The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
Features  |  Reviews
FIND MOVIES
Find a Movie
Movie List
Loading ...
or
Find Theaters and Movie Times
or
Search Movies
50_bands_50_States_2009_banner

Review: The Tale of Despereaux

A glorified hunk of cheese
By TOM MEEK  |  December 16, 2008
2.0 2.0 Stars


VIDEO: The trailer for The Tale of Despereaux

This animated mouse epic aspires to grand scale but falters in its execution. The rodent (voiced by Matthew Broderick) of the title, who makes up for his stature with Dumbo-sized ears, tries to rescue a princess (Emma Watson) and save the kingdom of Dor from despair. Hard to believe, but the situation has something to do with the banning of soup: the princess's father (the original Soup Nazi) has put a bounty out on rats because the queen drowned in a bowl of porridge. In Dor, the rats and the mice reside in separate subterranean enclaves: the former's digs resemble a Turkish prison, whereas the latter show better manners in a village filled with discarded books and broken pots. Any mouse caught in the rat den winds up dead meat in the arena or on a dinner plate — or both. Adapted by Sam Fell and Robert Stevenhagen from the Kate DiCamillo book, this dark, disjointed fairy tale has impressive visuals, but in the end it's just a glorified hunk of cheese.

Related: Boo-ya!, Jews just want to have fun, Rare treats, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Matthew Broderick, Matthew Broderick, Al Yeganeh,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

Today's Event Picks
ARTICLES BY TOM MEEK
Share this entry with Delicious

 See all articles by: TOM MEEK

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group