The Tale of Despereaux

Name: The Tale of Despereaux
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Animation, Family
Released: December 19, 2008
Duration: 93 min
Rating: 53
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, Matthew Broderick

2008

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 68 Ratings

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6.4

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6.4	Your Score
6.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 68 Ratings

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The Tale Of Despereaux

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Movie Details & Credits

Universal Pictures | Release Date: December 19, 2008 | G

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, Matthew Broderick

Summary: Once upon a time, in the faraway kingdom of Dor, there was magic in the air, raucous laughter aplenty and gallons of mouth-watering soup. But a terrible accident left the king broken-hearted, the princess filled with longing and the townsfolk despondent. All hope was lost in a land where sunlight disappeared and the world became drearyOnce upon a time, in the faraway kingdom of Dor, there was magic in the air, raucous laughter aplenty and gallons of mouth-watering soup. But a terrible accident left the king broken-hearted, the princess filled with longing and the townsfolk despondent. All hope was lost in a land where sunlight disappeared and the world became dreary gray. Until Despereaux Tilling was born... (Universal)… Expand

Director: Robert Stevenhagen and Sam Fell

Genre(s): Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Animation, Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 93 min

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Critic Reviews

TV Guide Magazine Tracie Cooper

A perfect fairytale, adhering to The Princess Bride's standards of fighting, fencing, torture, and true love, without the ham-fisted moral element of so many of its fairy-tale predecessors. Read full review

Peter Hartlaub

May not be a classic, but it still has a lot of class. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

A pleasantly immersive, beautifully animated, occasionally sleepy tale. Read full review

Michael Rechtshaffen

The flatly generic results certainly appear at odds with the picture's stirring visual style, which pays homage to the great Flemish artists. Read full review

Justin Chang

This graphically well-rendered kidpic is less crass and mouthy than many recent feature-length toons, but also more sluggish and ungainly as it tries to approximate DiCamillo's singularly delicate tone. Read full review

Andrea Gronvall

Many of the charms of Kate DiCamillo's best-selling children's book are lost in this British animation by Dreamworks alumni Sam Fell (Flushed Away) and Rob Stevenhagen. Read full review

Chris Kaltenbach

Kids will get antsy, wondering why their favorite characters disappear for long stretches of the film, while adults will wonder just when this scattershot approach to storytelling will congeal into something resembling coherence. Read full review

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User Reviews

AdamB

Apr 17, 2009

Great Movie! So cute. Great Music. Very original.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

ArtG

Jan 1, 2009

I was inspired by the visuals, enthrawled by the meathod of story telling, and encouraged by the unapologetic moral themes. Plus my 9 year old was entertained!

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MikeC

May 5, 2009

Maybe this movie simply suffers in comparison to a virtuosic film like Ratatouille? My family found it to be a great sweet story, well-animated, with none of these bullsh*t, Brooklyn-accented wiseacres that plague lesser animated films. A fine, quality entertainment.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JeffW.

Dec 29, 2008

Overall, this was a good movie for kids under the age of 8. The film could have been about 20 minutes shorter and had a bit less violence for a G rated movie, but everyone under 8 enjoyed it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

TimoV.

Mar 8, 2009

A food loving rat ends up messing around in the kitchen with a soup, which unleashes a mayhem like never seen before. Sounds familiar, a bit like Ratatouille? Well, it's not. The Tale of Despereaux has some very beautiful passages to it, some wonderful artwork, but the animation sucks A food loving rat ends up messing around in the kitchen with a soup, which unleashes a mayhem like never seen before. Sounds familiar, a bit like Ratatouille? Well, it's not. The Tale of Despereaux has some very beautiful passages to it, some wonderful artwork, but the animation sucks and the story is a bit too fractured to really work for this type of a film.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Agrotera

Apr 4, 2012

This film was a mess. The plot was like three very crappy early-morning children's TV shows stripped of all personality and quirk and rolled into an hour and a half of extremely dull, artsy-fartsy, fragmented storylines. They obviously pushed the 'morbid' theme as far as they could whileThis film was a mess. The plot was like three very crappy early-morning children's TV shows stripped of all personality and quirk and rolled into an hour and a half of extremely dull, artsy-fartsy, fragmented storylines. They obviously pushed the 'morbid' theme as far as they could while still advertising as G-rated.
I thought the voice acting was pretty bad despite all the big names that worked on this movie. Every time Sigourney Weaver jumped in to preach at us through the narration, I couldn't help groaning a little ... it was that bad.
I haven't read the book, but I have a feeling that most of the parts I really loathed were invented for the film.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

DaliS.

Dec 28, 2008

i don't usually bother rating movies online but this atrocious mess prompted me to try and save someone from making the same mistake i did. do not go see this movie. there are no redeeming factors to be considered here, this is an utter stinker, not for kids not for adults. peeeeyouuuuuuu.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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