"I liked this movie alot,but it was a little violent,like the cat chasing Despereaux and when he gets away,the cat eating the leader of the rats(not shown,just implide),and the cook trying to kill Desperaux with a kinfe.Other then the violence,"The Tale of Despereaux" has great friendships,loves,and soups.I would call this a "pg" movie.,so be careful with small children,and this is more of a kid movie,so adults may only think it is cute.So,if u have kids or you are one this is a great movie for you!"

"When I first heard about this movie I didn't knew what to expect. Another mouse movie? Well, partially true.

The movie is a bit more dense than regular animation movies, presenting several stories that come together as the movie goes on. Although this usually works on regular movies, it seems a bit off place on an animation movie where the story usually is more plain, with only one true main character and his story.

Luckily enough I didn't tried to understand the story from the very start and seeing this movie proved to be entertaining enough. You won't see simply a mouse with big ears, you will see more than that in this movie."

"At The Movies

The Tale of Despereaux (G) * * *

Director: Sam Fell and Robert Stevenhagen Stars: Voices of Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson Genre: Animation (comedy/fantasy) Studio: Paramount Films Audience Suitability: G Rating: * * * Release Date: Dec. 25, 2008 Running Time: 94 Minutes

Rodent Messiah!

By ROBERT WALDMAN

Bless the beasts and the children. And cherish those creative souls with lots of imagination. Parents looking to sit their little one downs for some wholesome family entertainment need look no further than The Tale of Despereaux, a delightful and harmless bit of fairy tale nonsense from Paramount Films now firing imagination up at TInseltown (on Pender, free parking), Empire Studio 12, Colossus and Famous Players Silver City cites across B.C.

Lots of modern filmmakers always try to push the envelop with new animation projects. Different nations produce filmmakers with decidedly different styles. My how far have we come since the days when Walt Disney gave us our first animated cartoon. With The Tale of Despereaux we’re going back to when mice were mice, rats were rats, and countries were ruled by benevolent leaders. Well, maybe not so fast.

Our story takes us to a medieval kingdom of sorts ruled by a king with his dutiful queen and loving daughter, Princess Pea. Known far and wide for an annual summertime food festival this city is famous for a soup day. Here we’re talking about no ordinary soup kitchen. Instead all the town stops cold to partake in this miraculous achievement that the palace sets forth. Unfortunately during this meal a little rat gets in the way.

Roscuro seems nice enough as a pet but creates havoc in the kingdom. Bad things flow forth from this unfortunate dining experience which sees the whole region plunged into an era of darkness and drought. Down below all rats are banished to ratland while the mice get by in mouseland.

Through some miracle of sorts a special mouse named Despereaux emerges from out of the woodwork. Having no fear and a heart of gold this talking mouse takes an interest in Roscuro and the lovely princess. What ensues is a calamitous race against time as brave mouse and rat join forces to save the princess, safeguard a kingdom and turn back an evil menace threatening world peace. Well, that latter description is stretching things just a tad but you probably get the picture.

Action, heroics, minor romance and funny dialogue make The Tale of Despereaux a cut above most typical Hollywood animated fare. Just a long list of major actors have lent their voices to this 94 minute journey, headlined by Mathew Broderick (The Producers) and Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate) as lead mouse and lead rat, respectively. Not satisfied with “only” two megastars the producers also managed to sign up Kevin Kline, Frank Langella, Robbie Coltrane, Emma Watson and Stanley Tucci to voice other characters in this wild story.

Perfect for small children The Tale of Despereaux is bright and colourful with an engaging story sure to hit home with those looking for some gentle imaginative fun.

Read more reviews by Robert at www.moviereviewssite.com "