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Tale of Despereaux, The
Universal Pictures


4.2

based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 14 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: G for General Audiences

Starring Matthew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane, Frances Conroy, Tony Hale, Ciaran Hinds, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, and Frank Langella

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 dreary gray. Until Despereaux Tilling was born... (Universal)

GENRE(S):	Adventure \| Animation \| Comedy \| Family/Kids \| Fantasy
WRITTEN BY:	Kate DiCamillo (book) Gary Ross
DIRECTED BY:	Sam Fell Rob Stevenhagen
RELEASE DATE:	Theatrical: December 19, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	94 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	UK \| USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

TV Guide 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.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It is a joy to look at frame by frame, and it would be worth getting the Blu-ray to do that. I am not quite so thrilled by the story, which at times threatens to make "Gormenghast" seem straightforward.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

A skillfully managed fairy tale about a mouse, a rat, and fairy tales in general.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

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

New York Post Kyle Smith

More like Disney's "Sleeping Beauty," somber, slow and elegant instead of frantic and dazzling.

Los Angeles Times Sheri Linden

A rare creature, not only for the handmade look and subtlety of its computer-generated imagery but also for its irony-free embrace of once-upon-a-time storytelling.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

A pleasantly immersive, beautifully animated, occasionally sleepy tale.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

Despereaux at least has too much ambition rather than too little, but its curiously intellectual pleasures suggest a quaint puzzle rather than a passionately loved fairy tale.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

While the voice acting is fine and the story is nicely paced, the visuals are disappointing.

USA Today Claudia Puig

While the story does not quite come to magical life, the themes of courage, hope and decency are sweetly inspiring.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

I admired the craft more than I loved the results. But The Tales of Despereaux is still better-than-average animation.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

The tiny, intrepid rodent is so cute it's impossible not to ooh and aww, just looking at him. Which is a good thing, because you'll need something to get you through the long stretches of fairytale pastiche that make up this overwrought yarn.

The Hollywood Reporter 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.

Empire Staff (Not credited)

While it meanders on its way to the requisite happy ending, the lush, stylised animation and courtly flourishes would win over anyone.

Entertainment Weekly Adam Markovitz

Too bad the story's such a mess.

Chicago Reader 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.

NPR Bob Mondello

A little slow for the very youngest kids -- though the messages it imparts are certainly ones you'll want them to hear.

Variety 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.

Washington Post John Anderson

As usual with these animated epics, much depends on the vocal performances, and it's a mixed bag.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

Unfortunately, the life has been sucked out of DiCamillo's story about a brave, unusual little mouse.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The movie is a freakish creature, with lush, painterly animation inspired by Dutch and Flemish masters, attached to a convoluted, gloomy narrative punctuated with scenes of sadism that rival "The Dark Knight."

Film Threat Stina Chyn

As easy as it is to pass down mantras of fear and hate from parent to child or society to community (and individual), so is the imprinting of courage and compassion through conversation, emulation, books, plays, films, and the like. The Tale of Despereaux, aims to share such a message.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

Clumsily wedged in like a TV commercial between deafening stunts, the emotional storytelling sinks without trace, leaving you with only one flawed character to cling to.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

The lesson learned from The Tale of Despereaux is that an overabundance of vocal talent does not a good cartoon make.

Baltimore Sun 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.

The average user rating for this movie is 4.2 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Art G gave it a9:
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!

Chad O gave it a9:
Very good movie.

Connie M. gave it a1:
This was a dark, scary movie to take kids from 8 & under to... my grandkids said they wanted to go home less than halfway through it ! ( I wanted to leave too !) We did leave .... sorry to have wasted money... wish we had read the reviews before we went !

Michael F. gave it a3:
This tale is long in duration but short in plot, action, humor, character development, and everything else that makes an animated movie good. The bad guy, a rat, is recycled, part and parcel, from the critic in Ratatouille - I think they took the same CGI model and made it a rat. I was so disappointed - the premise had so much potential, but the follow-through was flat and utterly uninspiring.

Jeff W. gave it a6:
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.

Teresa B. gave it a2:
Nice animation, but my husband, myself and our 9 year old daughter quickly became lost in the plot. We also found it to be somewhat dark and violent for a rated "G" movie.

Dali S. gave it a0:
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.

Tale of Despereaux, The Universal Pictures

Tale of Despereaux, The
Universal Pictures