The Tale of Despereaux: Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman, Tracey Ullman, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Ciarán Hinds, Robbie Coltrane, Tony Hale, Frances Conroy, Frank Langella, Robert Stevenhagen, Sam Fell, Allison Thomas, Casey Crowe, Chris Viscardi, Gary Ross, Kate DiCamillo, Will McRobb: Movies & TV
The Tale of Despereaux: Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman, Tracey Ullman, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Ciarán Hinds, Robbie Coltrane, Tony Hale, Frances Conroy, Frank Langella, Robert Stevenhagen, Sam Fell, Allison Thomas, Casey Crowe, Chris Viscardi, Gary Ross, Kate DiCamillo, Will McRobb: Movies & TV
Amazon.com
The Tale of Despereaux looks a little like Shrek. The storytelling and animation draw on everything from Ratatouille and classic fairytales to Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, Indiana Jones, and, in its action sequences, even Bourne and Bond. But this movie stands on its own; too dark and violent for very young children, perhaps, but for the most part it’s exciting and funny, and it delivers a message about bravery and forgiveness that is relevant to us all. Voiced by Matthew Broderick, the title character is a little guy, even by mouse standards, with enormous ears and an imagination to match; much to the dismay of his elders, he “never cowers, won’t scurry, and refuses to be taught to be scared” (he’d much rather read a book than eat it, a pursuit that fills his head with visions of valiant knights, damsels in distress, and a life defined by “courage, honor, and decency”). That leads to his being banished from Mouseworld to the realm of the rats, where, it is presumed, he will be eaten. But no. Ratworld–a dark, chaotic, genuinely scary place–happens to be the current residence of one Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman), a peaceful sort whose shenanigans in the human world have accidentally led to the death of the Queen, the imprisonment of the Princess (Emma Watson), and, worst of all, the banning of Soup Day (no small deal) and the end of soup itself! Roscuro and Despereaux join forces, inadvertently helped out by a homely but soft-hearted farm girl named Miggery Sow (Tracey Ullman), and, well, you can imagine how it all turns out. Directors Sam Fell and Robert Stevenhagen and scriptwriter Gary Ross (adapting Kate DiCamillo’s book) have concocted some vivid and interesting worlds for their film; the look is unusual, often washed out, muted, and bathed in hazy light; and the voice acting is excellent (others include William H. Macy, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, and Frank Langella). All in all, despite a conclusion that’s confusing even while it’s predictable, The Tale of Despereaux is a worthy addition to the crowded animation field. –Sam Graham
Printable Coloring Page, Map & Despereaux ears from The Tale of Despereaux (Click for full size) 
Coloring Page 
Maze 
Despereaux Ears
Stills from The Tale of Despereaux (Click for larger image)
Was a fun film,
By Mathew A. Shember (Cupertino, CA United States) -
This review is from: The Tale of Despereaux [Theatrical Release] (Theatrical Release)
My daughter wanted to see this film. Probably because the ads showed a cute mouse. We had never heard of this book so I can’t judge the story.
The qualities of the stories are simple. Mistakes, redemption, pure of heart, honor, etc.
The movie opens with a ship heading to a city. On it is Roscuro the rat. Wearing cloths and an ear ring he looks forward for the famous Soup of the day of the kingdom of Dor. Wandering through the city he accidentally finds himself in the royal hall as the royal family are first to try the soup. Too entranced with the smell; Roscuro falls into the Queens soup and she is shocked to see a Rat, suffers a heart attack and dies. The guards chase him and he eventally falls into a drainage where he lands in Ratworld. There he is discovered by Botticelli who befriends him and decides to teach him the proper ways of being a Rat.
The grieving king then declares no more soup and rats are outlawed and any who harbor them will be punished.
Despereaux is born in mouseworld. He is not a typical mouse. Smaller then normal and he has over-sized ears. What’s worst is that he doesn’t cower, run, and he likes to take the cheese from mouse traps. His parents are called into school and told he is about to fail since he does not cower from knives and he draws pictures of cats. Even names one fluffy. The school master suggests that Despereaux follow his brother who graduated and was a proper mouse and could teach by example.
They head off to the library where Despereaux is supposed to eat books but instead he starts reading them and learns about knights, honor and questing to save the fair princess. This eventually takes him to the Princess Peas room where he befriends her as she is curious by his gentlemanly ways.
Eventually, Desperaux is found out and he is punished as he has gone too far by talking to a human.
He is sent to Ratword where no mouse ever returns. The rats find him and toss him into a Colosseum where he is to be sacrificed to a cat.
Roscuro notices him and sees that he is different. He decides to save him by declaring he wants to eat him. Botticelli, leader of the rats, agrees as he had been unhappy with Roscuro since he was refusing to eat flesh.
In Roscuro’s room, Despereaux tells Roscuro about knights, chivalry and his quest to save the princess. Roscuro recognizes the princess is the very girl whose mother he caused to die and decides to help as he may get a chance of redemption by telling her he is sorry.
I could go on but I don’t want to completely spoil the film. Overall I liked the film as the hero really doesn’t solve all problems. It’s more cause and effect that guides the story. The actions of one affect another. Happiness is lost and as the narrator says a hero appears when most needed. Despereaux is the hero and he actions effects others and causes actions which cause the return of happiness.
The cast is excellent. Sigourney Weaver does a great job as the narrator. Matthew Broderick as Despereaux and Dustin Hoffman as Roscuro. Emma Watson as the princess(though I must admit I thought was Emily Watson). Tracey Ullman as Miggery Sow. Kevin Kline as Andre the soup master. Ciaran Hinds as Botticelli(though I must admit I thought Peter O’Toole would have been better).
Visually the film is beautiful and the music adds to experience in the right ways.
Violence wise it’s pretty safe. There is fighting but you don’t see things like stabbing, etc. It can be intense especially with the Rat chases and the rat gladiatorial scenes but it’s not too bad. My girl is sensitive but she only wanted a little comfort but she still kept her eyes on the screen.
My daugher wants to see it again as it’s a great film in her opinion and I think it’s was worth the theater price. My daughter has already declared we have to obtain the film when it goes to DVD.
An enjoyable adventure,
By wiredweird “wiredweird” (Earth, or somewhere nearby) -
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)
This review is from: The Tale of Despereaux [Theatrical Release] (Theatrical Release)
I ended up enjoying this movie a lot more than I expected. The animation meets very high standards, but there’s a lot of good animation around these days. Instead, it features characters that I really like and a surprisingly complex plot.
I liked the premise, too, that the brave little mouse lives in Mouseworld society where bravery is actively discouraged. He even talks to humans - an unconscionable act of bravery. He goes through life blithely unaware that there’s anything wrong, until his antics earn exile from his timid world. That’s about when things start getting complicated. A third society, the rats, adds itself to the mouse and human worlds, with plots moving along in each and between them. Another movie might have collapsed under the weight, but this one managed to tie all the threads together and finish them off neatly.
A number of dramatic moments might be a bit much for skittish kids. Perhaps the book would help prepare your little one, but you’ll know best. The right kid will enjoy it a lot, but there’s plenty here for the grown-up buying the tickets, too.
– wiredweird
Refreshing!!!!,
By Amandah Maudsley “LiteraryGuru” (UT USA) -
Okay, as a parent I LOVED this movie. It was so nice to see a movie that had a simple moral value. Yes it was predictable but that was nice! It was something that a child could identify with and take to heart. I get so tired of the garbage that are in kids movies these days. I would recommend this to any parent who wants to teach their child the simple moral of forgiveness and rising above their circumstances. Good story!
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