14. The Tale of Despereaux

DIRECTED BY ROB STEVENHAGEN & SAM FELL

WRITTEN BY GARY ROSS, WILL MCROBB, CHRIS VISCARDI & ROB STEVENHAGEN

STARRING: SIGOURNEY WEAVER, MATTHEW BRODERICK, ROBBIE COLTRANE, FRANCES CONROY, TONY HALE, CIARAN HINDS, DUSTIN HOFFMAN, RICHARD JENKINS, KEVIN KLINE, FRANK LANGELLA, CHRISTOPHER LLOYD, WILLIAM H. MACY, TRACEY ULLMAN & EMMA WATSON

RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 19, 2008

AGE RECOMMENDED 5 & UP

 This is a really cute movie based in the book Kate DiCamillo. The movie is about accepting the odd in all of us and fighting the wrongs we made to turn them into right and eventually stand for themselves without being disrespectful. This is a really entertaining movie specially for kids, is a marvel watch the kids watching the movie because they will spend the time of the movie  trying to figure it out the outcome of the story.  

The animation of the movie is beautiful and gentle to the point it might seems too passive and even sleepiness.

 PLOT

A ship sails into the kingdom of Dor, known for its ‘Royal Soup Day.’ Roscuro, a rat, is aboard with a human companion, Pietro.

Roscuro is mesmerized by the aroma of soup being prepared in the castle’s kitchens and he escapes Pietro to find the source. In doing so, he finds the castle banquet room and accidentally falls into the Queen’s soup after she takes the first sip. The Queen then has a heart attack, falls headfirst in her soup bowl and eventually drowns with no one noticing. Meanwhile, Roscuro is being chased about the castle. The chase finally ends when Roscuro falls into a vent and plunges into the dungeons.

The king in his grief orders soup to be forbidden and rats banished, This was a Dark Ages and the town falls into eternal darkness and famine. Roscuro meanwhile, meets Botticelli, the brutal leader of the rat world.

A few years later, an adventurous mouse, Despereaux Tilling is born, and becomes friends with the lonely Princess Pea. Upon finding out that Despereaux has broken the law by speaking with a human, the Mouse Council banishes him to the dungeons, from where he is saved by Roscuro from being eaten by the other rats. Despereaux tells Roscuro of the princess’s gloom, which touches the rat.

Roscuro approaches the princess to apologize, but she is terrified of him and he is chased out. Hurt, he decides to kidnap the princess. He enlists the help of a servant girl, Miggery Sow, whom he later double crosses, and locks in a cell.

Meanwhile, Despereaux realizes that the princess is in danger. Back in the rat colony, Roscuro sees the apologetic sincerity in Pea’s eyes and regrets his actions, but is unable to stop the rats, to whom he has given her, from clambering over her. Here Despereaux comes to the rescue, letting loose a cat. Roscuro causes Botticelli to run into the cat’s cage for a fatal end. The battle over, Pea and Roscuro exchange apologies.

Mig is rescued by the jailer, who is revealed to be her father, and goes back to her farm with him. Roscuro is reunited with Pietro, and the princess and the king decide to soothe their grief by relying on each other for support. The mice no longer live in fear and Despereaux, reunited with his family, remains close friends with the princess even as he departs for his next adventure.

Princess Pea: What are you, a mouse? 
Despereaux: No… I’m a gentleman.