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IMDb > The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
The Tale of Despereaux
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The Tale of Despereaux (2008) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 65 | slideshow) Videos (see all 33)
The Tale of Despereaux (2008) -- The Tale of Despereaux - Theatrical Trailer
The Tale of Despereaux (2008) -- Clip: Despereaux tries to tell Chef Andre about the Princess' capture
The Tale of Despereaux (2008) -- Behind the scenes: Tracey Ullman makes noises in the studio
The Tale of Despereaux (2008) -- Interview: Sigourney Weaver "On the what the film has to offer"
The Tale of Despereaux (2008) -- Trailer: Despereaux, a tiny mouse with huge ears, is determined to rescue his beloved princess.

Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   6,105 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Kate DiCamillo (book)
Will McRobb (screen story)
more
Contact:
View company contact information for The Tale of Despereaux on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 December 2008 (USA) more
Tagline:
Small Hero. Big Heart. more
Plot:
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. | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
8 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(91 articles)
Christmas and new year TV films
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 18 December 2009, 5:30 AM, PST)

Christmas and new year TV films
 (From The Guardian - TV News. 18 December 2009, 5:30 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Half a good movie more (82 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Despereaux - Un pequeño gran héroe (Argentina) (Peru) [es]
A Lenda de Despereaux (Portugal) [pt]
Cincin lovag (Hungary) [hu]
Despereaux - Der kleine Mäuseheld (Germany) [de]
Despero (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Desperon taru (Finland) [fi]
Dzielny Despero (Poland) (poster title) [pl]
El valiente Despereaux (Spain) [es]
Eventyret om Despero (Denmark) [da]
I istoria tou Despereaux (Greece) [el]
La avventure del topino Desperaux (Italy) [it]
La légende de Despereaux (France) [fr]
Lugu hiirest nimega Despereaux (Estonia) [et]
O Corajoso Ratinho Despereaux (Brazil) [pt]
Príbeh o Zoufálkovi (Czech Republic) [cs]
Prica o misu zvanom Despero (Croatia) [hr]
Sagan om Despereaux (Sweden) [sv]
more
Runtime:
93 min | 90 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Sylvain Chomet was originally set to direct before being dismissed by the production company, to be replaced with Sam Fell. Chomet stated his ideas were too dark for them, and that marketing would question his character designs with future merchandising in mind. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Despereux 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 Despereux, the red string is missing. more
Quotes:
Narrator: [voiceover] I could say they lived happily ever after, but what's the fun in that? more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "This Morning: (2009-04-09)" (2009) more

FAQ

How closely does the movie follow the book?
Is "The Tale of Despereaux" based on a book?
What was that vegetable thingie in the kitchen?
more
17 out of 28 people found the following comment useful.
Half a good movie, 28 December 2008
5/10
Author: Kurt Kennett from Vancouver, Canada

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.

Was the above comment useful to you?
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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Despereaux ROLEPLAY! smallflame17
this film considered too dark for kids? xerxerxex
What in the holy hell was up with the veggie demon? kindigth
Well... I liked it renardazur
My poor daughter toughed it out as long as she could... Brooke123
It happened with Ratatouille and now Despereaux... mizpriz29
more

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