Art and mane
- Absolutely, the king has commissioned a statue of Richard de Rastignasse.
Oh, can you believe it?
To be carved in stone and have your own statue!
- A statue of our Richard?
- A statue? Oh, how wonderful!
- I don't like statues.
- There, I've finished.
Thank you, Mr. Lion.
Thanks to this sketch, the royal sculptor will make a perfect statue of you.
- What a great honor! - Yes.
But after all, it's only natural.
Who else but me could embody power, majesty, ferocity so perfectly?
- What a graceful approach!
Come, we must try to walk like him.
Look, admire. Ah, what elegance!
- So fresh!
- Have you heard about the latest trend?
You have to walk like this. You see?
The Richard way.
- His walk is more distinguished.
Let me give it a try.
It's a bit difficult...
Damn...
Not sure I'm doing it right.
- Mrs Rosa, you're being ridiculous.
If you can't keep up with the trend, you don't belong in the menagerie.
Old-fashioned, outdated. Unfashionable people don't belong here.
She ridiculous... unfashionable.
- Totally has-been, really!
- So embarrassing.
I'm embarrassed for her.
- But I just... Oh!
- This statue is called "La Fourberie".
That's the Greek god Pan.
- Ah. If you say so.
I call them "the fox lady" and "the flautist".
Belfort, watch out!
- What's the matter with you?
- Are you out of peanuts?
- I've never been so humiliated! Never!
It's that Rastignasse Richard.
He's dictating trends in the menagerie, and
he's banished me because I'm old-fashioned!
- Really, don't worry about it so much! At the menagerie, they're all snobs.
They all think they are better than others.
- I'll never dare go there again!
- Wait, since when do we make fun of someone just because they don't follow trends?
- Welcome to Versailles...
- Don't worry, Madame Rosa.
We'll help you get back in the menagerie. We promise.
- You will?
- The humans! This way, quickly.
- Look at this one.
The marble work is excellent and this pose is so graceful, isn't it?.
- Such grace!
- Yes, such grace. - WHAT ELEGANCE!
- You know what, Belfort?
Your master is like the lion: everyone wants to imitate him.
- They're both hugely influential.
- There's a difference! Louis, my master, is the king.
- And what a king, unlike that lion! This Richard, who does he think he is?
- I've got an idea.
If we can make you more popular than him, you can return to the menagerie.
- Could you?
- I don't know, dear Lupin. I don't know how to become popular.
- You have to do like Richard and Louis, your master.
Follow me. We'll watch them. There's got to be a trick.
- I can't go back
to the menagerie. It's just too hard.
I'd rather make myself small and
wait for you here.
- Whatever Louis, my master, does, his court wants to be like him.
They want the same clothes and, above all, to be close to him.
- Yes, they're clingy. - Exactly.
- It looks like, cats make you more popular.
- It's just weird. Normally, cats are only meant to be super annoying.
But clearly, humans seem fascinated.
- What a cute "meow", "meow"!
- Your Majesty, a gift from the Spanish court.
- Thank you Bontemps. What a beautiful box.
Shall I open it here or at the castle?
- No, Majesty, here!
- I guess opening boxes makes you more popular. Didn't know that.
- Your Majesty's royal collation.
- Mr. Desportes, please make them into a painting, immediately.
- Right away, Your Majesty.
All done. - Magnificent,
I really like it.
- Marvelous - Splendid... Now that's art.
- How strange...
Does making paintings of your food before you eat it make you more popular too?
- Humans are weird.
Let's check out the lion's technique.
Mr. de Lima, why are you walking like that?
- Hey friends, it's the trend of the moment.
You have to walk like Richard. - But why?
- Well, it's obvious.
- Richard is elegant, stylish.
- And so funny, perfect in every way.
How can you not want to imitate him?
Anyone who doesn't is old-fashioned. Period.
- Folks, be careful. The floor is lava.
- Oh, what fun he is! - A real joker.
- Yes, it's the latest fashionable dance. Richard's creation.
- You want my secret to a perfect mane?
Diet. Well, that's that. Glad to help. You're very welcome.
- I take it back. Animals are even worse. They're nuts.
- I'm with you on that.
- What do you want me to do?
- Trust us, we know the techniques.
- Yes, we do. You'll soon be a royal influence.
- Are you sure about this? Belfort, I have my doubts, I admit.
- Just trust us. Go for it.
- I'm so sorry.
- Oh, Madame Rosa... What a cute cat!
- How I love such beautiful cats!
- It ridiculous, it's just a bag of peanuts!
- Go ahead. But slowly, please.
- Oh, my... What's in the bag? The suspense is unbearable.
- That's it, keep going!
- This doesn't make any sense.
- Go ahead, they'll love it.
- If I have to...
- It's freezing!
- Madame Rosa was always amusing, wasn't she?
- Oh, yes, I've always said that.
- Step aside. I want to be the 1st to greet her!
- My secret for dry skin: dust!
You have to sprinkle it on your body in the morning and evening.
- You're welcome.
- That's clever, I'd never have thought of that.
- So clever. - Ridiculous.
That approach may have been fashionable this morning, but not now.
You're slow to catch on. Typical unfashionable habit.
- Gosh, all our efforts are washed away.
- Washed away because of that big lion. He's starting to ruffle my feathers. Who does he think he is?
- No! I'll stay here until my humiliation and shame are wiped from everyone's memory.
- That's going to take a long time.
- We tried to make Madame Rosa popular, but now she's ridiculous.
That's not the solution.
- Richard's the problem.
- You're right, my dear Lupin.
We have to put an end to this behavior. But how?
- Still, all the fuss because your master wanted a lion statue.
He already has a wolf statue.
Am I making a big deal out of it? No...
- You're a genius, that's the solution!
If my master changes his mind
and doesn't want a lion statue, Richard would lose his popularity and influence over the animals.
- You're clever.
- Don't worry about a thing. Everything will work out, I promise.
- Did you know the king ordered a lion statue?
- Of course. Everyone here is talking about it.
- I really want one. I'm going to order one for my castle.
- How do we get Louis to change his mind?
- By modifying the painter's sketches.
Richard will be so ridiculous, that my master won't want him as a model.
- I love the idea.
- Exactly,
I want one also.
- A lion statue is the latest trend.
Ever since the king sent Mr. Desportes to sketch...
- Daddy...
- Come on, Lupin, we're running out of time.
- Oh, Ariane!
Your horrible habit of dropping things, really...
- So sorry Lupin, I didn't see you.
- Yeah, right! I think you broke my brain. Or worse!
- Wolves are all babies.
- Please, let's get back to the topic; Our lion.
This sketch is...
really perfect.
Poor Mr. Desportes... It's a pity to sabotage his excellent work. It would be such a shame.
I don't know if I'd dare.
- This is no time to chicken out! Move aside, I'll take care of it.
- You didn't think it through.
The drawing requires a much more delicate touch.
- Does it? Go ahead, since you're so clever.
- At last you recognize the superiority of felines.
Paint.
- Good heavens, I don't dare look.
- That's it, it has to be really ugly. As ugly as his inner self.
- When I think it was my idea... You're a very bad influence on me.
- You're welcome.
- Someone's coming in! Hide!
- What the... What an intolerable mess! This is Versailles.
Let's see the sketch.
Is it finished?
Oh, for heaven's sake! It's not a lion at all! It's a monster goat.
Oh, no... What will His Majesty say?
- "A monster goat! What will His Majesty say?"
- Yes, it was comical.
- I can't wait to tell the news at the menagerie!
Ah, didn't you hear? The King's changed his mind.
- He'd rather order a statue of a goat than the one of Mr. de Rastignasse.
- NO WAY! ARE YOU SURE?
- Absolutely. Lion statues have become so cheesy!
- I never liked lions.
- We helped bring him down to earth, the naughty cat.
- We certainly did. But didn't we go a bit too far?
- Mr. de Rastignasse... Richard. Are you all right?
- Yes, perfectly. I've never felt better.
- No need to pretend.
- Belfort and I aren't like other animals.
- Well, to be honest. I'm afraid the others don't want to admire me anymore.
- Why do you need them to admire you?
- Because deep down, I'm afraid of being old-fashioned.
I make fun of others, so that they don't make fun of me.
- But now that you've been laughed at, do you understand Madame Rosa?
- I was cruel to her. I didn't realize how painful it was.
What have I done Belfort?
- It's not everyday that you see a lion cry.
- Apparently, the king had changed his mind.
- No more lion, but a goat.
- I'll have to let my sculptor know before he starts.
- What? A statue of a goat?
- What's this strange rumor?
Why do people think I'd want a statue of a goat?
- Well, your Majesty...
It's because of Mr. Desportes' sketch, the one for your next statue.
- Bontemps, go and get that sketch. I'd like to see it.
- Yes, right away.
- Desportes! You call that a lion? Are you blind?
- If I catch the one who sabotaged my sketch...
Little lion! Show yourself, little lion. Where are you?
- What do I hear? The painter? Is he back to draw me?
Was it just a misunderstanding?
- Please go and ask Madame Rosa for forgiveness.
- Little, little, little lion!
Come on, show yourself. It's for the king's sculpture!
- I'm... I'm sorry. Glory calls!
- There you are. You're even more beautiful than you were this morning.
- I knew it! That story about the goat statue was a joke.
I'll be the model for the statue commissioned by the king.
As for you, the pachyderm, you belong in the forest with all the other old-fashioned.
- Oh no, poor Madame Rosa. Dear Lupin, we failed.
- It's not finished. This time, I've had it!
Boo.
- A wolf! A wolf...
- Hey, enough laughing, lion. Come on, down you go, you naughty cat.
- You should be ashamed of humiliating Madame Rosa.
Your behavior is disgraceful.
- You're pathetic. And so are you.
- Have you finished? It was just a joke between friends.
- We're not done yet! By dint of following these trends, you've forgotten your brain.
- And your heart.
- You're snobs. Come on, Belfort. Let's get moving.
- You're right, they're snobs. We don't belong here.
- They're right, he's gone too far.
- Much too far.
- Oh, all is lost... It's hopeless.
In everyone's eyes, I'll always be old-fashioned.
From now on, I'll live here, hidden in the forest.
And that tree there...
No, this one...
will be my only friend. - Madam Rosa...
- The forest is not your home. (She won't last a night here.)
Wild life isn't for her. - What should we do, then?
- Well...
Mrs Rosa and Belfort... the wolf. My apologies.
That statue thing made me lose my mind, but it's over now.
Please come back. The menagerie isn't the same without you.
And maybe someday you'll forgive me.
- I forgive you, Richard.
- I make you a promise: no more mockery or ridiculous tendencies.
- I'm delighted. If I ever have to shower with ice again, I'll go crazy.
- The royal sculptor has just finished it. What do you think Lupin ?
- The statue has a good head.
- I think so too. It shows who Richard really is...
not what he pretends to be.
- Yes. Because basically, he's just a big cat.
- You're right, my dear Lupin. A big tomcat.
- Versailles is like a huge open-air museum, with 824 statues and 55 fountains and pools in the gardens and copses designed under Louis XIV.
The Sun King collected antique statues and commissioned 1,000 statues from sculptors.
Made of marble, bronze or lead, they often depict mythological figures,
such as the goddess Leto, Diana, Pan and Apollo, symbolizing the Sun King.
We also find animals, horses, wolves, stags, eagles, dragons...
A bronze statue depicts Louis XIV on horseback.
These statues have been carefully maintained by restorers over the years, so that they can still be admired today.