“The Tale of Despereaux” was on my list of favorite animated films of 2008. It’s is based on the award-winning book by Kate DiCamillo. I read the book and really enjoyed it, but I like the movie version even more.
Matthew Broderick voices Despereaux, a mouse who is different from all of the other mice in Mouseworld: he’s brave! And that gets him into a lot of trouble when the other mice find out that he’s talked to the Princess who lives above them in the castle.
Despereaux gets thrown into the dungeon where he meets a rat named Roscuro (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) who has some problems of his own. Together they form a friendship that is later put to the test.
The voices in “The Tale of Despereaux” are excellent. Along with Broderick and Hoffman, Emma Watson, Tracey Ullman and Kevin Kline do great work. The plot, which is a little different than in the book, works very well, weaving together the stories of many of the characters who live in the castle.
The animation is fantastic. We get scenes of a rat and chef in a kitchen, just like in last year’s “Ratatouille”, and the details are just as good.
There are a few laughs in “Despereaux”, but mostly it’s heartwarming and touching. And it teaches a wonderful lesson about the power of forgiveness.
“The Tale of Despereaux” is rated G. There are a few mildly scary scenes, but even the very little ones shouldn’t have any problems.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “The Tale of Despereaux” gets a B+. If the Academy Awards had five nominations for Best Animated Film (which they should), “Despereaux” definitely would have made the cut.
Lights Camera Jackson (a.k.a. Jackson Murphy) began his career as a film critic/entertainment reporter in 2006 at the age of 7. Jackson has written nearly 1,000 reviews of new releases. All together he has seen more than 1,500 films. In 2010, Jackson became the youngest person to win a NY Emmy Award, for his on-air movie reviews on Time Warner TV station, Capital News 9.
LCJ appears every Friday morning on WGNA-FM . His movie reviews are also posted on his website, his YouTube channel and the popular website Cultjer.com. He is also a contributing writer for Jerry Beck’s AnimationScoop.com. Jackson hosts the weekly internet pop culture news show “LCJ LIVE” (every Sunday at Noon ET). And “The LCJ Q&A Podcast” features interviews with celebrities and filmmakers.