The Tale of Despereaux (2008) Reviews

• Good message, better visuals, best vocal work!

  jsmith-3482008-12-22

  Still wondering about the reviews above that insult this film's animation. I thought it looked terrific. (For the record, nearly every professional critic I could find singled out the film's strong visuals.) The character differentiation is very strong in the mice & rats -- and all that tender-loving detail in Ratworld and Mouseworld! You'd have to watch the movie 6 times to pick out all the tiny man-made objects the rodents have used for furniture, clothing, etc. I see also several reviewers' concerns about the film's "darkness." Ummm . . . don't we find Hans Christian Andersen a bit dark too? Isn't there something about kids being baked in an oven? And doesn't someone's father die in "Lion King"? And a certain famous mother in that deer movie . . . ? For the matter of that, fans of DiCamillo's Newbery-winning book can tell that her version is a lot darker -- heart-breaking at times. At least one critic has scolded the film version for toning down the darkness, which concomitantly weakens DiCamillo's message of forgiveness and redemption. AND: I don't think I've ever heard vocal work this good in an animated film. They're not big box-office names that will draw tons of kids to the picture, but real pros -- Hoffman, Ullman, Hinds, Watson, and that narration by Sigourney!! -- who bring an amazing richness and authenticity to the characterizations. Plus, any movie that so convincingly counsels little kids to say "I'm sorry" -- well, even if it had no other merits, it's hard to argue with a message like that!

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• An interesting watch, something out of the ordinary

  spinatai2008-12-20

  I can't say I was expecting much before going to this film: I hadn't heard anything about it prior entering the cinema, and the fact that it was an animation didn't appeal to me. I went to see it just because my little sister wanted to watch it very much, so I really didn't have much choice. Firstly, the colours and the overall atmosphere of the movie was something unusual. The film can be divided into three parts: happy beginning, dismal middle, and of course, the happy ending. The feel and atmosphere of every part is enhanced by the change of colours: bright, warm colours dominate the beginning and the end of the animation, while faded and cold colours dominate the middle. Secondly, I enjoyed how three different types of society were reflected. The first and most apparent would be the Kingdom of Dor, suffering from an incompetent ruler who puts his emotions first, while the interests of the kingdom are second. The second type would be the Ratworld, a consumerist, primitive society, which is ruled on the basis of "the leader is he who provides food and entertainment". The last type is the Mouseworld, a society governed by fear of rule-breaking, emphasising the importance of "fitting-in". Although I liked the middle part of the movie (the gloomy one), I was wondering, if it was appropriate for children, as it brought up such issues as revenge, abolishment of one's principles, treachery. I doubt if kids can make the correct interpretations (or conclusions), so explaining or talking to them after the movie would be reasonable. The ending was typical of fairy tales: everyone (except for the bad guys) is fine and lives happily ever after (?). In all, the movie exceeded my expectations. The moral issues brought up, the atmosphere, the unusual development of the story, the happy ending- everything was delivered in a nice way, the only thing that made the movie lose a star (9/10) is the doubt that children would fully understand it. In all, in all, a nice watch :)

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• A Charming story

  valleyjohn2009-01-01

  After waking up with my usual January the 1st mother of all hangovers i wondered how i would manage to grab some recovery time in the form of some extra shut eye later on in the day? Bingo! why not take the family to the cinema? I great place to catch forty winks , or so i thought. Little did i know i would find a kids film that was so good , sleep was the last thing on my mind. A long time ago, in the distant kingdom of Dor, A horrible accident broke the heart of the king, left a beautiful princess crestfallen, and filled the townspeople with despair. As the sun disappeared from the sky and the flowers were drained of color, the laughter slowly ceased in this once-magical land. It was into this darkened world that a tiny mouse named Despereaux Tilling was born, and while this virtuous little rodent may have been short in stature, his bravery was ultimately too big for such a small world to contain. An unlikely hero with over-sized ears and a discernible wheeze, Despereaux was taken with tales of chivalry, and longed to one day become a noble figure among his people. Sometimes in order to realize their true destiny, heroes must first experience great hardship, however, and when Despereaux fails to adhere to the rigid rules of his society, he is banished from Dor I don't review Children's films very often . Maybe that's because they are on all the time in my house and i don't really take a great deal of notice of them. To be honest i didn't even know of The Tale of Despereaux until i checked the listings but I'm glad i did. This is a magical production that has a mesmerising story , some delightful characters and animation of the highest quality. It reminded me a little of some of the fairy tale books i used to read as a kid. The narration by Sigourney Weaver was perfect. It helped my children understand exactly what was going on when there was two or three sub plots going on. The Characters voices are performed by Dustin Hoffman , Emma Watson , William H Macey , Tracy Ullman , Kevin Kline and Matthew Broderick but to be honest i only recognised the voices of Hoffman and Watson during the film. It does make you wonder why studios pay massive wages to big film stars when a lot cheaper alternative could be used. If you stuck for something to do before the kids go back to school next week you wont go far wrong if you take them to see The Tale of Despereaux . Without a doubt this is the best film i have see this year......and its also the first! 8 out of 10

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• Lovely, kind-hearted film that doesn't pander

  ldarroch2009-01-18

  I'd be hard pressed to name a kid's flick I've seen in the last four years that can't be summed up by "a quest to find his true self." For once, the hero knows who he is, and lives by this truth rather than learning to define himself along the journey. It was refreshing to see a slightly less-linear film aimed at the under-10 crowd. There were at least 3-4 narratives to follow (mouse, rat, servant girl, and to a lesser extent, the royal family). The notion that one's actions and attitude can greatly affect those around you, in unexpected ways with surprising consequences, was a lovely lesson to learn, rather than the rote "value of friendship" moral. I don't quite get the Ratatouille comparisons, frankly. OK, the heroes are both rodents. And there is a chef. This film reminded me more of Big Fish, The Princess Bride, and Pushing Daisies with its small themes and seemingly meandering narrative, that all comes nicely at the end. And yes, the film was utterly beautiful.

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• Fantastic Film. Superb Story-telling.

  eldersgrowdown2009-05-03

  I loved this film. Definitely the best film of the year in my opinion. It's full of inspiration. The film was written after the novel by Kate DiCamillo of the same name as the film. The novel won the 2003 Newbery Medal. I have just started listening to the audio book of the novel and it starts off just as inspiring. Although it is a children's fantasy film it has a whole lot for the adults. One of my favorite films to date. Fantastic, next to Peaceful Warrior. Not sure about the other comments on here, I guess we have to live with them. Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did, because I really loved it and so did everyone I spoke to that's seen it. With an all-star cast this movie truly stands out. Don't miss this one!

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