Synopsis:
A tiny mouse with oversized ears, Despereaux (Broderick) refuses to spend his life cowering in fear. Banished from Mouseworld for being more man than mouse, he befriends a Princess named Pea (Watson) and learns to read. When Pea is kidnapped, Despereaux discovers only he can rescue her - and prove to everyone that even the tiniest mouse can have the courage of a knight in shining armor. Based on the book by Kate DiCamillo.
Our Thoughts:
Another animated tale is heading towards theaters this Christmas season: The Tale Of Despereaux.
At first glance, Despereaux looks to be nothing more than an update on An American Tail - yikes.
On closer look, however, it turns out that Despereaux is based on a novel by Kate DiCamillo (who also wrote the book that kid-friendly Because of Winn-Dixie was based on) - a positive sign for kids.
And then there’s the cast of voice actors. While Universal isn’t as big on the animated movie scene as Dreamworks, Sony, Disney or Pixar, they have assembled quite the voice cast for this Christmas pic.
Harry Potter’s Emma Watson ventures away from the wizarding world to lend her voice to the Princess; Dustin Hoffman, marking his second foray into animation (his first being the recent Kung Fu Panda (2008)); Matthew Broderick (can Ferris Bueller actually be funny again?); Kevin Kline, whose The Road To El Dorado (2000) was hilarious; Christopher Lloyd (where has he been since Back to the Future Part III?) and William H. Macy (animated Fargo? Hmmm…that could be fun).
The plot sounds interesting at first glance - A mouse that shares something in common with Dumbo is kicked out of “Mouseworld” (do they have rides there?) and ventures forth into the human world, becoming fascinated with stories of knights, dragons, etc. Sounds like a good setup for lots of adventures by this tiny guy.
But why Christmastime for a release date? As far as I’ve been able to tell, the story doesn’t even mention winter, much less the Christmas season. Guess the filmmakers are hoping those kids on Christmas break will flock to the theaters.
As for us, I think we’ll avoid the noisy kids and wait for DVD for this one. It should be cute, but it doesn’t look like it’s worth braving the crowds and paying the big bucks for.
