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The Tale of Despereaux (2008)

Director: Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen

Time Out rating

Average user rating

17 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Could this be the best film ever made about a national soup ban? Aardman alumni Sam Fell and Robert Stevenhagen bring old-fashioned fairy tale dynamics and an inviting fireside warmth to this adaptation of the bestselling children’s book by US author Kate DiCamillo. A lengthy prologue sets the scene, where the enquiring mind of ship’s rat Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman) gets the better of him on Soup Day, and he falls into the queen’s painstakingly concocted broth and causes her to die on the spot. By decree of the king, both soup and rats are outlawed, which draws a veil of gloom over the land and inadvertently spawns the ugly, underground Ratworld. It’s up to tiny mouse, Despereaux (voiced by Matthew Broderick), to revive the fortunes of this once-picturesque township.

Stylistically, the film uses brushed, pastel tones to reference classical painting, the most direct example of which is the Arcimboldo-inspired kitchen helper whose body consists of fruit and vegetables. Also, older viewers won’t have to rely on another tired barrage of pop-cultural references, beat-boxing squirrels or hackneyed Shrekisms, and can instead grapple with the film’s surprisingly complex subtexts: ideas of regional conflict, unreasonable abuse of the law and political scaremongering.

There are a few problems, mainly with the narrative which keeps doubling-back on itself to introduce new characters. And while it’s not animated with the breathless pizazz of a Pixar, ‘Despereaux’ is all the more affecting and dramatically successful for its contemplative pace and measured delivery of information. A lovely film.

Author: David Jenkins

Time Out London Issue 2000/2001, Dec 18-31, 2008

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User reviews of this film

Mike said...

Posted on Feb 06 2012 19:44 Watched this with my eight year old and her Grandma. All of us thoroughly absorbed in the film marvellous animation and a good old fashioned story. One for the collection.

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Adam said...

Posted on Mar 09 2009 10:59 I went with my 2 daughters (7 & 9) at weekend and I thought this a delightful film (much better than I expected from reviews I'd read in advance), The visual style was different and superbly crafted, and there were some stunning scenes - particularly the contrast between Mouseworld & Ratworld; and great effects (such as the animation of the legend that Despereaux reads in the library). I thought that the emphasis on (old fashioned) values was great. I was entertained throughout & thought it a charming story of the the triumph of good over evil and the power of redemption. My only criticism is with the initial scene-setting voice-over introduction which didn't work for me and resulted in some initial confusion about the identity of the rat!). The best thing was that my 2 kids loved it too. I recommend it.

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abc said...

Posted on Mar 02 2009 01:59 Great film, the pace of the movie is quite slow and can be boring.

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John Baptiste said...

Posted on Jan 24 2009 00:46 I just love the fact this was animated in London.

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Mel said...

Posted on Jan 10 2009 18:41 I worked on this film for from beginning to end...two years, and the whole point was to deliver something different fromt the norm. Although I agree the story may be too convoluted at times, we were trying to take the animation and style to a new level and communicate with kids in a different manner. Although nervous about the lack of obvious gags, and adult jokes i was immensly proud of the risk that all companies took in creating something outside the box. Pixar and Dreamworks have set a standard, regards too look and content, it's about time we pushed those boudaries. P.S. Altohugh my younger nieces and nephews found some parts scary, the over ten years old, were sold out :)

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Victoria said...

Posted on Jan 10 2009 13:21 It was a really good film. I thought it was funny, very moving and of course the little mouse was sooo cute! Excellent story line aswell. I recommend it like mad!

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milly said...

Posted on Jan 04 2009 16:50 top film great fun and made me laugh right through! must see.

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billybob said...

Posted on Jan 03 2009 17:09 this was an appalling film..
terrible..
the characters were fantastic!
so was the plot..very funny! hated every minute of this..couldnt stop laughing...absolutely splendiferous!

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bob said...

Posted on Jan 02 2009 11:10 amazing my 2 kids loved it its got great grafics

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Tom Renshaw said...

Posted on Dec 31 2008 21:25 I loved every minute of this film; Desperaux is the cutest little mouse I have ever seen with his little pink teddy nose and his lovely ears. The film is very exciting and even my mum loved it. It is also the best fairytale I have seen and one of the highlights of my cinema career! A must see!!!!!

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pink said...

Posted on Dec 28 2008 19:05 i thought this film was quite bad. Nothing special and the kid next to me fell asleep. i didn`t laugh a bit, what a shame I remember when they made family for family to laugh. But this is not the case anymore. Seems to be jamed with moral issues, which is good, but I go and see film I wnat to be entertained. Therefore this film is not worth waisting you money.

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baz said...

Posted on Dec 22 2008 19:13 i thought the film was amazing my 8 kids enjoyed it so much they watched it again

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Seoras said...

Posted on Dec 20 2008 19:49 Just got back from the cinema having sat through this with my two sons - six and eight. I have to say this is an appalling film. The animation is good and the cast stellar but the story is so disjointed it feels like it has been written and rewritten by a large number of people who may not have actually met each other. The pace is very v e r y slow. It's one of those films where you never forget you are in a cinema and spend half the time either looking around the room or at your watch. Final word? Shmaltzy, disjointed rubbish.

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Dave Morris said...

Posted on Dec 17 2008 12:53 Its wonderful. This one is different. Not the usual missmash that spoonfeeds the audience. Sure there are rodents, but how many animated films have there been with rodents in the last hundred years? Come on. The coolest thing about this movie is it has a totally different flavour from the usual Animation Production houses. And it's not full of gags. Animation is a medium, not a genre! Well Done. Enjoy it guys n gals, finally a story that kids and adults can reflect on afterwards.

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margie said...

Posted on Dec 16 2008 19:24 Ooops! I forgot to mark the stars!

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