Review of The Tale of Despereaux (2008) by Carolyn M — 21 Jul 2009
An animated adaptation of the Kate DiCamillo children's book with the lead voice by Matthew Broderick. I highly recommend reading the book to your kids. A bit scary at times, but there are layers of depth that can bring up conversations about identity, self-worth, light versus dark and courage.
The movie brings out many of these elements, but not in any significant way to prompt further discussion. While some of the animation is quite beautiful (scene rendering, Despereaux's imagining of the hero story he is reading), the animated people are quite robotic and stiff-looking.
Also, the eyes of the rodents are quite disturbing and creepy...to the point of distraction. The voice talent is quite good, but ultimately the sub-par animation pieces and the various plot points that are changed from the book left me a bit disappointed.
It is rated G and is OK for the whole family.
This review of The Tale of Despereaux (2008) was written by Carolyn M on 21 Jul 2009.
The Tale of Despereaux has generally received mixed reviews.
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