The Royal Tenenbaums · written by Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson · 2001

After the crash, Royal and Richie emerge with Ari and Uzi safe; Ari says they ran over Buckley, and Royal says he thinks they lost him.

Scene 127 of 143 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act three

Chas
Royal
Ari
Richie
Eli

Find another scene in The Royal Tenenbaums

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 1:47 into a 1:59 film

The story so farBefore scene 127

After losing his hotel room, Royal claims he has only weeks to live so he can move back in with his estranged family; as the truth unravels, he must find a way to be useful and earn a place in their lives.

Scenes 1–39
Royal is absent from the children’s adult lives, and their family remains shaped by his betrayals and abandonment.
Scenes 40–47
Royal wants a path back to Etheline and the children, and claims impending death will give him one.
Scenes 48–50
He returns to the house and openly asks his children for a chance to make things right.
Scenes 51–90
Royal tries to reconnect through schemes, misjudgments and genuine care, learning that affection alone cannot erase old injuries.
Scenes 91–92
Royal admits to Etheline that he hoped to win her back and remove Henry, revealing the motive behind his return.
Scenes 92–110
Royal loses the household and faces separation again; Richie’s suicide attempt exposes the family’s deeper pain.
Scene 111
Richie asks Royal for advice, inviting his father to help him face a painful truth rather than perform a reunion.
Scene 115
Royal asks whether someone who has been awful all their life can still want to repair the damage.
Just before
Scene 124
A crash shakes the house as Etheline and Margot look out and realize Eli has hit the building.
Scene 125
Chas races down the stairs after hearing the crash.
Scene 126
Eli climbs out of the wreckage and asks for his shoes while guests and dalmatian mice fill the damaged room.
Scene 127
This scene

127EXT. SIDEWALK. DAY.

The wedding guests quickly begin to come out the front door and gather around the smashed car. There is also a crushed mailbox, and mail is scattered all over the sidewalk. The lighter airmail envelopes drift about in the wind. Chas runs down the steps. He yells:

CHAS

Where are you?

Royal and Richie stand up among the rubble. Royal holds Ari under one arm and Uzi under the other. He sets them down. Chas runs over to them.

ROYAL

They’re OK, Chas.

Chas grabs Ari and Uzi. He examines them.

ROYAL (CONT’D)

It’s OK. They’re safe.

ARI

Dad, they ran over Buckley.

CHAS

What?

Chas looks to Royal. Royal nods. He turns to the wreckage. Buckley’s leash remains tied to the railing and extends taut beneath the wheels of Eli’s car.

ROYAL

I think we lost Buckley.

Ari and Uzi start to cry. Richie brushes some debris off Uzi’s hair. He looks to Chas and points to Royal.

RICHIE

He saved them. Kind of.

Chas looks to Richie. He says blankly:

CHAS

He did?

Richie nods. Chas looks to Royal. Royal shrugs. Eli appears in the broken front window of the home.

ELI

Did I hit anybody?

Everyone looks to Eli.

ELI (CONT’D)

Is everybody okay?

Eli sees Chas staring at him. Eli hesitates. He darts away from the window. Chas bolts up the steps, banging his way through the crowd.

ROYAL

Chas! Wait!