Reviewed by Helen Bolton
Stars the voices of Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman,
Emma Watson, Kevin Kline, William H Macy, Stanley Tucci, Tracey Ullman, Christopher Lloyd, Sigourney Weaver
Written by Gary Ross, Will McRobb & Chris Viscardi
Certification UK U | US G
Runtime 93 minutes
Directed by Sam Fell & Rob Stevenhagen
As the Princess (Watson) so rightly says of our big-eared, titular hero, "You are a strange little mouse." He is indeed. And the film is a curiosity as well. That's not a negative though, just a reflection on the eccentricity of this rodent / valour / soup-themed tale.
Life in the Kingdom of Dor used to be good. The soup capital of the world, it was a land filled with joy - and heady aromas of broth. However, an incident with a bowl of soup, the Queen and a visiting, sea-faring rat called Roscuro (Hoffman) changed all of that and the heart-broken King bans soup and rats. And then into this grey world is born Despereaux (Broderick), a big-eared, big-hearted mouse who knows no fear. Having learned to read books in the Royal Library rather than eat them, Despereaux sees his mission in life as a brave knight, fighting foes to save the maiden fair and, thanks to circumstances beyond his control (or, as you should probably call it in such tales, destiny), our cheese-eating hero is going to get his chance.
Rodents and gourmet food? In an animated tale? Haven't we been here before? Well, yes and no. Ratatouille may have covered similar ground but it's a country mile from Kate DiCamillo's eccentric, but charming yarn. It's also arguable that, even with its Flemish-painting inspired design, this fairytale-esque story is a lot more child-friendly than Pixar's tale of longing and redemption. The story does stutter slightly at the end of the second act / beginning of the third, but it's pulled back to a very satisfying conclusion, and features fine voicework throughout —I mean, look at that cast! — and some lovely animation.
• Official Site
• The Tale of Despereaux at IMDb
