so weird.
-Yes, they are. But good news, they're gone.
Let's convince your friends to leave before they come back.
-Hey, girls, come on. We can't stay here.
-NO!
-I swear to God...
What a bunch of knuckleheads. -Belfort, if you
don't need me anymore, I'll go back to the menagerie.
-If you don't mind, we'll need you for a moment.
-Trunk ready.
-Go ahead, madam, blow hard.
-Hm?
-I didn't know they were announcing a shower of moles today?
-There are no seasons now days!
-Maybe we went a bit too far, didn't we?
Her's one.
And two.
And three. Here's a basket of moles.
-Well done, Lupin. Let's go. Thank you for your help, Madame Rosa.
-Oh, it was nothing.
But I must say, helping others is exhausting.
-Hey, wait a minute! Where are you taking us?
-My dearest ladies, you are safe in the forest.
-We don't belong here!
What right do you have to send us away?
-But Mrs Georgette... -ARLETTE!
-I'm sorry.
-We didn't mean to to leave that parterre.
We love it.
-It has the tastiest worms of the park.
-Follow me, comrades! Back to the parterre!
-These gardens belong to Louis, my master.
No one has the right to spoil them.
-Just a minute. What are you talking about?
The land belongs to everyone.
-Perfectly, Comrade Lupin. -We can live wherever we want.
-True enough. On the other hand, ladies,
you are not allowed to damage these formal gardens.
Their beauty is renowned throughout the world.
Versailles is the finest example.
This exceptional harmony,
this skilful layout... -We're moles.
Moles, they don't see much.
-Ah. My mistake. I had forgotten that...
That little detail.
So, can you see better?
-Yes, we can see perfectly.
-All that fuss for some flowers and bushes,
no need to make a mountain out of a molehill!
-I beg your pardon?
-Well, I must admit I think it's pretty.
The grass, the flowers, the bushes
that draw those pretty shapes...
-Exactly that's the formal garden.
-Yeah, right. It's lovely.
-It's magnificent, you mean! I've never seen anything more beautiful.
-It's not worth a nice tunnel. -Are you happy?
-Could you dig your tunnels without ruining
the flowers and brioche shaped bushes of Belfort's beloved master?
-HM...
-It should be possible.
-If we know how it's planted, we can avoid them.
-There we are.
-Let's find the drawings of the new parterre.
Lets head to the office of M. Le Nôtre.
Let's ask Gazette to help us. She knows Le Nôtre's work.
-Oh là là, you can't see a thing in here!
-I've never seen so much light!
I feel like I'm in the Sun.
-Yes, and in broad daylight, too.
-Gazette? Gazouillette?
-Hello, Belfort and Lupin.
-How' it going, Gazette?
-Who have you brought?
-Allow me to introduce ladies Arlette, Colette and Georgette.
Ladies, this is Gazette. -HI.
-Pleased to meet you.
-We'd like the drawings of the new parterre.
Can you help us?
-Oh, I'd love to!
-As you saw, M. Le Nôtre's gardens are a marvel.
The topiaries he imagines are so original!
Cube, cone, pompom, sphere, pyramid...
-Giant brioche, too.
-There are so many designs here.
The parterre du midi, the orangery, the Enceladus grove...
Ah, here we are.
The drawings for the new parterre.
-Well done, Gazette. -You're amazing.
Hey, moles, come have a look.
-Where have they gone? -It's nice here.
-You can't stop digging around everywhere?
-NO.
-I'll be right back.
I'll be quick.
-Ah...
-Oh... The drawing, quick!
-What have I done with it?
Ah, here it is.
-Oh no! What a disaster...
-It's a big mistake.
-What's happened?
-Half the drawing burned.
-Without the drawing, all is lost.
-Without the drawing, you won't be able to dig and spare the flowers.
-So, do we have to move?
-We're bound to find a solution.
-Uh... Frankly,
with half, we won't get far.
-No...
Wait... Eureka!
The parterre is symmetrical.
-Sometimes I wonder what language you speak.
-The parterre is made up of two parts,
identical but mirrored.
Like the reflection in this glass.
-But of course!
Thanks to this symmetry
that formal gardens are so harmonious.
-Oh yeah, it's stylish. It's all the same on both sides.
Sisters, come look at this.
-It's good.
We've got it all memorized.
-What? Already?
-Er... Are you sure?
-Quite sure. -We don't have an athlete's vision,
but we do have a good memory.
-It helps us find our way in our tunnels.
-So, congratulations, ladies.
You are truly remarkable.
-The time has come to say goodbye, ladies.
-We'll be careful not to damage anything.
-We're counting on you. -I'll show you out.
You'd better stay hidden here.
-So long, girls.
-So long, Comrade Lupin.
-Oh, Her Majesty's dog has captured the moles!
Good dog.
-Hooray!
-Victory at last!
-Magnificent. Well done.
-Henri, get us rid of these horrors, please.
-No...
-Yes, Monsieur Le Nôtre.
-Let's get back to work.
-This hostile nature won't tame itself!
-Boo! -Oh!
-What's going on now?
-The bag... Where's the bag?
-Find it, go!
Terminus!
-What's all this about?
-What's going on here?
-A wolf!
-Jacques!
Get these animals off my parterre!
-Sorry, that's not part of my duties.
-BOO.
-Hostile nature, 1. Cowardly gardeners, 0.
-As I always say,
we make a great team, dear Lupin.
I hate pollen!
-You saved our lives.
-At your service ladies.
Back to your tunnels.
-Goodbye, Belfort. Goodbye, Lupin.
-So long.
-It is my privilege to to present your new parterre.
-I like it very much.
You've outdone yourself.
My congratulations.
Your skill and talent are incomparable.
-Oh... Your Majesty does me great honor.
-Thank you, dear Lupin.
Thank you to talk some sense into me.
Animals can live where they wish.
-Well, yeah. And if one day you get tired of your castle life,
you can move in with me.
-Charge!
-What's she up to?
-No, we don't need any more distractions.
-That's a relief. It's nap time.
-When we talk about Versailles,
it's impossible not to mention the beauty of its gardens.
To create them, Louis XIV called
upon to André Le Nôtre,
a talented gardener for whom the beauty of the gardens
passes above all through the domestication of nature.
It is called a formal garden:
elegant lawns with symmetrical designs,
water jets and reflections in the fountains,
geometrically chiselled bushes with scissors.
These plant sculptures are called topiaries.
We count 700 of them at Versailles,
cut into 67 different shapes.
Everyday, the Sun King loved to walk in the gardens and groves,
that he helped design.
Today, this endowed garden with 800 statues and 55 fountains and ponds,
changes each season to the pleasure of visitors' eyes.