6.1/10
35,224
107 user 116 critic

A Lenda de Despereaux (2008)

The Tale of Despereaux (original title)
| Animation, Adventure, Comedy | 18 December 2008 (Portugal)
A Lenda de Despereaux Poster
Trailer
2:13 | Trailer
An unusually brave mouse helps to restore happiness to a forlorn kingdom after making friends with a gentleman rat.

Directors:

Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen (as Rob Stevenhagen)

Writers:

Kate DiCamillo (book), Will McRobb (screen story) | 2 more credits »

Stars:

Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman | See full cast & crew »
53
Reviews
1 win & 8 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

See all 2 videos  »

Photos

See all 63 photos »
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)
See full cast »
Learn more

More Like This 













◄ Prev 6 Next 6 ►

Next »
Igor (2008)
Animation | Comedy | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

Animated fable about a cliché hunchbacked evil scientist's assistant who aspires to become a scientist himself, much to the displeasure of the rest of the evil science community.

Director: Tony Leondis
Stars: John Cusack, Molly Shannon, Steve Buscemi
Next »
Lenda dos Guardiões (2010)
Certificate: M/12 Animation | Action | Adventure
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

When a young owl is abducted by an evil Owl army, he must escape with new-found friends and seek the legendary Guardians to stop the menace.

Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham
Next »
O Rapaz Formiga (2006)
Certificate: M/4 Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.8/10 X  

After Lucas Nickle (Zach Tyler) floods an ant colony with his watergun, he's magically shrunken down to insect size and sentenced to hard labor in the ruins.

Director: John A. Davis
Stars: Paul Giamatti, Nicolas Cage, Julia Roberts
Next »
Planeta 51 (2009)
Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

An alien civilization is invaded by Astronaut Chuck Baker, who believes that the planet was uninhabited. Wanted by the military, Baker must get back to his ship before it goes into orbit without him.

Directors: Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad, and 1 more credit »
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Jessica Biel
Next »
Quico - O Pequeno Herói (2006)
Certificate: M/4 Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.7/10 X  

A boy (Jake T. Austin) begins a grand journey to return Babe Ruth's baseball bat before the deciding game of the 1932 World Series comes to a close.

Directors: Colin Brady, Christopher Reeve, and 1 more credit »
Stars: Jake T. Austin, Brian Dennehy, Whoopi Goldberg
Next »
Capuchinho Vermelho - A Verdadeira História (2005)
Certificate: M/6 Animation | Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf, the Woodsman, and Granny all tell the police the events that led up to their encounter.

Directors: Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, and 1 more credit »
Stars: Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, Patrick Warburton
Next »
Artur e os Minimeus (2006)
Certificate: M/6 Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

Ten-year-old Arthur, in a bid to save his grandfather's house from being demolished, goes looking for some much-fabled hidden treasure in the land of the Minimoys, tiny people living in harmony with nature.

Director: Luc Besson
Stars: Freddie Highmore, Mia Farrow, Madonna
Next »
Astro Boy (2009)
Animation | Action | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

When an android replica of a boy is rejected by his aggrieved creator, he goes off to find his own identity in an adventure that would make him the greatest hero of his time.

Director: David Bowers
Stars: Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell
Next »
Horton e o Mundo dos Quem (2008)
Certificate: M/6 Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

Horton the Elephant struggles to protect a microscopic community from his neighbors who refuse to believe it exists.

Directors: Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino
Stars: Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett
Next »
Balbúrdia na Quinta (2006)
Certificate: M/6 Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.5/10 X  

When the farmer's away, all the animals play, and sing, and dance. Eventually, though, someone has to step in and run things, a responsibility that ends up going to Otis, a carefree cow.

Director: Steve Oedekerk
Stars: Kevin James, Courteney Cox, Danny Glover
Next »
O Maravilhoso Mundo dos Brinquedos (2007)
Certificate: M/6 Comedy | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

The young apprentice of a magical, eccentric toy store owner learns to believe in herself, and in her friends, upon learning some grave news about the future.

Director: Zach Helm
Stars: Natalie Portman, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Bateman
Next »
Ballet Shoes (TV Movie 2007)
Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

The story of three orphan girls - Pauline (Emma Watson), Petrova (Yasmin Paige), and Posy (Lucy Boynton) - adopted by an eccentric explorer, Great Uncle Matthew (Richard Griffiths), and his niece Sylvia Brown (Emilia Fox), in 1930s London.

Director: Sandra Goldbacher
Stars: Emma Watson, Yasmin Paige, Lucy Boynton
Edit

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

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

close up of eyes | close up of lips | close up of mouth | close up of ear | mouse | See All (83) »

Taglines:

Small Hero. Big Heart. See more »

Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Justin Long was originally slated to voice Despereaux. See more »

Goofs

When Andre picks up Despereaux from the kitchen floor, he picks Despereaux by his body and in the next shot, he grabs Despereaux by the tail. See more »

Quotes

Principal: [going over the violations Despereaux committed at school] February 1, didn't cower. February 2, didn't cower. Didn't cower. Didn't cower. Won't scurry. Ah! Here's one.
[He pulls out a note book with a child's drawing of a cat]
Principal: He drew pictures of cats on his notebook.
Lester: [flinching away from the drawing] No cats!
Antoinette: [dismayed] I can't imagine.
Principal: I'm afraid so...
[stiffly]
Principal: He named it "Fluffy!"
Lester, Antoinette: [they both moan in dismay]
See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'The Tale of Despereaux' (2009) See more »

Soundtracks

It's Great to Be a Rat
(uncredited)
Written & Performed by Glen Ballard, Gary Ross and David A. Stewart
Arranged by William Ross
Produced by Glen Ballard and David A. Stewart
Published by UPG Music Publishing (BMI) and Universal Pictures Music (ASCAP)
[Deleted song]
See more »

User Reviews

 
Half a good movie
28 December 2008 | by kurt_kennett – See all my reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this film up to the half-way mark. Right about the point that Roscuro is shunned by the princess. After that point everything fell apart. Despereaux becomes MIA for about 10-15 minutes of screen time, there's the a whole superfluous side-story with the farm chick.

None of the timing worked in the second half of the film - *none* of it. There are such huge lapses in time and space and completely disjointed events occurring that have nothing to do with one another. For example, when Despereaux rings a bell it makes the chef start to make soup again. Why? What's the connection? There isn't one.

Don't even get me started on the vegetable spirit. A completely pointless escapade that is tangential to any part of the rest of the story. It's as if someone said "what's the stupidest thing that could happen at this point?" and then they answered it.

If only they had made a great 2nd half to match the fantastic first half. Sigh. 5/10 is being generous.
20 of 38 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 107 user reviews »

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is "The Tale of Despereaux" based on a book?
Q: How closely does the movie follow the book?
Q: What is the name of the lute music played by the King?
See more »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Spain] | Universal Studios

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 2008 (Portugal) See more »

Also Known As:

A Lenda de Despereaux See more »
Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,103,675, 21 December 2008

Gross USA:

$50,877,145

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$86,957,280
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Larger Than Life Productions See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See full technical specs »
Getting Started | Contributor Zone »

Contribute to This Page



Clear your history

Recently Viewed