Product Details

• Actors: Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman, Tracey Ullman, Kevin Kline
• Directors: Robert Stevenhagen, Sam Fell
• Writers: Chris Viscardi, Gary Ross, Kate DiCamillo, Will McRobb
• Producers: Allison Thomas, Casey Crowe
• Format: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Studio: Universal
• DVD Release Date: April 7, 2009
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0018ATR2S
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,248 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Movies & TV > Comedy > Comedy Stars > Tracey Ullman
  #52 in	Movies & TV > Kids & Family > Fantasy
  #65 in	Movies & TV > Animation > Science Fiction

• For more information about "The Tale of Despereaux" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Tale of Despereaux looks a little like Shrek. The storytelling and animation draw on everything from Ratatouille and classic fairytales to Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, Indiana Jones, and, in its action sequences, even Bourne and Bond. But this movie stands on its own; too dark and violent for very young children, perhaps, but for the most part it’s exciting and funny, and it delivers a message about bravery and forgiveness that is relevant to us all. Voiced by Matthew Broderick, the title character is a little guy, even by mouse standards, with enormous ears and an imagination to match; much to the dismay of his elders, he "never cowers, won’t scurry, and refuses to be taught to be scared" (he’d much rather read a book than eat it, a pursuit that fills his head with visions of valiant knights, damsels in distress, and a life defined by "courage, honor, and decency"). That leads to his being banished from Mouseworld to the realm of the rats, where, it is presumed, he will be eaten. But no. Ratworld--a dark, chaotic, genuinely scary place--happens to be the current residence of one Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman), a peaceful sort whose shenanigans in the human world have accidentally led to the death of the Queen, the imprisonment of the Princess (Emma Watson), and, worst of all, the banning of Soup Day (no small deal) and the end of soup itself! Roscuro and Despereaux join forces, inadvertently helped out by a homely but soft-hearted farm girl named Miggery Sow (Tracey Ullman), and, well, you can imagine how it all turns out. Directors Sam Fell and Robert Stevenhagen and scriptwriter Gary Ross (adapting Kate DiCamillo’s book) have concocted some vivid and interesting worlds for their film; the look is unusual, often washed out, muted, and bathed in hazy light; and the voice acting is excellent (others include William H. Macy, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, and Frank Langella). All in all, despite a conclusion that’s confusing even while it’s predictable, The Tale of Despereaux is a worthy addition to the crowded animation field. --Sam Graham

Printable Coloring Page, Map & Despereaux ears from The Tale of Despereaux (Click for full size)

Coloring Page

Maze

Despereaux Ears

Stills from The Tale of Despereaux (Click for larger image)

Product Description

THE TALE OF THREE UNLIKELY HEROES - A MISFIT MOUSE WHO PREFERS READING BOOKS TO EATING THEM, AN UNHAPP RAT WHO SCHEMES TO LEAVE THE DARKNESS OF THE DUNGEON & A BUMBLING SERVANT GIRL WITH CAULIFLOWER EARS - WHOSE FATES ARE INTERTWINED WITH THAT OF THE CASTLE'S PRINCESS.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad, Not Great, April 20, 2009

By	Karen Joan "Siren" (Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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.

24 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Was a fun film, December 20, 2008

By	Mathew A. Shember (Cupertino, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tale of Despereaux [Theatrical Release] (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.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing!!!!, February 27, 2009

By	Amandah Maudsley "LiteraryGuru" (UT USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Okay, as a parent I LOVED this movie. It was so nice to see a movie that had a simple moral value. Yes it was predictable but that was nice! It was something that a child could identify with and take to heart. I get so tired of the garbage that are in kids movies these days. I would recommend this to any parent who wants to teach their child the simple moral of forgiveness and rising above their circumstances. Good story!