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Matthew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane, Frances Conroy, Tony Hale, Ciarán Hinds ... see more see more... , Dustin Hoffman , Richard Jenkins , Kevin Kline , Frank Langella , Christopher Lloyd , William H. Macy , Charles Shaughnessy , Stanley Tucci , Tracey Ullman , Emma Watson , Sigourney Weaver

A diminutive mouse strives to make a mammoth change in his troubled kingdom in this adaptation of author Kate DiCamillo's Newbery Medal-winning children's book. A long time ago, in the distant kingdom... read more read more... of Dor, a horrible accident broke the heart of the king, left a beautiful princess crestfallen, and filled the townspeople with despair. As the sun disappeared from the sky and the flowers were drained of color, the laughter slowly ceased in this once-magical land. It was into this darkened world that a tiny mouse named Despereaux Tilling was born, and while this virtuous little rodent may have been short in stature, his bravery was ultimately too big for such a small world to contain. An unlikely hero with oversized ears and a discernible wheeze, Despereaux was taken with tales of chivalry, and longed to one day become a noble figure among his people. Sometimes in order to realize their true destiny, heroes must first experience great hardship, however, and when Despereaux fails to adhere to the rigid rules of his society, he is banished from Dor. Later, while exploring the outer realms, the lonely Despereaux is joined by a kindhearted rat named Roscuro. Roscuro, too, has been excommunicated from his homeland, and still cannot stand to look into a mirror lest he be reminded of his painful past. Later, as Despereaux embarks on a treacherous quest to rescue the endangered Princess Pea, Roscuro is set down the path of self-destruction after receiving a painful rejection from his highness. Now, on their way to realizing their extraordinary destinies, these two unlikely heroes will face off against the malevolent leader of the sewer rats, who is plotting revenge on humans from his subterranean kingdom; befriend a common serving girl who longs to become princess; and meet a whole host of colorful characters that they will never forget. Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, and Tracey Ullman lead a powerhouse cast in this animated feature produced by Gary Ross and Allison Thomas. Also lending voices to the project are Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, William H. Macy, and Christopher Lloyd. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

46% liked it

160,317 ratings

Critics

56% liked it

107 critics

G, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Sam Fell, Rob Stevenhagen

Release Date: December 19, 2008

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DVD Release Date: April 7, 2009

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Stats: 8,145 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (8,145)

  • DreamExtractor
    August 18, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    Good animation, but a boring and unintellegent story. Really not very good, a better tale for a straight to DVD movie.
  • coollala0910
    February 15, 2011
    coollala0910
    Oh my goodness gracious! They ruined such an amazing story with this movie. I love the book, "The Tale of Desperaux". It was exciting, funny, fresh, and original. You can easily see how much they tried to honor the source material but they easily failed at every chance they got. ... read more

    The story is about a fearless mouse named Desperaux who has exceptionally large ears and a big taste for adventure. He live in a castle and a has crush on the princess, who is voiced by Emma Watson of "Harry Potter" fame. Thats one of the very few good things about the film. I don't want to give too much away about the story. Read the book for more.

    To me, the animation was detailed and good-looking but was unoriginal. Its like they tried to mix Pixar with a Da Vinci painting! The voice acting was decent but not that pleasing. They've could've done a much better job with casting Desperaux. The most annoying thing about the film was Sigourney Weaver's freaking narration! It was poorly written and made me want to perform hari kari on myself.

    They did not honor the source material, they raped it! They severely raped a wonderful tale with this. They failed to make it exciting like the book. This is sure to bore children to sleep. They also failed to add intereting humor. What kind of G-Rated animated movie contains no humor? There were like only two jokes in this. None of them made me laugh. I'd rather look at a pile of horse droppings for the entire film's runtime. If you plan to see this, read the book first. If you end up giving this a watch, you'll be saying "Forget this movie! The book was so much better!" when it ends.

    It sucks so bad, I could not make it to the end, folks.
  • skeletonking101
    January 2, 2011
    skeletonking101
    Though i havent read the book and i still care not to, i have to say the movie was pretty good
  • bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb1
    July 29, 2010
    bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb1
    the book was excellent. it was really sad and depressing and great. the movie was crap. its not anything like the book. everything that was great about the book they took out in the movie. this was a major disapointment. F
  • superclerk25
    November 15, 2009
    superclerk25
    This flick was boring most of the time and scattered the rest. None of the characters were developed beyond the surface level except for the rat who started the whole thing. With the story jumping around from place to place and never really coming to any sort of satisfying conc... read morelusion. The animation was ok but it seemed like they worked the hardest on one or two of the characters looks and then the rest of the folks were just given a quick pass in the design department.
    In the end I felt that this was a very forgettable movie.
  • Godless
    May 10, 2009
    Godless
    Nothing special but still enjoyable while on a 8 hour plane ride.
  • gor41
    April 26, 2009
    gor41
    Charming animated fairytale with beautifully rendered settings and solid voice acting.
  • jlewis07
    April 18, 2009
    jlewis07
    Fun little movie that has a nice running length and a great voice cast. I think it's better than the overrated Bolt and should have taken its place for animated films at the Oscars for 2008.
  • hobster1
    April 12, 2009
    hobster1
    Animated fantasy from Universal Studios about how the lives of a mouse, a rat, a servant girl and a princess intertwine within a dispirited kingdom. Features beautiful animation. Unfortunately the story is a chaotic mess that juggles multiple characters and shifting story lines... read more, unsuccessfully. What should have been a sweet, whimsical story to watch, feels like a labored, heavy handed chore.
  • sanjurosamurai
    December 30, 2008
    sanjurosamurai
    on the one hand, there are virtues in this film that i want my kids to know. the emphasis on courage, truth, and honesty are encouraging. the animation was also better than i had heard and the characters were very well done. however this film had too many problems to overcome.... read more it started way too slow, there were moments that were contrived out of what seemed to be a lack of creativity, and there were a few scenes that looked significant until you realized that they werent, which got annoying a few times. good animated films are for kids but can entertain their parents, kids will love this, parents wont.

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Critic Reviews

Ben Lyons
December 22, 2008
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

It just tries to take a little bit from some of the things we've seen over the past few years that have worked to make this work and it's just desperate and it doesn't work. Full Review

Ben Mankiewicz
December 22, 2008
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

It's like Ratatouille meets Upstairs Downstairs to go sort of cross-generational but it didn't work really on any level. Full Review

Linda Barnard
December 19, 2008
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star

. The plot is too convoluted and there are too many characters to keep track of. Full Review

Peter Hartlaub
December 19, 2008
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

The Tale of Despereaux may not be a classic, but it still has a lot of class. Full Review

Steven Rea
December 19, 2008
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Despereaux is a little too desperate to be loved. Full Review

Roger Moore
December 19, 2008
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

There's precious little space in Despereaux's tale for heroism (save for the third act) and humor. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
December 19, 2008
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

Their gentle care and attention help fill out this sweet tale. So, too, do the background artists who have created wonderfully intricate universes for the different rodents to inhabit. Full Review

Kyle Smith
December 19, 2008
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Somber, slow and elegant instead of frantic and dazzling. It works like a beloved fairy tale. Full Review

Colin Covert
December 19, 2008
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Flat-footed when it should be fleet, scary when it means to be exciting, and only intermittently emotionally effective, The Tale of Despereaux does a disservice to Kate DiCamillo's well-regarded child... Full Review

Sheri Linden
December 19, 2008
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times

Despereaux is a rare creature, not only for the handmade look and subtlety of its computer-generated imagery but also for its irony-free embrace of once-upon-a-time storytelling. Full Review

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  • Who does the voice of Princess Pea in "The Tale of Despereaux"?  Answer »
  • Who voices the title character in "The Tale of Despereaux" (2008)?  Answer »
  • Who was the royal head Chief in The Tale Of Despereaux ?  Answer »
  • Who voice is used for Roscuro in The Tale Of Despereaux ?  Answer »
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