AMB Reviews

The Tale Of Desperaux: 7.5/10 Stars

Release Date: December 19, 2008

Content Advisory: Rated G. There are several cartoonish action sequences, involving sword fights and chases, though it is all kept at a G-Level and remains very safe.

Review:

The Tale of Despereaux is based on the popular children's book, which, quite frankly... I hated. My fifth grade teacher read this novel out loud to the class. Though many in my grade loved it, I couldn't stand it and dreaded every part of the day when she would sat down to read it. That being said, I walked into this movie trying to forget about that. In the end, it worked out quite well and the result was surprising...

In Short: 

The Tale of Despereaux usually takes place in Mouseworld and Ratworld (original, right?). Mouseworld being where the mice live, and Ratworld being where the rats live and feast on dead mice, obviously. In this film, mice are made to be afraid. In fact, it's actually promoted to the mice to be afraid and cower in fear at the knife and the cat, etc. That is, except for Despereaux, who, no matter how hard anyone tries... refuses to be scared. This being a G-rated flick though, you can expect it to be completely family friendly. And although I was surprised at the lack of laughs in this film (heck, most of the comic moments were in the trailer), it still ended up being a fairly enjoyable movie, and one that is (surprisingly) much better than the book.

In Full:

Another title that could've easily worked for this film is, "The Brave Little Mouse." Sound familiar? That's because it is. The plotline of this film runs very similar to other "Brave Little..." movies, though this time... it's with a mouse. Despereaux lives in Mouseworld, where mice are trained to fear nearly everything that exists. But Despereaux has always been a little different. Firstly, there's the matter of his colossal and quite frankly, adorable ears. Secondly, and more problematic, there is the fact that Despereaux just isn't very scared of much of anything. This begins when he purposely sets off and just barely escapes mice traps. It is then pushed to its limits when Despereaux travels out of Mouseworld and into the human world to an actual human princess! Of course, the Mouse Council isn't at all pleased with this. This leads to many daring (and G-Rated) chases, sword fights, and several laughs, all neatly tied up in one package.

The voice casting for this film was great. Matthew Broderick starred as Despereaux, and he did so just fine... giving him just the right amount of curiosity and courage. Emma Watson voices the princess splendidly, who, as many know, also played Hermione in the ever-so popular, "Harry Potter" flicks. The rest of the supporting cast, including the Rat King, Despereaux's parents, and the wannabe princess servant girl, were all decently casted as well, though none really stuck out to me as great. All in all, the voices are neat and original, and ended up being a nice pro to the film. 

For a $60 million budget, I was expecting some nice visuals as well for this film. What did I get? Though some of the characters, especially the humans, seemed a bit bland and without many features, this film offers some very unique animation and visuals. Neither Pixar or Dreamworks has ever created this type of animation. It's something in between those two, and it ended up being a nice surprise. It's no Pixar, but it most certainly isn't a con. It was actually quite fresh to see a new type of animation up on the screen. And although sometimes, as I noted before, some of the humans faces or the background scenery could grow somewhat dry... it was nothing too big to get in the way of enjoying the film. 

My only problem with the film was the lack of laughs. From viewing the trailer, the makers made this movie out to be a comedy-adventure type film. In the end, the scenes I can really only remember laughing at, were the same ones that were shown in the commercial. I mean, the movie was fine without much humor, but I went into the theater expecting to laugh, and what I got was a few jokes occasionally tossed in to give it some humor, but it ended up being merely an adventure cartoon, rather than a comedic adventure. So, take in mind that the trailer is misleading. If you laughed at the trailer, it's probably the only time you will laugh, as the film rarely offers much more than what was served up in its promotions. 

In the end, The Tale of Despereaux is not perfect. It's no "Wall-E" or "The Incredibles." But it's not trying to be either one of those. This is a film created solely for the family. It's one with no swearing, no sexual content, and only G-Rated, bloodless action. It also tosses in some corny messages about loyalty, bravery, and honor. It's a feel-good film that, though it may not have the parents jumping out of their seats cheering for Despereaux, it will most certainly not leave them disappointed or disdained.