Product Key Features
Film/TV TitleThe Tale of Despereaux
DirectorSam Fell, Rob Stevenhagen
Subtitle LanguageArabic\English
FormatDVD
LanguageEnglish
Release Year2009
FeaturesMaking-Of\Featurettes\Interactive Games, Widescreen, With Subtitles
Aspect Ratio16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
GenreFamily
Run Time93 Mins
Additional Product Features
CertificateU
Number of Discs1
Country/Region of ManufactureUnited States of America
ReviewsTime Out London - æDespereauxÆ is all the more affecting and dramatically successful for its contemplative pace and measured delivery of information. A lovely film., New York Post - Somber, slow and elegant instead of frantic and dazzling. It works like a beloved fairy tale., Empire - The astonishingly starry voice cast is testament to the storyÆs charm, and while it meanders on its way to the requisite happy ending, the lush, stylised animation and courtly flourishes would win over anyone., The New York Times - ôDespereauxö is a pleasantly immersive, beautifully animated [à] tale. [à] The movie has a fine sense of pictorial detail [à] and an agreeable gentleness.
AuthorKate DiCamillo
Consumer AdviceContains mild violence, threat and scary moments
Additional InformationUniversal Pictures crafts a whimsical tale of courage using some truly stunning CGI animation in THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. Based on the award-winning book of the same name, the film features some all-star voice work from the likes of Sigourney Weaver, Dustin Hoffman, and Matthew Broderick. The story begins in the European city of Dor, a picturesque town know for its amazing soup. When the soup-obsessed rat Roscuro (Hoffman) accidentally brings about a tragedy in the royal kingdom, the Dor King falls into mourning, both soup and rats are banned, and the skies turn to gray. Roscuro soon finds himself living in the dank darkness of a place called Rat World. Nearby, in Mouse World, we finally meet our hero, Despereaux (Broderick). Despereaux is an unusually small mouse with some rather over-sized dreams. Despite his small stature, he longs to live a bold and exciting life, and he chafes at the dictums of Mouse World--where mice are taught to live quietly in fear. When Despereaux goes so far as to befriend the human Princess Pea (Emma Watson), he is booted from Mouse World down into the miseries of Rat World. There he meets Roscuro, and together the two decide to carry out their own individual quests and right what has been wronged. While Roscuro soon finds himself going astray, Despereaux sticks to his guns--or rather, his sewing-needle sword--and he fights to bring joy and freedom back to the city of Dor.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>The film remains pretty faithful to the book, although it does trim down some of the quirkier aspects of the novel. Yet the story is still refreshingly dark in places, and is reminiscent of such classic tales as THE SECRET OF NIMH and WATERSHIP DOWN--smart cartoons that were always about much more than mere cuddly talking animals.
Movie/TV TitleThe Tale Of Despereaux
Sound sourceDolby Digital
ScreenwriterGary Ross, Will McRobb, Chris Viscardi
VoiceChristopher Lloyd, Frank Langella, Emma Watson, James Nesbitt, Frances Conroy, Tony Hale, Stanley Tucci, Dustin Hoffman, William H. Macy, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Jenkins, Matthew Broderick, Ciaran Hinds, Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Tracey Ullman