The Tale of Despereaux

3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
A fun adventure for the whole family! This magical fairytale classic follows the exciting quest of a brave mouse who sets off to rescue a Princess and save an entire Kingdom.
  • Starring: Mathew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane
  • Directed by: Sam Fell
  • Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes
  • Release year: 2008
  • Studio: NBC Universal
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Product Details
Synopsis: A fun adventure for the whole family! This magical fairytale classic follows the exciting quest of a brave mouse who sets off to rescue a Princess and save an entire Kingdom.
Starring: Mathew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane
Supporting actors: Frances Conroy, Tony Hale, Ciaran Hinds, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Kevin Kline, Frank Langella, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy, Charles Shaughnessy, Stanley Tucci, Tracey Ullman, Emma Watson
Directed by: Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes
Release year: 2008
Studio: NBC Universal
ASIN: B002B9GR3W (Rental) and B001TKBNC4 (Purchase)
Rights & Requirements
Rental rights: 24 hour viewing period Details
Purchase rights: Stream instantly and download to 2 locations. Details
Compatible with: Mac and Windows PC online viewing, compatible instant streaming devices, TiVo DVRs. System requirements
Format: Amazon Instant Video (streaming online video and digital download)
Also available on DVD

The Tale of Despereaux DVD ~ Matthew Broderick

3.4 out of 5 stars (121) $5.00
Theatrical Release Information
  • US Theatrical Release Date: December 19, 2008
  • Production Company: Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Larger Than Life Productions, Framestore Feature Animation, Universal Animation Studios
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Not Bad, Not Great April 20, 2009
Format:DVD
How do I describe THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX? On the one hand, it's got top-notch animation, wonderful voice acting, and interesting characters. On the other hand, it has a few too many characters, grown-up themes, and requires the viewer's rapt attention. On the gripping hand, it's just not for little ones. To be clear, it's fine for young ones to watch, it just seems that they are not the film's intended audience. This is odd since it LOOKS like it's a kid's show. It was advertised as a kid's show. But my 4-year-old only watched when Despereaux himself was on the screen, and my 11-year-old spent most of the movie telling me how different it was from the book. My husband and I liked it, but we all agreed it was simply "OK."

THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX is actually a couple of tales, starting with the story of a sea-faring rat named Roscuro who loves soup. Through a horrible twist of fate, Roscuro's presence results in the queen's death (death by soup, believe it or not) and the banning of soup and rats from the kingdom. I had to wonder why no one had thought to banish the rats before but eh. Roscuro ends up in the dungeon where only the rats hang out. The second story is about Despereaux the mouse. We decided that Despereaux must be Flemish for "Dumbo" since that's pretty much who this mouse looks like. He can even fly with his giant ears. Despereaux is literally fearless and as such is banished from mousedom for fear of the other meeses learning his bad traits. Guess where he's banished to. That's right, the rat dungeon. Another story is about a peasant girl who dreams of being a princess. Apparently, this was toned way down from the novel, in that the girl's owner only sneers at her and doesn't beat her in the movie. We see how she is sold to the king's cook along with a herd of pigs. She eventually teaches us a lesson about jealousy. Then there's the king's story. He's so sad at the loss of the queen that he bans soup and rats (as we've covered) and sits in his room all day plucking a mandolin. His sadness manifests itself as gray clouds and no rain - everything dies. Then there's the princess who wishes she could fix everything, the jailer who wishes he could undo a tragic mistake, a cook who wishes he could once more make soups, an evil rat who doesn't seem terribly evil, and, and, and... As I said, there's a whole lot going on.

The short answer is that THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX itself is not offensive, but there are better options in this genre. Take a look at Dragon Hunters, for instance. It deals with the same themes as Despereaux (honor, courage, valor) but my family liked it a lot more.
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33 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Was a fun film December 20, 2008
Format:Theatrical Release
*Spoiler Alert. A request was made to add this for people who don't like to see storyline*

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.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
The Tale of Despereaux March 11, 2009
Format:DVD
Cast (voices): Matthew Broderick, Distin Hoffman, Emma Waston, Tracey Ullman, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Frank Langella, Sigourney Weaver
Director: Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen
Running Length: 1:30
MPAA Classification: G

Despereaux (Broderick) is a mouse who is banished from Mouseworld for not acting like a mouse. He doesn't cower, he doesn't intentionally trip mousetraps, and he speaks to humans. In the human's world, he meets Princess Pea (Watson), and decides to go on a quest for her to restore sunlight to a dark and grey kingdom. He is assisted by the rat Roscuro (Hoffman), who had caused the problem in the first place. Meanwhile, Miggory Snow (Ullman), the princess's servant, is plotting to remove the princess and take her place.

"Despereaux" has a more complex story than one might expect from G-rated fare, but it is not too much to alienate younger viewers. The storylines intersect well, and all come together in the end. The animation is good, but not Pixar quality. That is a small complaint, and Pixar is in a league of their own anyway. The voice talent is made up of many big names, and Broderick, Hoffman, and Watson are all excellent. This is an entertaining family film that can be enjoyed by all.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Movie Review
This is a good movie for kids and I would recommend it to other parents. My son read the book and love it, and wanted to watch the movie.
Published 8 days ago by D. Hubbard
Well, He's Cute. It's Fun. Not Going to be a Classic.
Well, it's not Disney or Pixar, but it is fun. However, the coming attractions (including Barbie and Thumbelina) give away a significant fact: this is designed for children,... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Barbara Frederick
A rare cgi film with so much heart
I was so pleasantly surprised by how good this movie was. So many new computer animated films are so empty and without any soul, trying way too hard to be current, or relevant or... Read more
Published 1 month ago by 0=0
B for boring
This was one of the most boring kids movies I have ever seen, the movie was really dark and we couldn't see the first half, just shadows, dialog, boring, characters boring, plot,... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ursula Roberts
The Tale of Despereaux
This was a delightful movie that taught a valuable lesson about misconceptions and self-esteem issues (negative and positive). Read more
Published 4 months ago by L. N. KEARNEY
not much impressed....the blue ray was good
the 3 stars are for the film being not so impressive..atleast to us...my 3 year old got too excited but soon got bored ... Read more
Published 5 months ago by moubou
Just Bad
I hate to say it because little Despereaux is so cute but this movie is bad. I have most of these cartoon movies that come out and I don't want this one. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Stine
A great family film
A film the whole family can enjoy. Learn about bravery, family, and being true to yourself. Rated G for even the little ones.
Published 6 months ago by Rachel A. Flavin
cute movie
this was a cute movie in my opinion but i think Hollywood is running out of movie ideas. we need some better story lines like nemo and lion king
Published 9 months ago by MOSHE WININGER
Good movie
When I watched Chicken Run I wanted pot pie. Now I want SOUP!!! This movie is very engaging. A little weak on the plot, a little predictable, and a little contrived - but... Read more
Published 9 months ago by 2 hourglass
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