Tale of Despereaux Review

So, if you haven't realized, the holiday season is upon us. Or even almost over. Whatever. If you want to enjoy a nice holiday movie, there are a number out there, including Tale of Desperaux.

This movie is based on a children's book and is about a brave little mouse. As will be explained in the rather long and boring exposition, the setting is a kingdom where soup is celebrated. However, this stops when the Queen dies from fright after seeing a rat. Years later, a desolate kingdom remains: it is constantly overcast but never rains, soup has been banned and it is illegal to even harbor a rat. Despereaux becomes the mouse who saves the kingdom from its gloom.

I won't give away anymore plot than that, though I'm sure you can guess the general gist of it, considering its holiday release, G rating and target audience. (Hint: happily ever after is a good bet.)

As I alluded to earlier, I disliked the pacing of the movie. I found too much time wasted in exposition and too little time spent in places where the characters could have be given more development. This type of pacing is common in stories aimed for younger audiences, but this is no excuse. There are plenty of successful examples, such as Finding Nemo, that gives the character depth while still maintaining an exciting plot (though comparing things to Pixar films might be a bit unfair).

Visually, the film wasn't bad. There was plenty of attention to detail and a good use of imagination in the respective towns of the rats and mice. However, I find the animation quality inconsistent. While Despereaux is nicely designed, Princess Pea (voiced by Emma Watson) looked odd and incomplete. Ratio wise, she bothered me; this is one princess that could be confidently be called "horse-faced". Her plain looks also contrast with the rest of the cast and the setting, making it look like she wasn't finished being animated.

Aurally, I also had mixed feelings about the soundtrack. The music was properly suited for a fantasy film, and I found it quite enjoyable. The voice acting was also pretty decent, with only occasional uncharacteristic lines that sounded more like narrating. But they weren't as bad as the actual narrator, Sigourney Weaver. There's probably quite a lot of bias on my part for not liking Weaver's narration, i.e. my belief that British narrators are the best, but I found Weaver's narration to be an irritating version of school time story time. It was completely ill-suited to a fantasy film.

But the redeeming feature? The sheer cuteness of the film, or specifically, the cuteness of Despereaux. So if something that would make cuteoverload.com would make this film worth it, despite the failings I mentioned, go ahead an see it. Otherwise, wait until you're bored and channel surfing one day.