When you are so small, even for a mouse, the world can be a dangerous place, but when your heart is brave, nothing can stand against your dreams.
From metacritic.com
Check out streaming holiday favorites and binge-worthy classics in our Holiday Streaming guide.
Related News
Every Movie and TV Show Expiring From Netflix in the Month of April
26 March 2016 1:30 AM, +01:00 | POPSUGAR
26 March 2016 1:30 AM, +01:00 | POPSUGAR
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Connect with IMDb
Share this Rating
Title: The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
User Polls
1 win & 8 nominations.
See more awards »
Learn more
People who liked this also liked...
The Ant Bully
(2006)
Animation
|
Adventure
|
Comedy
Director:
John A. Davis
Stars:
Paul Giamatti,
Nicolas Cage,
Julia Roberts
Igor
(2008)
Animation
|
Comedy
|
Family
Director:
Anthony Leondis
Stars:
John Cusack,
Molly Shannon,
Steve Buscemi
Planète 51
(2009)
Animation
|
Adventure
|
Comedy
Directors:
Jorge Blanco,
Javier Abad, and 1 more credit »
Stars:
Dwayne Johnson,
Seann William Scott,
Jessica Biel
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Matthew Broderick | ... |
Despereaux
(voice)
|
|
| Dustin Hoffman | ... |
Roscuro
(voice)
|
|
| Emma Watson | ... |
Princess Pea
(voice)
|
|
| Tracey Ullman | ... |
Miggery Sow
(voice)
|
|
| Kevin Kline | ... |
Andre
(voice)
|
|
| William H. Macy | ... |
Lester
(voice)
|
|
| Stanley Tucci | ... |
Boldo
(voice)
|
|
| Ciarán Hinds | ... |
Botticelli
(voice)
|
|
| Robbie Coltrane | ... |
Gregory
(voice)
|
|
| Tony Hale | ... |
Furlough
(voice)
|
|
| Frances Conroy | ... |
Antoinette
(voice)
|
|
| Frank Langella | ... |
Mayor
(voice)
|
|
| Richard Jenkins | ... |
Principal
(voice)
|
|
| Christopher Lloyd | ... |
Hovis
(voice)
|
|
| Charles Shaughnessy | ... |
Pietro
(voice)
|
|
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
The tale of three unlikely heroes - a misfit mouse who prefers reading books to eating them, an unhappy rat who schemes to leave the darkness of the dungeon, and a bumbling servant girl with cauliflower ears - whose fates are intertwined with that of the castle's princess. Written by Anonymous
Taglines:
Small Hero. Big Heart. See more »Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
Edit
See more »
See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
19 December 2008 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
La légende de Despereaux See more »Box Office
Budget:
$60,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend:
£560,870 (UK) (19 December 2008)Gross:
$50,818,750 (USA) (27 February 2009)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
Despereaux: Um... a week.
Mayor: A week? You hardly cracked it.
Despereaux: Well I was... I just wanted to see how it ends.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Justin Long was originally slated to voice the title character, Despereaux. Ultimately, the role went to Matthew Broderick. See more »Goofs
When Despereaux is about to be dropped into the rat dungeon, he has red string wrapped around his waist. The camera cuts away to show the dungeon, and when it comes back to see Despereaux, the red string is missing for one shot. When the camera shows him again before being dropped, the string reappears properly. See more »Quotes
Mayor: How long have you been working on this book?Despereaux: Um... a week.
Mayor: A week? You hardly cracked it.
Despereaux: Well I was... I just wanted to see how it ends.
See more »
I just saw this movie again, and stand by my original assessment of it. It's an underrated classic, with far more depth than most family movies. On the one hand it's more simplistic than, say, a Pixar film. It's more of a fairy tale like The Little Prince. And while I don't care for the character designs too much (though they do have an artistic charm to them), from a writing standpoint I would put Despereaux on par with the best Pixar films, maybe more so.
Most of the main characters are seriously damaged, yet believably human (even the rodents). The way some characters fall from grace is more believable than anything Lucas came up with in Star Wars III.
If it has a failing it's with some of the secondary characters, such as the Soup Maker's assistant (made up of vegetables) which just didn't really seem necessary.
But the themes of anger, regret, sadness, depression, and the power of forgiveness makes this a movie I feel more children should be exposed to. It's a very much a children's movie, but deals very much with adult themes.