Seldom do I enter a film with little to no foreknowledge of plot or critical expectation. In the case of The Tale of Despereaux this circumstance has more truth than ever before. I knew nothing of the film beforehand besides having been deluged with a 52-foot tall mouse with gigantic ears in Times Square format. Even then, the poster hardly does the movie justice.
The Tale of Despereaux finds a stride of animatic beauty in a vein all its own. Unlike Pixar's strive to create a maximal feeling of realness (Wall-E) or a clearly cartoonish presentation (Toy Story), Framestore Feature Animation drapes the screen with the colors of an artistic palette many art majors will find quite familiar. Even the animation style itself borrows from the elongated facial features of art eras of long ago.
Before we begin in on the plot, please note that Despereaux attempts a story with more intertwining plotlines than most animated features ever dare.
The story begins with Chiaroscuro (Dustin Hoffman) coming into the port of the Soup-obsessed kingdom of Dor upon the aptly named day of reckoning: Soup Day. Apparently Roscuro, as he's called for the rest of the film, is Ratatouille's long lost ancestor as he's apparently got a thing for fine cuisine and so sneaks into the castle to get a better whiff of the chef's creation. To cut the intro short, a chef is making the year's ceremonial soup, Roscuro falls into some of it, the Queen dies and consequently rats and soup are outlawed from the kingdom. New York could learn something from the rat outlaw decree, but moving on. Enter now, the titular hero Despereaux (Matthew Broderick) whom, despite all his teachers' lectures, just can't seem to adopt the stereotypically meek qualities of the average mouse. Instead, Despereaux spends his days defying mouse traps and having obnoxiously large Dumbo-esque ears. Eventually, Despereaux's bravery drives him to explore the world above and sneaks into the castle where he reads a generic fairy tale, meets Princess Pea (Harry Potter's Emma Watson) and regales her with his newly acquired knowledge of chivalry, honor and being a gentleman.
But you just can't go defying the laws of mouse-dom and not expect consequences. You just can't. Sorry.
Upon learning of Despereaux's excursions he's expelled by the Mouse Council and exiled into the dungeon - the sewer - to meet his fate at the hands of the rats. Eventually Roscuro and Despereaux meet and an adventure of self-realization, morality and purpose comes to be.
Really, that's just the first 30 minutes or so - for a children's movie it's packed with plot, which is probably why your average child might find it a bit dry. The colors aren't as flashy and bright as your average cartoon has acclimated them to and between the sparse scenes of action it's actually quite a talky piece of animation. Even though the animation is beautiful it feels like The Tale of Despereaux is stuck in between a movie with basic lessons aimed at the 8 to 9 year-old crowd but with a complex story which would actually fare well as an RPG for a slightly older generation.
In fact, for most of the movie I was thinking ‘goddamn, this could be a pretty cool little RPG'.
The Tale of Despereaux boasts a very impressive roster of stars to supplement its very artistic style and elaborate story. The entire film is narrated by Sigourney Weaver in a very sleepy and wistful way as Broderick, Hoffman, Watson, Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Robbie Coltrane, Frank Langella and Christopher Lloyd fill out the story. Perhaps the most satisfying performances come from Kevin Kline and Stanley Tucci as a giant vegetable creature named Boldo. I say satisfying not in that it made the story better, but in that when a being composed of pans and veggies assembled itself on screen I got a good impression about what the filmmakers were smoking during production (because the veggie being is not in the book from what I've heard). William H. Macy appears as Despereaux's father - and while not physically resembling the actor - Macy's personality shines through.
Unlike the disappointing Delgo, The Tale of Despereaux doesn't fail because of its acting talent but because it loses sight of its audience. Children will enjoy it, most of it, because of the bits of action and the fun way the story is told. But it risks losing their attention because while beautifully rendered and colored, The Tale of Despereaux feels like it demands a higher level of children interest than its story book roots would have parents guess. The higher level of interest isn't inherent in its story - as the barebones story of Despereaux's character has been seen numerous times before - but rather in the sheer volume of stories. With an additional side story for both the Princess's servant and Roscuro's time in the Ratworld, The Tale of Despereaux will break from the scenes with the cute little mouse to flesh out the porcine looking servant girl and her rat's misguiding voice.
By all means, I endorse The Tale of Despereaux as a movie that you and your children would enjoy. But it's all about their age, and in that respect I'd advise that you take kids in the 8-10 year-old threshold. For animation fans I say see it also - as it notably strays from the current Pixar style but in a way that is at once refreshing and rich.
"The Tale of Despereaux" opens December 19, 2008 and is rated G. Adventure, Animation, Children & Family. Directed by Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen. Written by Will McRobb (screenplay), Kate DiCamillo. Starring Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Kline, William H Macy, Emma Watson, Tracey Ullman, Frank Langella, Christopher Lloyd.
