Review of The Tale of Despereaux (2008) by Charlie L — 05 Nov 2012

This is a beautiful, very underappreciated movie. The pacing is slower than American audiences are used to, but it allows the scenes to play out and develop gradually. For a story this complex, that's probably a good thing so people can keep up.

.. it takes place across three "worlds" (the human world, the mouse world, and the rat world, all of which are part of the same castle) and there are quite a few characters to keep track of. Some of the characters switch from hero to villain or vice versa more than once during the film, which keeps it interesting.

The film isn't as good for smaller children as you might expect; I had to keep explaining what was going on to my 4-year-old daughter. This is no Stewart Little. The tone is not quite as dark as the source novel, which might upset some, but I think both versions of the story are beautiful in their own way.