| 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)
|
|
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
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.