NARRATOR: Since the dawn of time...
...storytellers have enchanted audiences with their words.
But there is an even rarer gift:
There are those, who by reading out loud...
...can bring characters to life.
Out of books and into our world.
RESA: Go to sIeep now. Shh. Go to sIeep, baby girI.
-Maybe this wiII work. Let me read to her. RESA: She's too young.
-No. -Shh.
Why don't you read to me?
''Once upon a time, there was a dear IittIe girI. . .
. . .who was Ioved by everyone who met her. . .
. . .but especiaIIy by her grandmother, who wouId've given her anything.
Once she gave her a IittIe hood of red veIvet. ''
What was that?
What?
I don't know. Nothing.
''Red veIvet that suited her so weII. . .
. . .that she refused to wear anything instead of it.
So she was caIIed LittIe Red Riding Hood. ''
Most of these Silvertongues, as they are known...
...prefer to keep their skills a secret.
But some do not even know that this gift is theirs...
...until it is too late.
MO: Is this the right way? MEGGIE: Next turn on the Ieft.
MO: Are you sure? Because I think we missed it.
Who's the driver? Dad.
Who's the navigator? Me.
-Have I ever got us Iost before? -No.
No.
Oh, hey. Look, a Sasquatch.
Hey! Oh, the turning, Ieft, Ieft, Ieft!
The AIpine Antiquarian Bookshop shouId be at the end of this street. . .
. . .and on the right-hand side of the square.
Good.
By the way, how come every bookshop we go to is a thousand years oId?
Why can't we go to one. . .
. . .that seIIs hot chocoIate and books that are actuaIIy new?
What good wouId a bookbinder Iike me be in a new bookstore?
-I Iove oId books. The marbIed pages-- -End papers, the Ieather binding. . . .
This is my kind of pIace.
-Maybe you'II find it here, Mo. -Find what?
That book you're aIways Iooking for.
-I'm not Iooking for anything particuIar. MEGGIE: You don't think I've noticed?
You never Ieave a bookshop unIess you've checked every corner.
-Don't we? -No, you aIways come away disappointed.
Sometimes your eyes are even a IittIe red.
It's because oId books are dusty.
Hey, Iook, Harriet the Spy.
I'm going inside. You want to come?
-The Secret Garden! -Or I guess you couId stay here.
[BELL RINGS]
Afternoon. I'm Mortimer FoIchart.
Ah! The famous book doctor.
WeII, you're just in time.
Look at this poor patient.
-Uh-oh. -Do you think we can save him?
-I think the prognosis is good. -ExceIIent.
-Quite the coIIection you have. -Yes.
-If you'd Iike to Iook around, be my guest. -Thank you.
VOICE 1 [WHISPERING ] : Fine, intelligent eye.
What do you say to calling him Black Beauty?
[VOICES WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
VOICE 2: Oh, my dear child.
VOICE 3: Imagine, Heidi.
VOICE 4: Capricorn 's men were looking for Dustfinger in the wrong place.
VOICE 5: Southwest end of Treasure Island.
VOICE 4: He hadn 't left the village.
He hadn 't even tried.
Dustfinger was in Basta 's house.
VOICE 6: What is that? Coming over the hill? It's a beast of some kind!
Dustfinger.
He doesn't Iike to be tickIed.
And you shouId be more carefuI.
His name's Gwin.
And I know he Iooks charming. . .
. . .but you know what they say about books and covers.
Uh. . . . Yeah, I do.
I aIso know what they say about taIking to strangers. Excuse me.
But I'm not a stranger, Meggie.
You won't remember me, we onIy met once, and you were quite smaII.
But I'm no stranger.
HeIIo, SiIvertongue.
I was just having a taIk with your daughter.
Meggie, go wait for me in the van.
It's aII right, he's a friend.
-Dad. -Do it now!
Let's you and me go for a IittIe waIk.
I've been Iooking for you.
I've been one step behind you for years.
Waiting for you to find what it is you've been searching for.
Just teII me what you want.
I want you to put right the wrong you did nine years ago.
And I'm here to warn you, Capricorn knows where you're staying.
His men are there now waiting for you and your daughter to come home.
-He wants you to read for him. -WeII, he's out of Iuck.
I don't read aIoud anymore.
If he finds you, you reaIIy think you'II have a choice?
I couId heIp you stay hidden, but I won't.
Not unIess you promise to send me home. I've been here too Iong.
Send me home, SiIvertongue.
-Read to me. -I'm sorry, I can't heIp you.
It's too dangerous. It's uncontroIIabIe.
DUSTFINGER: If you won't heIp me, I'II find someone who can.
Just give me the book.
What book? I don't have the book.
-You don't have the book? -No.
I've searched everywhere. I don't have it.
What's in the bag?
Did you finaIIy find one?
It's funny, isn't it? Strange, my turning up here right at that very moment.
You know, there are times in Iife when the stars just simpIy aIign.
MO: But this is not one of those times!
MEGGIE: Dad!
-Meggie! -What's happening?
I toId you to stay in the van! Run!
Get in, get in!
Come on. Start!
DUSTFINGER: Stop! I'm trying to heIp you!
-What are you doing? Leave it aIone. -I want to see the book!
You're not to touch that book, understand?
I don't understand. I don't understand at aII.
What is that book? Why did the freaky man with the scars want it?
-Why did he caII you SiIvertongue? -I can't teII you.
-You have to teII me. -No. I have to protect you.
And your mother.
My mother? What has this got to do with my mother?
Meggie, pIease just. . . .
I'm scared, Mo.
Meggie, I'm going to take care of you.
I aIways have, and I aIways wiII.
At Ieast teII me where we're going.
We're going to ItaIy.
You have a great aunt there. It's very important that we get there. Okay?
PIease, Meggie. No more questions.
So she's friendIy, this great aunt of mine?
MO: You'II Iike her.
[BELL RINGING ]
WOMAN: WouId you pIease stop ringing that damn beII!
After a whiIe. She's kind of an acquired taste.
Right.
What?
EIinor.
WeII, for the Iove of Thomas Hardy.
ELINOR: I'm so gIad you've finaIIy made your way back here, Mortimer.
My poor books are in a terribIe state of disrepair.
Don't worry. I'II take care of it.
Don't pIay with your food, chiId. You're not a toddIer.
Look at her, she's as thin as a soap bubbIe.
Oh, she so reminds me of her mother.
Not just when she opens her mouth, if she ever does. Speaking of--
We haven't heard from her, if that's what you mean.
Oh, weII, no matter.
I grew up without a mother. Didn't do me any damage whatsoever.
No, my mother just suddenIy dashed off on safari one day and never came back.
It's what the women in our famiIy seem to do, they just go off on adventures.
Not me, I prefer to stay where I am.
But your mother. . . .
WeII, she wanted the reaI thing.
My mum wanted me.
And then one day she was gone, without expIanation.
-Is that what you caII an adventure? -No, that's what I caII abandonment.
WeII done, EIinor.
Oh, weII, you know it's the truth.
MEGGIE: Mum did not abandon us.
MO: No. No, she didn't.
WeII, then what reaIIy happened to her?
I'm not a chiId anymore. I'm aII grown up.
AImost.
Enough to know the most important thing that's ever happened to me.
Don't you think I've reaIized why I'm not in reguIar schooI?
And why we're aIways traveIing around from pIace to pIace?
AII these years you've been Iooking for Mum.
And that book, but I just don't understand how those two things. . . .
Meggie.
You have to teII me something.
-I write about her sometimes. -You do?
Yeah. I make up stories about--
You make up stories? Meggie, you know I don't want you doing that.
But I have to.
I feeI Iike the words bring her back to me.
Yeah.
The written word.
It's a powerfuI thing.
You have to be carefuI with it.
Do you think we'II ever see her again?
I hope we do, Meggie.
I hope we do.
Step away from that case! Three steps back!
MEGGIE: Um, um. . . .
What are you doing? This pIace is not for chiIdren.
I thought I made that cIear. Come on, out.
I'm sorry, I was just Iooking for a book to read.
Is that a nose print?
Do you have any idea how vaIuabIe this manuscript is?
Yes, I know.
Oh, you know, do you?
It's Persian, isn't it?
I can teII from the iIIuminations. . .
. . .the pinks and the bIues and the goId-patterned background.
Maybe from the Iate 1 2th century or so?
Goodness me, what a IittIe know-it-aII.
It's beautifuI.
Yes, it is, isn't it? But I just adore everything Persian.
-You've been to Persia, then? -Yes, a hundred times.
AIong with St. Petersburg, Paris, MiddIe Earth, distant pIanets and Shangri-Ia.
And I never had to Ieave this room.
Books are adventure. They contain murder and mayhem and passion.
They Iove anyone who opens them.
If I promise not to touch anything. . .
. . .couId I maybe just sit and read in here for a whiIe?
That was the window seat where she used to curI up and read.
She?
Your mother.
Your father used to read to her here.
This was hers.
If I find even a bookmark out of pIace, I'II Iock this room up. . .
. . .and you'II never see the inside of it again, that I can promise you.
[RAINDROPS PATTERING ]
VOICE 1 [WHISPERING ] : Then Dorian Gray half opened the door.
As he did so....
[VOICES WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
VOICE 2: Farewell....
VOICE 3: --trapped inside....
VOICE 4: --desire of revenge....
I tried to warn you.
I gave you every opportunity to heIp me, but you refused.
AII you had to do was read me back. You couId have kept the book.
But you had to run.
So I turned to Capricorn.
-What? -He's promised to heIp me.
What have you done?
[GLASS SHATTERING ]
Meggie!
There are men outside! They're trying to break into the house!
MO: Meggie!
Mo, Iook out!
Mortimer, my books!
HeIIo, SiIvertongue.
-Basta? -Did you miss me?
Stop!
ELINOR: Oh, you iIIiterate cretins! BASTA: HoId him!
These are masterpieces you're destroying!
Masterpieces, you ignorant haIfwit!
Stop! I swear, I'II kiII every Iast one of you!
You know I couId! It wouId take a few words!
Oh, we won't have to worry about your words if we cut out your tongue!
You remember my caIIing card, don't you?
One, two, three!
If that doesn't work. . .
. . .weII, there's aIways your daughter.
-Get off me! -No one gets hurt.
Yes, the fire! The fire.
Isn't that what we agreed? Isn't that what we agreed?
Yes, we agreed, we agreed, we agreed!
EviI spirits, I repeI thee. EviI spirits, I repeI thee!
MEGGIE: Dad! Dad!
Right, get them in the van.
-You're not taking them too. -Capricorn's orders.
After aII, we are going to require a IittIe Ieverage. . .
. . .to make Daddy read.
Meggie!
Don't drag my daughter into this. For God's sakes, she's just a chiId.
-No, don't! No! -What's this?
-No. -My onIy hope of finding my wife.
-My onIy hope of going home! -No!
What is it? When wiII you teII me what is going on?
Has your father ever read you a bedtime story, Meggie?
-You might want to ask him why. -Give me this.
I'II take that!
ELINOR: No!
Oh, my books! No!
FLATNOSE: Come aIong, now. Hurry up.
ELINOR: Oh, my books!
[COCKS GUN]
Come on!
Meggie.
Where are we?
They're here.
MAN: Hey, they're coming!
Oh, how IoveIy.
After you.
Come on, out! Out!
ELINOR: Oh, they're rude!
BASTA: Move! Move!
[ALARM RINGING ]
MEGGIE: It's ticking.
FIying monkeys.
-What is this pIace? -I don't know.
FLATNOSE: WeIcome to our humbIe abode.
-Enjoy your stay. -Go on!
No, I wiII not share this fiIthy hoveI with aII those creatures!
MAN 1 : Go on, get in!
MAN 2: In you go!
ELINOR: What are we doing here, Mortimer?
[ANIMALS GROWLING ]
Where did those monsters come from?
Books.
They came out of books.
What are you taIking about?
Mortimer, be quick, be cIear, or I swear I'II disinherit you.
Came out of books? What do you mean?
Come here.
Meggie. . .
. . .this is the story you have been waiting to hear.
EIinor, you were away at a book fair. . .
. . .and we were housesitting for you. Me, Meggie, your mum.
And that night we were in the library...
...so I opened a copy of a book we'd just bought.
Inkheart.
MO: It was a good read. Full of adventure and magic...
. . .and a creature caIIed The Shadow. Terrifying.
I read several chapters aloud and nothing happened.
Then they appeared, out of nowhere...
...from the medieval world of the book. At first it was Capricorn...
...a thuggish bandit working for an evil duke.
Then Basta, his knife-wielding sidekick.
And then Dustfinger...
...a traveling fire juggler with magical powers.
My voice brought them out.
Your voice brought them out of the book?
And her mother went in.
That's how it works.
Dustfinger saved us from Capricorn that night.
It was only then that I realized...
...Resa, your mum...
. . .she was gone.
They'd come out of the book, and she went into it.
Resa!
And that, Meggie, was the Iast time that I read to you.
The night we Iost your mother.
Oh, she went into the book.
Oh. Goodness sake, Mortimer!
AII these years you've aIIowed me to think the worst of Resa!
-Why didn't you teII us? -WouId you have beIieved me?
You want to read Mum back out of the book.
That's why you've been searching for Inkheart aII these years.
If she's aIive, you mean.
You say she's trapped in that book. How do you know?
Who's to say she got there? If she did. . .
. . .how couId she survive for nine years if the monsters are anything Iike those?
Or worse.
How do you know where she is? Or if she's aIive, even.
How do you know?
-It's Iike the iIIustration in the book. -Kind of scary.
It's hideous. The man's got no taste whatsoever.
Look, wiII you stop pushing me!
Meggie, just pretend that you're in a book. ChiIdren aIways escape in books.
No, they don't.
Remember The Little Match Girl?
They found her in an aIIey frozen to death.
WaIk.
Ah.
Come in.
We saved you the good seats.
MO: Capricorn.
ELINOR: Uh! I toId you to stop that!
PIease.
You got oId.
You got a castIe.
-Indeed, I did. -And a haircut.
A IoveIy castIe in a secIuded part of the country. . .
. . .far from prying eyes.
Oh, yes, I've adjusted rather weII to your worId, don't you think?
This must be your daughter. So much Iife to Iive.
You, however, are a noisy oId bag.
You make a racket without opening your mouth.
You barbaric piece of puIp fiction!
Your maIice is matched by your stupidity!
I don't know how things are in that third-rate noveI of yours. . .
. . .but where I come from one does not go around ravaging Iibraries!
My Iife's work, destroyed by a bunch of unread, soIecistic thugs!
I have no patience for oId women with big mouths.
You know my reader.
Darius, why don't we show our guests what I have been up against?
Read that.
[STUTTERING ] But you said. . .
. . .I wouIdn't have to read once he got here.
[STUTTERS] Yes, weII, I Iied, didn't I, when I said that?
[MEN LAUGHING ]
Read the book.
''RapunzeI had spIendid Iong hair.
It was as fine as spun goId.
And when she heard--''
[WOMAN YELLING ]
HeIp! No!
HeIp!
[MEN LAUGHING ]
You see?
Look at the writing on her face. She's onIy been haIf read out of the book.
-Take her to the dungeon. RAPUNZEL: No!
-And give her a haircut. RAPUNZEL: No!
I'm not going to read out Ioud, if that's what you're intending.
-Not with them in the room. -Bring the girI up, pIease.
You take your--
Here's how this wiII work: You'II do exactIy what I teII you to do. . .
. . .or I'II kiII the oId Iady and Iock your daughter up for eternity. Is that cIear?
Great. WeII, Iet's get things started, shaII we?
This is a great book, fiIIed with riches.
Reading out treasure?
For now. Someone has to pay for repairs, and aII the IocaIs have been bIed dry.
I'm warning you. I have no controI over what comes and goes.
I have no idea what's going to happen.
WeII, this shouId be fun, then. Let's give it a whirI.
''Kasim gazed upon the treasures within the cave.
Mountains of goId and siIver were heaped from fIoor to ceiIing.
PiIes of siIks and sacks of jeweIs.
Kasim gathered aII the treasure he couId carry. . .
. . .onIy to find the door of the cave seaIed shut.
And by the wiII of AIIah. . .
. . .he'd forgotten the password.
He cried out, 'Open BarIey!'
But the door did not budge. Kasim named every grain of wheat he couId think of.
'Open Buckwheat!' 'Open MiIIet!'
But stiII the door wouId not open.
Then came the sound of approaching hooves. ''
[HOOVES PATTERING ]
Sand.
''Kasim ran to hide, but tripped, sending coins spiIIing in every direction.
Then came the muffIed caII of 'Open Sesame!'
And the cave opened. . .
. . .to reveaI a most unpIeasant coIIection. . .
. . .of bandits. ''
What?
You see?
BASTA: Yes! Yes!
That's how it's done!
[YELLS]
Look! What'd I teII you?
Put that boy in the stabIe and feed him to the ticking crocodiIe.
But if he came out, who went in?
HeIp.
It's my turn now.
Just Iike you promised.
Your turn?
Oh, you mean this.
It's an incredibIy rare book, this. We've been tracking them down for years.
I can't send you back. I don't know how.
Send us back?
Why wouId we ever want to go back. . .
. . .when your worId is so accommodating?
With your teIephones and your guns and. . . .
What's that sticky stuff caIIed?
-Duct tape. -Yes, duct tape.
I Iove duct tape.
Besides, what was I in Inkheart?
The Adderhead's henchman.
Living in the woods with aII those fiIthy beasts.
But Iook at me now.
I've got a castIe.
I'II never go back. None of us ever wiII.
To make sure of that, I'm going to do what I aIways do. . .
. . .when someone digs up a copy of this tedious book.
You promised I'd be sent home.
Yes, I know. I Iied when I said that.
I mean, I'm a Iiar. I Iie aII the time. Lie, Iie, Iie.
After aII these years, you'd think he'd figure it out by now.
-No! -No!
Get it! Get it out!
No!
Must you do that every singIe time? It's pathetic, honestIy.
Don't!
Now, get your burns tended to.
Otherwise, I'II be forced to canceI our JuggIe Night.
You know how much I Iook forward to JuggIe Night. Lock them up.
Hey, Darius. Don't forget to feed the crocodiIe, wiII you?
Oh, for the Iove of Theseus!
No, no, no. He didn't mean it.
He's just hungry. It's not his fauIt.
He's a Minotaur.
[STUTTERING ] He can bareIy waIk, thanks to Darius and his reading.
COCKERELL: A Iot is down to this jackass.
We came out with haIf the book tattooed across our face. Look at my eye.
[IN NORMAL VOICE] If you think that's bad, Iook at the state of my nose.
-It's disgusting. -Ye-- AII right.
So you can imagine how pIeased we are that you're here.
DeIighted. Because now we got someone who can reaIIy read.
I hurt myseIf.
Again.
I don't understand it.
In Inkheart, my hands, they never burned.
But here. . . !
Fire has no sense of humor.
You're trying to escape again?
Resa. . .
. . .give up.
We're not going anywhere.
For a moment. . .
. . .I heId Inkheart in my hands.
But it's ashes now.
And I shaII never go home.
But you. . .
. . .you stiII have hope.
When Darius read you out of InkworId, he Ieft your voice behind in that book.
But if you couId taIk. . .
. . .wouId you teII me your story?
WouId you?
No.
No, you wouIdn't. It's because of how I'm written, isn't it?
You think me weak and deceitfuI.
It's not aII I am.
Not aII of me.
It's just a dream.
It's just a dream. It's just a dream.
Are you aII right?
-What's your name? -My name is Farid.
-Are you one of the 40 thieves? -Stop taIking to me.
Don't you know it's bad Iuck to speak in a dream? You stupid girI.
You taIk in a dream, you never find your way back.
''Stupid''?
You're the one who thinks you're in a dream. I was just trying to be nice.
Go back to your muttering and see if I care.
It's just a dream. Just a dream.
Come home.
PIease come home.
Good morning.
Thank you.
How can I ever repay you?
Resa, even if I couId find you a key, where wouId you go?
This is your famiIy?
This is your husband?
Your daughter?
You went in the book when I came out.
You went in the book. . .
. . .when I came out. . .
. . .and then Darius read you out again.
Gwin.
I'm gonna get you out of these chains, and then you're going home.
[SNORING ]
I'II meet you at the stabIes.
[CHATTERING ]
I've never been that in controI before.
I know I can get Resa out of the book.
And maybe send Capricorn back in.
We just have to find another copy.
WeII, it onIy took you nine years to find the Iast one.
I bet the author has a copy.
If he's aIive, I bet he'd have one.
Someone must know where he Iives.
Great. Now we're going to have to try to escape, aren't we?
Either that, or get fed to the ticking crocodiIe next door.
MO: Someone has to stop him.
Before you say anything, I'm here to save your necks.
After putting them on the chopping bIock in the first pIace?
Listen, you want your wife back as much as I want to go home to my famiIy.
You think there's another copy of Inkheart out there, Iet's find it together.
And how do you intend that we escape?
Page 1 4.
The mighty storm?
MAN 1 : Get in the castIe! MAN 2: Let's go!
MO: ''From the far north they heard a low wail of the wind...
...and Uncle Henry and Dorothy could see...
... where the long grass bowed in waves before the coming storm.
'There's a cyclone coming, Em. I'll go after the stock. '''
Good doggies.
''Suddenly, Uncle Henry stood up. ''
MAN 3: Get out of the square!
''He ran toward the sheds where the cows and the horses were kept.
Aunt Em dropped her work and came to the door.
One glance told her of the danger close at hand.
'Quick, Dorothy! Run for the cellar!'''
There she is! Come on!
''A strange thing happened.
The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air.
Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon. ''
That shouId do it!
MAN 1 : Let's get out of here!
Must've run off!
MAN 2: HeIp me!
Come here! Let's go.
MAN 1 : Come on! MAN 2: Straight on!
-Come on! MAN 3: Get them!
Come on, get up!
MO: You were right.
[MOUTHING ] Mo!
DUSTFINGER: Gwin! -Meggie!
ELINOR: Meggie!
MAN 1 : Look! HoId on! HoId on! Wait, hoId on!
MAN 2: Don't move!
DUSTFINGER: Watch out!
Dustfinger!
MEGGIE: Where are we going?
Don 't leave me!
The prisoners!
They're escaping!
MO: Run!
MEGGIE: Hurry, get in! MO: Run, run!
Get in, get in!
MEGGIE: Get the keys, hurry up! DUSTFINGER: Take aII the keys!
MO: Which one? DUSTFINGER: The one with the nine!
DUSTFINGER: Wait, wait, wait, Gwin!
Come on, Gwin.
Come on! Okay, go, go!
HoId on!
MEGGIE: Watch out!
[YELLS]
StiII think you're dreaming?
FARID: WeII, what eIse couId it be?
We're fIying.
Or is it the night fIying past us?
MO: He Iives in AIassio.
ELINOR: Which way is that?
MO: South. ELINOR: South?
Can't you be more precise?
Beats a cameI, huh?
ELINOR: Farid.
Oh, hooIigan.
Farid, some cIothes for you. You'II freeze to death otherwise.
ApparentIy this is the pIace.
Man in the fishmonger's says he Iives in an apartment over the square.
Good. Great.
Oh, I'm not coming.
What do you mean? You have to come, otherwise he won't beIieve me.
DUSTFINGER: Oh, I don't know. You can be pretty persuasive.
MO: Huh? -You taIked me out of a book.
The book is right here within our grasp--
You're afraid.
You've never read Inkheart, have you?
DUSTFINGER: What's there to read?
I've Iived it. Except for the end, and I've got no interest in that.
WeII, why not?
Do you know the end of your story, Meggie?
No. And I suspect you wouIdn't want to.
It'd be Iike turning to the Iast page of a mystery.
-Where's the fun in that? -WeII, I think I know the end of my story.
MO: Hm? -I'm going home.
Why?
I'm sorry. It's just aII too reaI for me.
I prefer a story that has the good sense to stay on the page where it beIongs.
No, I have to get back to my poor, desecrated books.
I want to mend them, put them in order.
-I'II do that. Let me-- -Here's some money for you.
You see, I've aIready bought my ticket.
Goodbye.
Good Iuck.
-EIinor-- -Let her go.
ELINOR: Don't catch coId.
Bye, then.
Here it is. This must be it.
That's it.
What? Oh.
-Signor FenogIio? -Yes?
Sir, my name's Mortimer FoIchart.
-I'm Meggie. -My daughter.
-I want to be a writer too. -You do?
Yes. Give me something to write with. Be quick, I've got a cake in the oven.
You Iook Iike you've been taxidermied.
-If you want an autograph, give me a pen. -We don't want one.
-You don't want an autograph? -No.
Then why in the name of Chaucer's beard are you ringing?
WeII. . . .
Dustfinger's in the piazza, we just escaped from Capricorn's viIIage. . .
. . .and you won't even beIieve what Basta tried to do.
What?
Come home.
PIease, come home.
A good story, I'II give you that.
SiIvertongues is a wonderfuI concept. Wish I thought of it.
Too absurd to take seriousIy.
I know my characters are so beIievabIe that they seem to Ieap off the page.
But it's simpIy not possibIe.
ExactIy as I imagined him.
This must be what it feeIs Iike to give birth.
Wait, where you going? He doesn't want to meet.
Of course he does. I'm practicaIIy his father.
WeII, what was that at the end?
It's caIIed Dragon's Breath.
You can teach to me?
I'm sure that this must be very exciting for you to meet your characters.
But the purpose that we came here was to find a way. . .
. . .to get him back in the book.
Your father's given me an idea for a character.
A master thief who steaIs things. . .
. . .the way a bIue jay swipes shiny objects off window siIIs.
I am not trying to steaI them.
You snatched them. You're trying to keep them from me.
That, my friend, is thievery.
I'm just trying to get my wife back.
Dustfinger.
-So wonderfuI to meet you. -Oh, no, no. No.
The scars are perfect. As hideous as I imagined.
MO: I toId you, he's afraid. FENOGLIO: But, oh, not me, I hope.
He's afraid of what happens at the end of the book.
What do you mean? Because he dies?
MO: Oh, no.
-Oh, I see. Right, I'm sorry. -He dies in the end?
I had to make the story exciting, it's my job. They can't aII have happy endings.
Life doesn't aIways, after aII.
How's it happen?
You're kiIIed by one of Capricorn's men whiIe trying to save Gwin.
It's a very touching death scene. I cried when I wrote it.
You think I care what you wrote?
You don't controI my fate. Otherwise I wouIdn't be here.
I'm not just some character in your book. . .
. . .and you. . .
. . .you're not my god.
Now, Iisten, oId man. . .
. . .do you have a copy of the book or don't you?
Because I wouId Iike to go home now, pIease.
FENOGLIO: The probIem is it's been out of print for decades.
PIus, the originaI print run was quite smaII.
Then there was the fire in the warehouse. . .
. . .and the pubIishers went out of business.
DUSTFINGER [WHISPERS] : This is gonna take forever.
Stop it. This is no time to act fooIishIy.
-Stop it. -You're as sour as goat's urine.
Thanks. And I don't want to know how you know that.
Look around. This garden is paradise.
No sIave drivers. No sandstorms.
-No fIeas. -No peace and quiet.
No, it's not that one either.
I did hoId on to a few copies. . .
. . .but I Ioaned them to a book exhibition in Genoa a few years ago. . .
. . .and they were stoIen.
I suppose Capricorn was behind the theft.
At the time I assumed it was just bad Iuck.
-Ah! Here we are. -What is it?
The originaI manuscript. Look at that! Typewritten, can you imagine?
Grabbies.
After aII these years, I stiII remember the characters.
The water nymphs in the Wayless Wood.
And in the castles of Umbra...
... the Black Prince.
The Motley Folk.
And of course you, Dustfinger.
As well as the villains:
The Adderhead, Capricorn and the Fire Raisers.
And the worst of aII, The Shadow.
It's a wonderfuI book, I must say.
I'd give anything to go into it myseIf.
WeII, get in Iine, oId man.
I've got page 209 to 447. What do you got?
I have the rest.
AII right. Need that.
Now you can read me back, right?
WeII, I'II try to. But that's onIy after I've read my wife out, and she's aII right.
It's the onIy way I'm gonna do it.
-We might have a probIem. -What are you taIking about?
You can't read her out.
Why?
Because she's not in the book.
MO: What are you not teIIing me? DUSTFINGER: I've seen her.
She's not actuaIIy in the book anymore.
-She's. . . . MO: Where?
She's in Capricorn's viIIage. Darius read her out.
She's aIive?
We were just there and you didn't teII me!
-We need the book. -We didn't need the book!
I needed the book!
My mum was there and you didn't teII us?
Listen. . . . Yeah, don't Iook at me Iike that. . .
. . .because if your Dad knew the truth, he wouIdn't have heIped me. . .
. . .and I need the book.
-SeIfish, repugnant, weak character! -BIame him, he wrote me that way.
-I disagree. -You teII me how to find her!
Not untiI you promise to read me back.
-TeII me how to find my wife. -I miss my famiIy too.
AII right.
Promise.
I promise.
I want to heIp save Mum too.
-Take me with you. -You know I can't do that.
But I can heIp.
You can heIp by staying here and being safe. That's what you can do.
You don't know what I can do.
And neither do I.
Meggie, wiII you pIease--?
Okay, come on. You got to stay here.
-Thanks very much. Take care of Meggie. -Yes.
-And Farid as weII. -What?
-Take care of Farid as weII. -Of course.
FENOGLIO: Why can't I come too? It's my car.
Sweetheart.
Just bring her back.
I wiII.
Reduced to babysitting. MarveIous.
MAN: Hurry up, we'II miss the train. GIRL 1 : How Iong wiII it take to get there?
WOMAN: Not very Iong. Come on.
GIRL 1 : Can I sit next to you, Mum? GIRL 2: Me too.
WOMAN: I'II sit in the middIe.
[SNORING ]
VOICE [WHISPERING ] : ''That just happened, '' said Dorothy, simply.
''I could not help it. ''
You have no right to....
''If you wish me to use my magic powers to send you home...
... you must do something for me first.
Help me and I will help you. ''
''What must I do?'' said the girl.
''Kill the Wicked Witch of the West. ''
[WOMAN CACKLING ]
MEGGIE: ''From the far north they heard a Iow waiI of the wind. . .
. . .and UncIe Henry and Dorothy couId see where the Iong grass bowed. . .
. . .before the coming storm. ''
''It was Toto that made Dorothy Iaugh.
He was a IittIe bIack dog with Iong siIky hair. . .
. .and smaII bIack eyes that twinkIed merriIy. . .
. . .on either side of his funny wee nose. ''
Toto? Oh, Toto, don't be scared.
You're just not in Kansas anymore.
Oh, Toto.
Toto, come out from under there.
You're gonna get me in troubIe.
[KNOCKING ]
FENOGLIO: It's me. Open the door.
Just a minute.
And not another sound. I mean it.
I'm sorry, I had no choice.
But, Iook, it's Basta.
And I'm sorry, but I'm afraid aII the henchmen bIend into one, even to me.
HeIIo, princess. Where's your father?
ToId him he'd gone, but they don't beIieve me.
-You toId them? -He heId a knife to my throat.
Isn't he awfuI? And they don't beIieve I'm the author.
TeII us where SiIvertongue is before I kiII you both.
Toto, no!
Toto?
Oh, my goodness!
She's inherited her father's gift.
Another SiIvertongue.
OId Capricorn wiII be pIeased.
Bring them both.
So if Darius read her out of the book. . . .
Oh, no, no, no. She's fine.
-MostIy. She-- -MostIy?
She's got no voice.
-What? -He read her out Iast spring. . .
. . .and she has no voice.
But apart from that, she's fine.
[GWIN CHITTERING ]
-PuII over. -For what?
-Just puII over. -That makes sense, you speaking weaseI.
I thought I toId you to stay with the oId man.
FARID: But he's mean.
Not as mean as Capricorn.
He doesn't scare me. I was raised by murderers and thieves.
WeII, he shouId scare you.
-I shouId make you waIk back. -I'd onIy foIIow you.
Get in.
FARID: After this, you teach me Dragon's Breath--
Just get in the car.
HeIIo, Mr. FenogIio?
Oh.
MO: These guys are just circIing the perimeter.
We shouId move in now.
When we get to maid's quarters. . .
. . .Resa's room is the third door on the right when we go in back.
I'II go in the back. You guys cover me.
AII right, this is our way in.
Now, Iisten, this is going to be dangerous so you need to keep up.
Got to move quickIy.
After you.
ShaII we rest?
No, that's okay. Just keep moving.
-Kids. -No, I'm fine.
[YELLING ]
MAN 1 : What was that? MAN 2: Where?
MAN 3: There!
-Over there! MAN 1 : Shoot him!
-Bring him down! MO: Thanks.
MAN 1 : They're there behind the square. MO: Oh, no.
DUSTFINGER: WeII, come on. Quick.
[YELLING ]
MAN 2: Hurry! Go on! MAN 3: Head him off at the square!
MAN 4: Don't Iet him get away!
Look. Look at this. Look at the Dragon's Breath.
I think I got it. Here, feeI my hand.
It's been too Iong. I'm going to see if he's aII right.
COCKERELL: Come on. MAN 1 : We'II find him.
MAN 2: He's not far away.
-WeII done. Thank you. -My pIeasure.
Look who's back. This is nice.
Just in time for your execution.
AII right.
Capricorn's castIe is Iike a five-star hoteI.
Not for you, obviousIy. You'II be Iocked in the crypt.
But some of our guests get a room with a view.
Resa.
Sorry.
Listen, your husband's here.
He's come to rescue you.
MAN 1 : That way! That way!
There!
MAN 2: Come on!
What happened?
They're going to kiII Dustfinger.
MO: Shh, shh.
COCKERELL: Here. -They're going to kiII him, it's my fauIt.
No, it's not. What happened?
AII the Ietters of the aIphabet.
It Iooks just Iike my book.
It's Iike waIking into my own imagination.
I wonder what Capricorn's going to make you read.
I hope it's something good.
I'm excited, I am. Are you, eh?
MEGGIE: '''What raft, Jim?' 'Our old raft. '
'You mean to say our oId raft wasn't smashed aII to fIinders?' ''
I'm convinced.
Though I don't know what that poor boy wiII do without his raft.
-No. -I'm tired of doing stupid tricks for you.
TeII me where my father is.
I have absoIuteIy no idea.
Quite frankIy, I don't care, because you read just as weII as he does.
What are you gawking at?
You're just as I wrote you.
A cowardIy thug.
How dare you.
You'II pay for your fiIthy story!
OnIy the king can puII it out.
Don't you remember?
[MEGGIE CHUCKLES]
Don't you ever Iaugh at me.
Get it away from me. I want it executed with the others.
The dog? You want the dog executed?
As for you, we'II see how you enamored of your creations you are. . .
. . .when The Shadow is fIaying the skin off your back.
You can't bring it out of the book. You burnt the Iast copy. I saw you do it.
Wrong.
I saved a copy of the book for myseIf.
Aren't I fuII of surprises?
No, I couIdn't burn them aII, couId I?
Not with my oId friend trapped inside.
Oh, you are going to Iove him.
And by Iove, I mean cower in terror from.
You see, I Iove this worId. . .
. . .and I intend to write my name on every page of it.
You. . .
. . .and The Shadow are going to heIp me do just that.
I won't read anything for you.
Oh, reaIIy?
Let me show you what happens to those who disobey me around here.
She's been very naughty, this one.
Tiresome in the extreme.
AIways trying to escape.
So I'm putting an end to it.
-Meggie. -Mum.
It's you.
Mo's here. We're going to get out. We're going to escape. We'II aII escape.
CAPRICORN: WeII. . .
. . .what a touching dispIay of empathy.
''Mum. ''
Look at me.
Yes, I can see the resembIance.
Do you stiII think I can't convince you to read for me?
No! Mum! Mum!
PIease! PIease!
Meggie!
FLATNOSE: Is it too Iate to make any changes?
Changes?
Thinking perhaps you might be abIe to add a few Iines, you know what I mean?
I don't need to be some great beauty, or anything.
I don't know if you noticed my nose.
Oh, your nose. Yes, right.
Think you couId do that? Rewrite things, change things a bit.
I don't know. It's a wonderfuI idea.
Move.
-What are you doing? Get off me. -You can't go down there.
-They have my daughter. -They'II kiII her if you do anything.
-I shouId never have Ieft her aIone. -We have to stay hidden.
FENOGLIO: Nothing to be frightened of. It's just dusty oId coffins.
If there are any nasty spirits down here, it's not us they're angry at.
MORTOLA: Princess needs to rest that voice of hers for tonight.
I've seen my mum. She's a prisoner here.
I know.
Have you seen my dad?
Yeah, he's fine.
Capricorn's got another copy of the book.
He's gonna make me read The Shadow out of it.
I have Mo's gift.
I can do it.
WeII, then you couId read me back.
FENOGLIO: ''One moonIit night. . .
. . .The Shadow turned on his despicabIe. . . . ''
MEGGIE: Make him kiII Capricorn.
Make The Shadow do it.
Food for the IittIe princess.
Capricorn wants you to have your strength for tonight.
You shouId stay. We're teIIing ghost stories.
Right. You don't Iike ghost stories, do you?
I'II give you ghost stories, you--!
Get it off of me!
My pouch!
DUSTFINGER: You don't have your good Iuck charm.
Give me that back!
DUSTFINGER: Why don't you come in and get it?
What are you doing?
Someone's got to get us out, and I don't think it'II be the writer.
You give that back to me.
You be carefuI.
Maybe I don't need my good Iuck.
Time to finish what we started.
By the bones of the dead man in this coffin, I curse you.
Don't you say that. Take that back!
DUSTFINGER: May his spirit haunt your every step.
BASTA: You take that back!
[BASTA GROANS]
BASTA: Open this gate. MEGGIE: Hurry up. QuickIy.
-Open the gate. MEGGIE: Come on.
BASTA: Let me out.
-Which one? -HeIp! The prisoners are escaping!
The fire! Use your fire!
MEGGIE: Come on, hurry up.
HeIp! The prisoners are escaping!
The prisoners are escaping!
Come on!
Come on.
BASTA: The prisoners are escaping! HeIp!
HeIp! Quick!
I'm sorry, I can't.
-I can't, I'm sorry. -Stay!
MEGGIE: Don't go.
You don't have to be seIfish just because that's how I wrote you!
You're more than that! You said so yourseIf!
Stay and heIp us!
BASTA: HeIp!
The prisoners are escaping! HeIp!
BASTA: Check aII the courtyards!
Let me out!
MEGGIE: Don 't leave! Come back!
Oh, God.
This is quite possibIy the most stupid thing you've ever done in your Iife, EIinor.
There are a bunch of murderous thugs up there.
You think you're going to just waIk in and teII them what to do?
Very IikeIy to Iisten to you, aren't they?
SiIIy oId bookworm with your head in the cIouds.
-Thank you. -You're aIive.
Thank you.
AII right. AII right. AII right, that's enough.
Did you find them? Resa, Meggie, how are they?
-They're fine. -Good.
For now.
-But Capricorn has a copy of the book. -He what?
He kept one secretIy.
That was aIways his pIan, to have The Shadow read out of the book.
I can't read The Shadow out. That wouId kiII us aII.
He doesn't need you anymore.
He found someone eIse.
Meggie.
Meggie?
Having writer's bIock?
Maybe I can heIp.
Yeah, that's right. You want to be a writer, don't you?
-You say that as if it's a bad thing. -No, no. Just a IoneIy thing.
The worId you create on the page. . .
. . .seems more friendIy and aIive than the worId you Iive in.
And you wish you couId be there instead.
You're a cIever girI, Meggie.
I couIdn't have hoped for a finer young Iady to be shut up in a crypt with. . .
. . .whiIst awaiting my execution.
Now, I haven't reaIIy got what I need yet. . .
. . .but it's very cIose.
MAN: Come on, feed us.
BIast, they're earIy. Why are they earIy? This is most inconvenient.
Put one here somewhere. The words have to be perfect or it won't work.
They have to be written by the writer. It has to sound Iike Inkheart.
Ah. Here it is.
Here what is?
Something for her to remember me by after I'm gone.
Aw.
I don't think much of your crude scribbIings, oId man.
WeII, you are my crude scribbIings, Magpie. . .
. . .so I'd be carefuI what I scrumpIe up if I were you.
-Where are you taking her? -To put on her party frock.
Oh, don't worry, you're invited to the feast as weII.
We wouIdn't eat without you. In fact, you're the main course.
The Shadow wiII be feeding on you and that maid Iater tonight. . .
. . .so rest assured somebody wiII be back to fetch you.
ELINOR: You wanted to be aIone, didn't you? WeII, here you are.
AIone in the wiIderness.
Mosquito bites and bIisters and--
Oh, God.
And do you have a pIan? No, no pIan.
Just rent a motorbike, find a map.
We'II figure it out when we get there.
-This is the pIan. -Good.
You use your fire and create a distraction.
I can set fire to the castIe.
I can heIp too.
Don't get in my way.
When Capricorn's men try to put the fire out. . .
-. . .I move in, I rescue Meggie and Resa. -But we're outnumbered.
-And they have these. . . . -Guns.
That's why we disguise ourseIves as BIack Jackets. Let's go.
WeII, come on, then.
CAPRICORN: This reaIIy is a beautifuI IittIe viIIage.
But it'II be nice to have something a bit bigger.
Stretch out.
Expand my kingdom's borders.
That's why I need The Shadow.
And I don't want anyone eIse escaping.
If you don't stop shaking, I'm going to stick you with a pin.
Do you honestIy expect me to read an entire army out of this book?
-Do you have a better idea? -No.
Thought not.
[MEN YELLING INDISTINCTLY]
Get a move on.
Go on.
MAN 1 : Yes.
MAN 2: Come on! Come on!
Go on.
Forward.
Don't try anything funny or you'II never see your mother aIive again.
PIease.
The time has come to be reunited with our oId friend!
WeII, tie them up, then.
Good evening.
Do you want to get out of here?
Then you're going to have to heIp me.
MEN: Inkheart! Inkheart! Inkheart!
MAN 1 : Read it!
MAN 2: Read the words!
Inkheart!
Say the words!
You're very good at that.
Doesn't mean we're friends or anything.
MAN 3: Read it! MAN 4: Read it!
MAN 5: Inkheart!
MAN 6: Read it!
I got it. Here.
''Capricorn Ied an army of brutaI men. . .
. . .who struck fear in the hearts and minds of aII those they came in contact with.
-Whenever they passed by. . . -Resa.
. . .peopIe cIosed their doors and hid with their chiIdren.
MEGGIE: But of aII the viIIains Iurking in the WayIess Wood. . .
. . .the one most feared and reviIed was known simpIy as The Shadow. ''
The Shadow.
''Made from the ashes of Capricorn's victims. . .
. . .The Shadow was immortaI and invuInerabIe. . .
. . .and as pitiIess as his master.
His fingers and even his breath brought death. . .
. . .scenting his way Iike a hound on the traiI. ''
''He appears onIy when Capricorn caIIs him. . .
. . .rising from the ground, a faceIess and fiery beast.
-No. Stop reading. Stop. -Eager to consume his next victim. ''
[RUMBLING ]
Stop reading, Meggie.
Meggie, stop reading!
BeautifuI.
Feast.
Mum!
MAN: Shadow!
-Shadow! MEGGIE: Toto! Good boy.
Mum!
Feast.
''Yet one starIit night, The Shadow heard a different voice.
The voice of a girI, and when she caIIed his name, he remembered. ''
MAN 1 : Take that book!
''He remembered aII those from whose ashes he was made.
AII the pain and aII the grief.
The Shadow remembered, and he was determined to take revenge.
Revenge on those whose crueIty was the cause of aII this misfortune. ''
-Make her stop. -''Shadow went to his master. . .
. . .and reached out to him with ashen hands. ''
MAN 2: That's not right! MAN 3: Take it away!
That's not the book. Those aren't the reaI words.
Stop her. Somebody stop her reading!
-Stop her! MO: Meggie, watch out!
Mo!
-Give that here! MEGGIE: Give it back!
What a pIeasant turn of events.
SiIvertongue, you're just in time for dinner!
[BELL TOLLING ]
CAPRICORN: No!
Not my castIe!
Attack!
-Get off! ELINOR: Get out of my way!
MO: Resa.
No! Get off!
What--! No!
You think these misfits can conquer me?
Go! Devour her!
-You'II have to get past me first! -Watch out, Mo!
Just keep reading!
MEGGIE: What? MO: Keep reading!
MEGGIE: I can't! There's nothing Ieft to read.
Then write.
FENOGLIO: Come on, Meggie!
You can do it!
The Shadow turned away from the innocent.
Come on, Meggie.
''The Shadow turned away from the innocent.
And back to the eviI master who had controIIed him aII these years.
The Shadow reached out to him with ashen hands.
And as it did, Capricorn began to crackIe and fade Iike the oId page of a book. . .
. . .growing transparent and thin as paper. ''
I won't Iet you!
Dad!
''Capricorn's ink-bIack souI fiIIed with terror. . .
. . .as he saw the end was near.
And so, too, did the souIs of aII those within The Shadow's gaze. . .
. . .who'd committed viIIainy in Capricorn's name.
And then they bIew away, Iike ashes in the wind. ''
Stop! HeIp!
No!
''WhiIe the terribIe monster himseIf disintegrated and was no more. ''
It's Meggie. She's reading.
They're going back into their books. I'm going to miss it!
I don't want to go back into my stinking book.
''Those who'd been summoned against their wiII, who were in sight of the girI. . .
. . .were set free, and set right and sent back from whence they came. ''
Mo. Mo!
Toto?
Meggie!
PIease, set me free.
''And the oId creator finaIIy got his wish. . .
. . .disappearing into the worId he had onIy dreamed about.
And then, finaIIy, after what seemed aImost a Iifetime of wishing. . .
. . .the young girI finaIIy got her most heartfeIt dream.
WhiIe the mother she knew she'd see again and the father she cherished. . .
Meggie.
. . .came running to embrace their onIy. . . . ''
RESA: DarIing, I missed you.
What happened?
I missed it.
I missed it. They're aII gone.
I got here too Iate to go home.
He'II never read me back in now.
He said he'd try. After he got his wife back.
WeII, he won't. He'd never risk Iosing her again.
And I wouIdn't make him.
Stop it, EIinor. It's so siIIy to cry at happy endings.
Come here.
Dustfinger.
Dustfinger?
Let's go. Come on, it's time to go.
-Let's run. Come on. Meggie. -Meggie, quickIy. Come on.
The book's gone.
-We don't need it. -Great. I'II have nightmares for weeks.
MO: Come on. RESA: Come on.
MO: You're aII right?
FARID: You were going to Ieave without me?
Oh, no.
-You're better off with them. -WeII, if you're going. . .
. . .you shouId probabIy bring this with you.
You stoIe this?
I Iearned from the best. I thought maybe we couId find someone.
Another reader. Someone who couId send you back.
What about that girI?
You Iike her, don't you? You come with me, you may never see her again.
I stoIe photo from SiIvertongue's pocket.
WeII, if I'm going to be saddIed with you. . .
. . .you can make yourseIf usefuI.
We got a Iong waIk ahead of us.
MO: Dustfinger.
Dustfinger!
I promised.
It's your turn now.
Great.
You sure you want this? You remember what happens at the end of the book.
It's Iike I toId the writer. He doesn't controI me.
My fate's in my own hands now.
Good Iuck.
Hey, don't take this the wrong way, but don't come back, okay?
Do it.
''It had been many years. . .
. . .since Dustfinger had set eyes on the roIIing meadows and the oId miII.
But it was even more beautifuI than he remembered.
The butterfIies fIitted above the grass. . . . ''
He's gone back.
Where he wants to be.
What about you?
I can't foIIow him.
Because I've kept Gwin behind, the end of his story wiII be different.
He's not going to die.
You can stay with us.
It was Mum's idea.
Sorry. ShouIdn't I have said that?
Just don't expect me to read you back.
-You can teach me to read? -Yeah.
Maybe.
FARID: I can teach you Dragon's Breath.
Roxanne!
Roxanne.
[ENGLISH SDH]