| “ | My name is Daisy Quokka, I know you're Frankie Scales and I'm your number one fan and I'm looking to get into the World's Scariest games held in Sanctuary City and I'd like you to by my coach, please don't eat me, thank you for your time. | „ |
| ~ Daisy Quokka to Frankie Scales, speaking too fast. |
| “ | My name is Daisy Quokka. And there's nothing ordinary about life here on Quokka Rocks. We are a species that now lives our dreams whatever they may be. More importantly, our actions inspire others to live their dreams, too. For Ronda and Frankie? That means making up for lost time as a family. For Jerry? He actually learned how to be a pretty dang good coach. And as for me? Well, I've learned that when life puts obstacles in your path, you don't quit. Instead, you follow a few wise words once spoken by a true champion. "Never give up on your dreams." | „ |
| ~ Daisy's epilogue. |
Daisy Quokka is a one of main characters from The Tales from Sanctuary City franchise, starting as the main protagonist of the 2021 Australian animated movie, Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal.
Tired of her adorable life as a Quokka on Quokka Rocks, Daisy has always wanted to participate in World's Scariest Animal games since she was little. The day the games take hold in Sanctuary City, Daisy seizes the opportunity to make her dream come true, recruiting her idol Frankie Scales to coach at the same time and entering the most dangerous of games with both Frankie's daughter, Ronda Saltie and the intimidating Drago Modo.
She was voiced by Angourie Rice, who also played Cady Heron in the 2024 musical remake of Mean Girls.
Personality[]
Daisy is energetic, determined, talkative, compassionate, sympathetic and loved practicing World's Scariest Games since childhood. Her most dominant trait that sets her apart from all of her species is that she can't stand taking selfies and smile with everyone. She also do not support the cumbersome attitude of her parents or their Neo-Luddism opinion on her dreams, despite that she loves them. Daisy is especially too enthusiastic, starting to dance strangely when his joy reaches its fullest or when she met her competitor Drago and wanted to greet him just to be roared at.
The biggest Frankie Scales fan since childhood, Daisy admires him immensely, even after his decadence. Upon meeting him for the first time, she was initially afraid of the lonely old crocodile but soon replaced her fear with disappointment when he coldly refused to be her coach, calling him a "mean crocodile" until which he ends up accepting, bringing back Daisy's admiration for him.
When she is stressed or scared, Daisy speaks quickly with a long summary sentence. In other cases, she stutters a bit and speaks slowly, like when she met Ronda the second time. When she becomes depressed after ruining the first challenge, Daisy admits that although she is afraid of dying, she is mostly afraid of living the boring life of a Quokka having been able to fulfill her dream for the rest of her life days. Once her confidence was restored by Frankie, Daisy became more determined than ever, not even afraid of Drago anymore.
Initially on bad terms with Ronda since the Crocodile had demeaning opinions of the Quokkas, the two ended up befriending as the games progressed. A good example of their friendship is when when the two rivals helped each other along the way and Ronda came back to save a Daisy stuck in the stadium on fire. As Daisy knew that Ronda was Frankie's daughter, she encouraged the old reptile to reconnect with Ronda, showing both wisdom despite her young age and a good heart.
Background[]
After waking up from a nightmare, Daisy begins a classic day at Quokka Rocks again, starting with the exasperating pampering of her parents but this time she decides that it is finally time to make her dream come true. When she next wants to tell them about it, her parents offer her a ferry ticket to Sanctuary City where the World's Scariest Animal Games will be held this year, only for her to act as the new head of their business and thus entered family affair, much to Daisy's annoyance especially after her parents are laughing at her dreams of participating in the game and then constantly asserting that Quokkas are only good at being adorable in selfies.
Landed in Sanctuary City, Daisy goes to Sanctuary Stadium and is quickly thrilled. She then turns to the announcement of qualifying starting the next day presented by Flightless Feather which also reveals that Sanctuary City has obtained two entries for the games. The reporter then introduces a town favorite, a teenage female crocodile named Ronda Saltie who quickly inspires awe in Daisy by uttering Frankie's slogan about dreams coming true. Daisy catches the intention of the reptile and tells him which account also participated in the games. Not only does Ronda not take her seriously but she also denigrates her for being just a Quokka, while noticing that she needs a coach to participate in the qualification. Daisy shyly suggests that Ronda's coach could be hers as well, only so that the crocodile wouldn't tell the rodent to go take some stupid selfies since that's the only thing she's currently good at doing. Ronda gone, Daisy is really outraged before people start asking her for selfies, which she only reluctantly does.
At nightfall, Daisy looks at a card from Frankie and decides to give up when suddenly the Drop-Bears slaughter her advertising cart before stealing it from her. Pursuing the filthy little critters in the Wild, Daisy stumbles upon the encampment of an old crocodile bothered by thieving creatures. It does not take long for her to discover that the individual is infatuated with Frankie Scales himself. Pushed around by the Drop-Bears, Daisy finds herself face to face with her idol and after a somewhat hostile first encounter due to Frankie's lonely life, Daisy reveals her idolater for the old crocodile while asking him to please be his coach. Frankie refuses at first because of what the games have done to his life, because Daisy is a Quokka and also because he no longer believes in dreams but when Daisy calls him a bad crocodile like Ronda, he changes suddenly notices and agrees to be Daisy's coach despite already starting to regret it.
The next day, Daisy and Frankie arrive at the qualifying gymnasium where Frankie reunites with his former rival Jerry now Ronda's coach, making matters even worse. Once everyone has passed the course, Daisy takes a chance, starting off by almost missing the first jump and ending up doing the slowest time ever. Jerry chooses Ronda and a cockatoo named Dex Brown because of their superb timing until games president Augustus Maximus points out from the rule-book that Dex is not qualified because he did not touch the button and the only person other than Ronda to have done it is Daisy, much to everyone's shock. More than happy, Daisy goes to see her locker and is approached by Jerry who gives her the Sanctuary City team jersey, not without hiding how much he coldly disapproves of the Quokka's presence.
On the day of the first challenge, Daisy starts off badly, quickly finding herself far behind Drago Modo, Ronda, Tyrus and Adewale and then briefly manages to make her way through the meteor shower emerging from the fictitious volcano. Unfortunately, her fear of heights accidentally crashes into Ronda, leaving the two females suspended above a deadly void. Ronda reluctantly chooses to help Daisy back up, sending their team down to last place in the process. Going back down to the stadium, Daisy tries to apologize just for Ronda to scold her angrily for having almost hurt them both.
Feeling shabby and depressed about the lack of encouragement from her parents, Daisy tries to improve herself by training in the park to no avail. Frankie then arrives and tells her that she can't give up after going this far but Daisy seems to have totally lost confidence in her because she was afraid of dying today. She also admits to being mostly afraid of starting an uninteresting life again where no one cares who she really is inside. However, Frankie is able to convince her to continue because if she gives up now, she will regret it for the rest of her life, knowing only too well himself, that even if she is not terrifying she still has a lot of talents and she must above all be herself. Convinced, Daisy begins intensive training that allows her to both stay in the games and win the hearts and respect of the audience, including Ronda. With only one place left in the final, Daisy manages a perfect jump to the button, leaving only herself and Drago for the final round.
Leaving the stadium celebrating her success with Frankie, Daisy notices the sudden sadness of the old reptile, easily guessing that he is thinking of Ronda. When Frankie denies it, Daisy admits knowing that Ronda is his daughter since she knew all about her idol and having come to understand Frankie's real reason for wanting to be her coach, because he wanted to see his daughter after she didn't not having seen her since she was a little. The Quokka then encourages her coach to tell Ronda the truth, not knowing that the female crocodile had quietly heard everything.
The next day, the last decisive challenge "The Floor is Lava'' is initially to the advantage of a Drago using twisted blows to keep the Quokka at bay but Daisy holds on thanks to her determination and her cunning, overtaking the bad player lizard to end the challenge. While she is only a few meters from the victory, Drago refuses to lose deliberately throws a flaming torch towards her, setting fire to the course and then to the whole stadium. The crowd evacuates the flaming scene but a group is stuck in the upper stands as the button tower begins to wobble towards them. Braving the danger, Daisy climbs to the top with a grappling hook then almost hesitates to press the button to instead choose to save the people by hooking the cable rope to the tower and sticking the hook in the ground after a dive into the void, allowing the group to exit before the grapple gives way. Unfortunately, by hitting the stands, the tower crashed into the Quokka. Ronda then returns to the crumbling trail to find an injured Daisy losing consciousness.
Waking up in the hospital with just her left foot broken, Daisy is surrounded by both her parents and her friends. Saying thank you to Ronda for saving her, Daisy hopes to return the device to her one day but Ronda simply tells her that she has already done it by making her known to her father. After learning of Drago's arrest, Daisy grows sad knowing that the World's Scariest Animal did not have a winner but regains her joy when seeing the many animals outside cheering for the courage she has shown. Subsequently, the Quokkas decide to finally fulfill their dreams, Frankie and Ronda make up for lost time and Daisy becomes the favorite of the now renowned World's Bravest Animal, concluding the story with ''Never give up on your dreams''.
Quotes[]
| “ | Ronda: And you are? Daisy: Oh, of course! Manners, Daisy, manners! My name is Daisy Quokka. And I'm here to try out for the World's Scariest Games! Ronda: Try out? For the games? You're...you're a quokka. You realize you're a quokka, don't you, quokka? Daisy: Well, uh, yes. Ronda: Look, this is the World's Scariest Games, sweetheart. Some of us have trained our whole lives to get here. And only the world's best can compete. Reporter 1: She means her. Reporter 2: She's the best! Daisy: Um, I... Ronda: You realize you need a coach, right? No coach is going to vouch for a quokka. You won't even be allowed to try out. Daisy: Oh! Well, maybe your coach can be my coach, too? Ronda: Why don't you just go take some stupid selfies and do something you're actually good at? In fact, here, have one for free. Smile! [Ronda takes a selfie with Daisy] Later quokka. Daisy: Well, what an extremely unpleasant crocodile! |
„ |
| ~ Daisy when she meet Ronda Saltie for the first time, not in the best of terms. |
| “ | Daisy: Please, Mr. Scales. I... I know I don't look like much. Frankie: What's a quokka wanne enter the games for, huh? Daisy: Well, it's been my dream ever since I was little. Frankie: Your dream is to get killed? Daisy: No! Frankie: Well, I got news for ya, you're gonna. Daisy: I know I can do this! Frankie: You realize you're a quokka, don't you, quokka? Besides, why should I care? The games turned their back on me and now I'm turning me back on you. [Frankie sinks into the swamp] Daisy: Um, I can still see your snout. Frankie: No, you can't. I'm in stealth mode. Daisy: Uh, yes, I can. Snout. Mr. Scales, you once said, "Never give up on your dreams." I'm taking that advice to heart. Frankie: Kid, life will be a lot easier if you just leave your dreams where they belong. Trust me. Daisy: Frankie, I know you didn't mean to... You should come back. The city will forgive you. Frankie: Nah, no one wants me back. Now, get out of here, kid, before I get hungry. Daisy: I guess that Ronda girl was right. I really am just a quokka. Frankie: You said Ronda? Daisy: Oh yeah. Word is she's the hot pick to beat Drago this year. Frankie: Is that so? Daisy: Yeah. And she's a mean crocodile, too, just like you. Frankie: You know what, uh, I'm in a good mood today. So I might just help you out. Daisy: This is your good mood? Frankie: And I'm gonna try and forget the fact that you're a quokka. Daisy: You won't ever regret it, Mr. Scales. Frankie: Now, look, just listen to me. Daisy: I promise I'll train so hard... Frankie: Ah, this is a mistake already. Daisy: No, no! I'm listening, coach. Frankie: Stop! If I'm gonna coach ya, you're gonna... Daisy: I won't let you down, Mr. Scales. Whoo-hoo! Aha! Oh, yeah! Frankie: What? what are you doing? Daisy: Oh. Dancing. Frankie: Please stop. Just cut it out. Daisy: Aye-aye, captain! |
„ |
| ~ Daisy meets her idol now a shadow of his former self, Frankie Scales. |
| “ | Frankie: Daisy, you can't quit. Not now. You've come too far! Daisy: Look, I don't belong here. You know it and I know it. Frankie: What happened to the quokka I first met, eh? Tenacious, determined, following her dreams. But look at you now. Running away because you're scared? Daisy: Of course I'm scared! I'm scared because I just almost died! But I could never be as scared as I am having to go back home, having to live out an ordinary life, doing a job that's forced on me because of who I am on the outside rather than who I am on the inside. I'm scared of living out my life knowing that my dreams passed me by and I didn't even try! Frankie: Then stay. Daisy: Why do you even want me to stay? You never believed I could do this. Frankie: If you leave... Daisy: If I leave, what? Frankie: You'll regret it for the rest of your life. Trust me. Daisy: Seriously! How are you going to turn me into the World's Scariest Animal? Frankie: Huh, uh, ah, I don't know if I can train you well enough to survive, kid, let alone win. Daisy: I guess you were right. My dream was meant to be just that, a dream. Frankie: I used to love coming here when I was young. Runnin' around with my friends, playing pretend World's Scariest Games. Daisy: Really? I used to do that, too, back on Quokka Rocks. Frankie: You mustn't have been very good. Daisy: Why is that? Frankie: 'Cause you're lying in lava right now! Daisy: You played the floor is lava, too? Frankie: [Laughs] Yes, of course, Daisy. Everyone did, even old farts like me. You know what, bet you can't beat me to that slide. Daisy: Oh, you are so on! |
„ |
| ~ Daisy is encouraged by Frankie to continue the games. |
| “ | Frankie: Daisy, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. This whole time I didn't believe in you because you're not scary at all! Daisy: You already told me I suck, Frankie. Frankie: No, no, no, what I mean is, uh, out here, you've got skills. Why is that? Daisy: I don't know. I, we were just playing around, I guess. Frankie: Exactly. You were just being you! Don't you see, kid, you don't need to be the scariest in the arena, the biggest and the baddest. You just need to be you, a quokka. Don't try and be anyone else. Daisy: Oh, I don't know, Frankie. I mean, this is just the playground. It's not like the arena. Frankie: Oh, but it is. Look, the gap you just cleared is longer than the one you faced in the first game. So, now that I know how to train you, the only question is are ready to win? |
„ |
| ~ Daisy and Frankie begin to bond. |
| “ | Daisy: Uh, coach, you okay? Frankie: Um, yeah. Yeah. I'm just a bit tired from all the cheering, you know? Daisy: You're thinking about her again, aren't you? Frankie: Huh! What? Why would you say that? Daisy: Frankie, I know Ronda's your daughter. Frankie: Wait, what, uh... How'd you know that? You knew from the start, didn't ya? Daisy: Yeah. I knew. I know everything about you, Frankie. Your moves, your history, your catch phrases. And as soon as I saw Ronda, I saw so much of you in her. Your abilities, your strengths. Though she might even be a little better than you. Frankie: Daisy, I... Daisy: And... Why else would you agree to coach me...a quokka? You wanted to see her. Frankie: Look, uh, kid, these games, they were the only thing I was ever good at. And after they took it all away from me, I was lost. I didn't want Ronda to resent me as a father like the rest of the city did. I thought it would be easier if I just pretended I never existed. Daisy: Oh, Frankie, that's no excuse, but you should be telling her this, not me. You need to talk to her. Frankie: Ah, no, I wouldn't even know where to begin. When I met you, I thought this could be my chance to see her again, and I did. And I... I just don't wan her to hate me. Daisy: Frankie, talk to her. You just have to show her you still care. Frankie: Yeah, I know. I guess you hate me now, too, huh? Daisy: Nah. Life is too amazing to have hate in my heart. Frankie: You know what? You really are special, Daisy Quokka. Daisy: Yeah, I know. |
„ |
| ~ Daisy reveals to Frankie that she knows Ronda is his daughter. |
| “ | This is a dream come true! | „ |
| ~ Daisy in her dream and at the final of the games. |
| “ | Daisy: Good luck to you. Drago: Luck is the currency of the weak. Daisy: Well, unluckily for you, I'm totally prepared to... |
„ |
| ~ Daisy wishes good luck to her ultimate opponent, Drago Modo, despite his antipathy. |
| “ | The floor is literally lava. | „ |
| ~ Daisy on the last challenge. |
| “ | Get out of here! It won't hold! | „ |
| ~ Daisy saves the spectators still in the stands. |
| “ | Daisy: Ronda. Thank you. How can I ever repay you? Ronda: Silly Quokka. You already have. |
„ |
| ~ Daisy thanking Ronda for saving her and Ronda thanking her in return for reuniting her with her father. |
| “ | Daisy: Oh, nothing, it's just...I never got to achieve my dream. Mom: Oh, honey, it's alright. Daisy: But, it isn't alright, mum. I completely ignored everything you asked of me. I wasn't the face of Quokka Rocks. All for some dream that the world would see me as more than just a silly little quokka. Mom: Oh, you galah, we don't think that. Dad: No silly, at all. |
„ |
| ~ Daisy finally gains the support of her parents. |
Trivia[]
- Daisy believes that the Quokka is a mix of kangaroo, rat, and teddy bear.
- Daisy is the very first Quokka in filmography's story to be a main protagonist.
- Her home, Quokka Rocks is briefly seen in The Wishmas Tree.