"An endearing and compassionate Christmas classic about the important values to remember, not just at this seasonal time, but all year around."

Once upon a time, a gallant mouse fell in love with a human princess and brought peace and hope back to a bleak and unforgiving kingdom, with the help of a banished rat… It all sounds a trifle far-fetched, even in fairy-tale circles, but is actually best-selling author Kate DiCamillo's beautifully touching and graceful little fable about the power of forgiveness and acceptance, over bigotry and revenge.

From the very first instance that we see the adorable little Despereaux, comes a warmth and admiration for the little mouse in his life-changing plight ahead, as well as a sense of tranquillity and inner natural strength. In fact, Despereaux is all about those supposedly 'mismanaged' traits of humanity, including thoughtfulness, compassion, courage and understanding. This delicately-coloured animation has wonderful depth, both in an emotional and a technical aspect. Unlike Ratatouille (2007) about a cooking-loving Parisian rat, Despereaux about an enigmatic mouse is not dizzy with colour and action, or packed with double-entendre gags like other recent animations, but concentrates, solely, on the storytelling part, adding humour when required. That is not to say that it does not contain comic moments, especially when the cat gets dragged, unceremoniously, back into its 'cell' by its prisoner rats, after unsuccessfully mauling Despereaux in a gladiatorial style event.

Perhaps, one of the most powerful elements of this film is both creature and human self-discovery and acceptance of (and being) the underdog. As Despereaux (voiced by Matthew Broderick) learns to acknowledge his physical and emotional differences in a positive fashion, so, too, does royal maid Miggery Sow (voiced by Tracey Ullman) and oddball rat Roscuro (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) and, in so doing, learn to control the hurt they feel that has been inflicted by others. This story also shows there are no purely evil characters, only those less fortunate than others and less powerful to defend themselves. Forgiveness is very much the word of the day -- too much, it may seem, with the barrage of "I'm Sorry"s at the end.

With an intelligence, depth and inner glow, and an impressive all-star cast that also includes Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Emma Watson, William H. Macy, Frank Langella, Stanley Tucci, Ciaran Hinds, Frances Conroy, Richard Jenkins and Christopher Lloyd, Despereaux is an endearing and compassionate Christmas classic about the important values to remember, not just at this seasonal time, but all year around.

Synopsis

A heart warming and magical animated adventure about a brave and virtuous mouse called Despereaux

Film Facts

Official UK site: http://www.thetaleofdespereauxmovie.co.uk/

UK release date: 19th December 2008

Directors: Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen

Writers: Kate DiCamillo, Gary Ross

Cast: Matthew Broderick ('Despereaux (voice)'), Dustin Hoffman ('Roscuro (voice)'), Sigourney Weaver ('The Narrator (voice)'), Emma Watson ('Princess Pea (voice)'), Christopher Lloyd ('Hovis (voice)'), Robbie Coltrane ('Gregory (voice)'), Kevin Kline ('Andre (voice)'), Richard Jenkins ('Principal''), William H. Macy ('Lester (voice)''), Stanley Tucci ('Boldo (voice)''), Ciarán Hinds ('Botticelli (voice)''), Frances Conroy ('Antoinette'), Tracey Ullman ('Mig (voice)'')

UK Distributor: Universal Pictures International UK

Certificate: U

Run-time: 93 mins

Recommend (0)

|  Comments (0)

|  Email

|  Share

Share  Facebook Digg del.icio.us