“The Tale of Despereaux” is not only the type of animated film that enchants its viewers with its tiny and cute characters who run back and forth worried about day-to-day fairytale problems, but also a magical world that holds the key to an inspiring lesson. Yes, energetic little creatures can teach us many things. We just have to be willing to learn from them.
The action surrounds Despereaux Tilling (voiced by Matthew Broderick), a teeny mouse whose ears are larger than his body, but whose soul is even bigger. He has felt uncomfortable with his odd appearance since his birth and, thus, has befriended a charming human princess named Pea (Emma Watson) and an entire library. In fact, he really is the bookworm kind.
Based on the 2003 fantasy book of the same name by Kate DiCamillo, the film is narrated by a somehow detached Sigourney Weaver, who tells the story of the lightly shaded Kingdom of Dor, where everything seemed to go according to plan (or consistent with the monarchy). Peasants were pleased with their rights, leaders were fair and impartial, while rats rushed from one corner to another without being ill-treated, poisoned or trapped (in mouse-traps, of course). Oh, and there was no Tom. And Jerry had no problem.
Everybody in the kingdom, from mice to princesses, found solace in a special soup, which emanated an overwhelming scent throughout the royal kitchen and the wooden bowls of ordinary people alike.
However, the order in the kingdom turned into chaos when a rat named Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman) slipped into the soup of the queen and generated an entire scandal.
Helmed by Sam Fell and Rob Stevenhagen and written by Gary Ross, who is also a co-producer, “The Tale of Despereaux” is an enjoyably engrossing, magnificently animated film that follows the adventures of its lead mouse, who permanently falls in the sharp claws of trouble, because a fairytale wouldn’t be a fairytale if it failed to bring a couple of villains into play, as well as several captivating moments.
Despereaux has to both stand out for his boldness in the kingdom and fight the forces of evil that outshine the pastel-hued towers. The movie carries an instructing message as well, since it shows how Despereaux transforms his simple mouse-self into a real superhero by reading and studying instead of chewing the pale pages of the books, as ordinary mice do.
We can also envisage the stories our big-eared hero mouse reads, because he paints every happening on an imaginary canvas that reveals the adventures of a sad princess and a valiant knight.
The picture blooms thanks to its strong sense of symbolic representation, finely portraying key elements such as Despereaux’s flimsy fuzz, and delightful placidness that comes to light every time our little mouse reveals his gentle side.
