The Laughing Place

Castle Rock 2×5

Carl Wilkes: The hell's this? Brad Rabbit? You mean Br'er Rabbit? This is supposed to be the Uncle Remus stories?
Principal: Yes, that is a more contemporary edition—
Carl Wilkes: "Politically correct", I think, is the term you're rooting around for there.

Carl Wilkes: Do you know the real story of the Laughing Place? I'm not talking about the hippidy-dippidy kumbaya...

Carl Wilkes: I'm talking about the real story. Br'er Fox isn't friends with Br'er Rabbit. Br'er Fox wants to eat Br'er Rabbit, and that is the real world, Annie-bear... killing and eating... Running and hiding. But do you know what smart old Br'er Rabbit figured out? Your Laughing Place is anywhere you say it is.

Young Annie: Well, bad doesn't make you interesting. Mama always says, "It just makes you bad".

Teen Annie: Mama? Did we go back to alphabetical order for the pantry?

Chrysida Wilkes: You wanna end up like your mom? Wearing these jammies?
Teen Annie: Mom, I like your uniform.
Chrysida Wilkes: Get the white coat. That's the uniform folks salute. Girls who wear these, we just clean.

Chrysida Wilkes: Nothing on Earth dirtier than the human mouth, Annie. You clean and clean... and it just gets dirty again.

Annie: The less you know, the safer you are.

Rita: Are you a fan of this one?
Teen Annie: That's a kid's book.
Rita: Not really. Not the real story.

Rita: This isn't like the cartoon. In the original, they burn his feet off, and that's just the beginning.

Teen Annie: So the lying part's the same, but there's just consequences. I always tell my dad with his stories there has to be consequences or else it's just a bunch of stuff happening, and that's not a real story, I don't think.

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Teen Annie: "Pinocchio said to himself with great content, 'How ridiculous I was as a...'" "'Marionette, and how happy I am now that I've become a real boy'." So he just turns into a real boy?
Rita: Yes, it's his redemption. ....
Teen Annie: Um, but what's it doing at the end of this story?
Rita: I... I don't understand.
Teen Annie: Well, Pinocchio's a liar, so why should he get a happy ending? Just because he gave a fairy some coins? That's not how it works.
Rita: Well, how should it work?
Teen Annie: Well, they should have killed him!

Rita: In Collodi's first draft, that was the ending.
Teen Annie: Well, there you go. Now, why the heck did he change it?
Rita: 'Cause his editor thought it was too dark. He thought it would scare kids.
Teen Annie: Well, sure, they should be scared! In this world, you're either good or you're bad, and... and if you're bad, you pay.

Carl Wilkes: You know, um... in the end, Jack is a settler... But Annabel, she'll never stop looking, and that... and that... that's me, darling.
Teen Annie: Well, what are you looking for?
Carl Wilkes: I... I don't know. That's... that's part of the looking, is not knowing what you're looking for.

Carl Wilkes: You remember this, Annie-bear. No matter what, I will always be your number one fan.

Bartender: What'll it be?
Annie: Vodka. Mama's drink...

Chrysida Wilkes: It's no place for a good woman, this dirty world.
Teen Annie: Okay, well, then we'll just have to clean it up, okay?

Chrysida Wilkes: There are things you don't know, Annie...

Chrysida Wilkes: 'Cause, Annie... Once the rot takes root, it's always there whether you see it or not.

Teen Annie: Reading was my problem. Not math.

Annie: I'm on your side. You poor thing. But there's a way. A way for us to both get away clean.

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