The Tale of Despereaux - Movie Review and Synopsis

Banished from his home for being more man than mouse, Despereaux (Broderick) is befriended by Princess Pea (Watson) who teaches him the value of reading books (instead of eating them) as well as a fellow outcast, Roscuro the Rat (Hoffman), who is interested in hearing the stories Despereaux has learned. When Roscuro is shunned by the princess, however, he plots her kidnapping, putting Desperaux’s human-sized bravery to the test.

Triplets of Belleville director Sylvain Chomet first began work on Despereaux, though he eventually left the project to continue development on a Jacques Tati-scripted project that may or may not be his next film. Chomet was temporarily replaced by Corpse Bride co-director Mike Johnson, though the giant mouse ears wound up being handled by veteran animator Robert Stevenhagen and Flushed Away’s Sam Fell. This is definitely the second most-interesting animated project of the year (nothing is beating WALL·E) and it’s cool to see Chomet’s influence lingering in the trailer. Given the derth of family films this holiday season, Despereaux is the champion by default — even if the marketing and promotion for this one seemed to peter out early.