The Tale of Desperaux

Director: Sam Fell & Robert Stevenhagen
Cast: (Voices of) Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson, Frank Langella, Robbie Coltrane and Dustin Hoffman
DVD release: 1 July 2009
Rated: G

Magical mousy mystery

Wonder is a commodity that’s in short supply at the moment, so it’s kind of refreshing to see a kids’ film that doesn’t shy away from that miraculous childhood feeling in favour of the petty cynicism that infects other holiday movies. The Tale of Despereaux is unashamedly and endearingly aimed squarely at pre-teens, although older kids and even their parents will probably still find something to like here.

The timing of the film isn’t great I have to say. Given that the main characters are rats and mice, and a key plot element involves food, it’s inevitable that this animated film would be compared to last year’s excellent Ratatouille. That could be a little unfair on this film, as it doesn’t aspire to the same broad audience as Ratatouille did. Nonetheless, comparisons will be made and on a straight one-on-one contest, you’d have to say that Ratatouille is the superior film. Younger viewers however will surely not worry too much about such things and will almost certainly enjoy this tale of the little mouse that could.

The film opens in the mythical kingdom of Dor, where every year a celebration is held for the national dish – soup. This particular year however, a bold rat named Roscuro (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) accidentally messes up the festivities. His actions however have a tragic outcome, and as a result, the king declares both soup and rats illegal. This of course drives the rats and mice literally underground, while a dark pall falls over the kingdom. Enter Despereaux (Matthew Broderick), a young mouse who doesn’t behave like a mouse. He has no fear, and refuses to cower like his kin; and worse, he makes contact with a human – Princess Pea (Emma Watson). For this, he’s banished to the world of the rats. He however manages to forge a friendship of sorts with Roscuro and the pair set out to bring back the sunlight.

Now if you know anything about fairytales, you’ll immediately see where the film is heading. Along the way however are enough diversions and tension to keep most juvenile viewers glued to the screen, even if the adults around them are likely to become a bit fidgety.

Although The Tale of Despereaux is a pretty straightforward fable, it does take a while to get where it’s going. A couple of sub-plots seem rather superfluous and the pace does flag at times. I also question the decision to keep the colour palette quite so restrained, as it tends to accentuate some of the slow points. Personally, I could have done without the laborious voiceover narration (provided by Sigourney Weaver), but I guess it’s in keeping with the film’s fairytale roots (not to mention that it’s also an adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s book).

On the plus side though, the CGI animation is first-rate, the voice talent impeccable and it will only be the hardest of hearts that doesn’t feel at least momentary joy at the end of the film.

Adults could do a lot worse than ripping the kids off the video game console and popping in the DVD of The Tale of Despereaux. It’s not a dazzling technical wonder in the manner of The Incredibles, but it’s an elegant and occasionally quite moving parable that should find a willing audience in those for whom wonder is still a reality.

David Edwards

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