The Tale of Despereaux (2008)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

This is a hard show to talk about. It was done rather well although it feels a bit off. The sad thing is, I don't know why. You can definitely tell it was created for children in how they react too many different things. In fact, the main story line seems a bit forced in my mind about little creatures doing big things is found throughout the whole story.I'm not really fond of the way they show the rats and the mice, rats being lowlifes and mice looking like they are higher up in the chain. It also seems a bit to ironic that a rat becomes the bad guy. It just feels a bit too used in a lot of different shows. I understand that it's for kids, but it would be really nice to see something new. The ending, though I will not spoil it, just feels really odd, pretty much putting way too much into the thought that if you just say sorry, it would be alright thing. It just seems really forced again.Just a little thing I do need to say, the side character, Boldo, feels a lot like Don Quixote. The way he acts and talks is pretty much alike.The characters are interesting looking with large heads and even bigger eyes. The animals look a bit more human then the actual humans in fact. The world around them is really gray, even before the bad stuff started. I have to say though; the textures are really really well done. They look wonderful and the bump maps don't seem to be overwhelming even when they do close ups to the mice. Unfortunately, it is a little to much considering the look of the characters.The voices are pretty good though it's sometimes hard to understand one or two of them with how heavy the accent is. It is a little bothersome and makes my head hurt. Princess Pea and Despereaux are the only ones that actually sound pretty good on the accent.

As a child, (3rd grade-ish?) I read this book over and over again. It was dark, but powerful, and it rang true. It helped me through some dark times.Even today, being 18 years old, it's still one of my favorites. THE BOOK.However, the second I heard they were making a movie, I was scared of them butchering this wonderful tale. They certainly did.I stuck through until the end, just to hope it would have some sort of redeeming quality-- and it did not... I understand that they couldn't make it as dark as the book (It'd have to be rated PG or PG-13 or something) but STILL. A veggie monster?! What's up with that? The singing and dancing? They have absolutely RUINED a childhood (and adult) favorite.SUMMARY: If you read this book and enjoyed it... please do not even bother looking at this movie. It will absolutely ruin your day.

"The Tale of Despereaux" was a cute, little film, which tries to evoke the same feeling of several old fairy tales and classic animated movies. However, despite the good intentions, this movie had several flaws and annoying aspects that made it very much less enjoyable, and while this film could have been great, it ends being just okay.The best aspect of this film it's the animation, with a great atmosphere and cute and appealing designs. (The sequence where Desperaux reads a fairy tale about knights and dragons is particularly beautiful and well made, and for me, it was the best part of the movie) The voice acting is correct, without being particularly memorable. Personally, I think it was a mistake to cast Matthew Broderick as Desperaux. I don't have anything against that actor, but his voice doesn't fit with the character. Also, the narration made by Sigourney Weaver is incredibly annoying and preachy (And completely unnecessary, since all the scenes and the message from this movie are quite clear and easy to understand) That narration just get worse and worse while the movie advances, to the point of being distracted.The story, without being incredibly original, starts very well, but while it advances, it turns somewhat rushed, having some plot holes, and unconvincing twists (And to get it worse, the annoying narrator doesn't even bother make a good explanation about those aspects of the story, telling the most obvious things and reminding the viewers the message of the movie instead) Some of the characters that at first seem like they are going to have a relevant role in the story are quickly forgotten and never mentioned again (Such as weird guy made out of fruits and vegetables) Anyway, despite those flaws, this movie was funny to watch and had some good scenes and an excellent animation. Personally, I would recommend this film to all the viewers who love the classic animated movies based on fairy-tales, though I think that this movie could be a little "dark" and heavy handed for the little kids (Well, at least compared with the most recent CGI animated films which are more focused in the comedy)

I know that comparing an adaptation to the source book is too close to not looking at the film for its own merits. I won't go into a line by line list of the changes, but the changes bring nothing to the film. They only take away. The changes seem designed to make the movie more like a typical animated film, which the story wouldn't have been had it stuck closer to the themes of the book.The three characters who really have a story in the book are Roscuro, Miggery Sow, and of course, Despereaux. In the movie, only Despereaux is painted with any real background and character, and all of that is noticeably different from the character in the book. The subtleties that made him so charming are gone, replaced by a devil-may-care nature. Where the Despereaux in the book found heroism in himself, where he didn't expect it, the Despereaux in the film was depicted as being born for heroism. This difference sums up the change in theme and direction of the movie. It becomes much more typical because of this change, without room for character growth. Roscuro and Miggery Sow are similarly rewritten so that they don't develop. The plot is rewritten around them, with strange additions such as the chef and the man made of food.At first, I was confused by comparisons to Ratatouille, but after seeing the first twenty minutes of this movie, I understood it, and perhaps they have something in that comparison. I can't think of a good reason for some of the additions that came out of the blue into the movie adaptation.