The classic French story (with many changes - some fans of the original book will take note, as my 10-year-old did) comes to the big screen with a stellar cast providing voice talent.
It is the tale of heroism that revolves around the life of Princess Pea (voiced by Emma Watson). Two unlikely heroes Despereaux (voiced by Matthew Broderick), a mouse that is small for a mouse (with incredibly huge ears), and a sea-faring pirate-like rat named Roscuro (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) come together by chance in the far away kingdom of Dor.
Their lives are intertwined with that of the princess when Roscuro accidently falls into the Queen’s soup and kills her - which sets off a chain of events that must, ultimately, be undone. It is a tale of heroism, yes, but the underlying message is beautifully done: it is also a tale of forgiveness wrapped up tightly in the bondage of immense grief and longing. As the film progresses, forgiveness becomes more powerful than grief.
The king, grieving over the death of this wife, proclaims that all rat are enemies to the kingdom and should be banished (mice are considered kin of rats and banished as well). There will be no more soup made (which is what the kingdom of Dor was famous for - their wonderful soups), and his daughter the princess is locked away in her bedchamber.
The king spends his days playing his lyre, grieving and doesn’t realize what a grievous mistake he has made for his kingdom. No one can stay in a perpetual postponement of life due to immense grief without disastrous results. Also, the weather in the kingdom seems to be suspended also - it neither rains nor shines, but stays permanently cloudy.
Within the framework, Despereaux, that odd little mouse, is born and doesn’t fit in. His family worries about him constantly - he doesn’t scurry like a mouse should, or cower, or appreciate the wonder taste of paper and glue that books offer (he would rather read them).
He springs the castle mouse traps with little fear and gets the cheese. It seems Despereaux is a brave, noble soul and does not fear much (which is not the way a mouse should behave!).
Roscuro, meanwhile, is busy trying to survive in the dank and dark world of the rats, and his character is that of a gentleman that is put to the test. Roscuro’s chivalrous character was my favorite. He is noble to a fault, but finds himself in dire straits as he is locked away in the horrible dark dungeon of the castle and he must survive in Ratworld.
He misses the sun and the sea, and he grieves for the life he had living on a ship, basking in the sun, talking with human champions. And it doesn’t make it any better that this is his fault. He wanted a taste of soup so badly, and he could smell it, and well, that led to the Queen’s death.
His human champion had warned him not to go far, and he did, lured on by the mighty smell of soup. His ship sails away and he is stranded, left to contemplate the fates and forgive himself. I thought Hoffman did a wonderful job of voicing Roscuro; however, I did have a slight complaint. At times it was very hard to hear him as he seemed to mumble and I had to turn up the volume or miss what was being said.
The bad rat that runs Ratworld is Botticelli (voiced by Ciaran Hinds) tries to turn Roscuro’s noble heart bad, and almost succeeds. In Ratworld, Botticelli rules with cruel intentions and there are Roman-like gladiator matches in an arena with all of the rat citizens cheering and booing. Botticelli even gives the classic ‘thumbs down’ sign.
I watched this with my boys (ages 5 and 10) and they loved the scenes with the cat. The cat is kept in a metal box and let loose on a chain during these gladiator-like events. During one scene, poor little Despereaux is about to become cat food. I found the scene a bit disturbing (perhaps because of the Roman-arena-like history behind it?) but my boys loved it. The cat comes into it at the end also, but I don’t want to give anything away.
This is a wonderful tale of overcoming odds, staying true to one’s self, and not succumbing to outside pressures. It is a tale of heart, beautifully narrated by Sigourney Weaver. The sage wisdoms and the heart of the story come from listening to the narration.
When Roscuro turns bad, I loved the description of someone with a broken heart...and I am paraphrasing here…how the heart grows back together twisted, and that person looks for someone else with whom to share their misery. Weaver’s voice just lends itself to such a tale of woe, and I believe her narration really brought this film from great to magnificent.
Roscuro finds such a person in the poor maid, Miggery Sow (voiced by Tracey Ullman). She is a poor soul who longs to be a princess, and Roscuro uses to her kidnap the real princess. Of course, things come together in the end, and I don’t want to spoil the ending.
The picture quality on Blu-ray is spectacular and its one of those films that seems to be made for Blu-ray technology. The fruit man, Boldo (voiced by Stanley Tucci) is so detailed you can see every piece of fruit and vegetable he is made of, from his string bean fingers to his cherry eyes to his grape beard and watermelon head. The 1080p picture shows every eyelash surrounding Princess Pea’s clear green eyes, and the jewels in her tiara sparkle with an inter light.
You see every freckle on Miggery’s face and every hideous twitching whisker on Botticelli’s evil rat face. You see every ingredient going into the marvelous soup creations of Andre (voiced by Kevin Kline) and you almost smell the wonderful smells of the soup as it filters out of the castle kitchen into the kingdom (almost but not quite!). I would highly recommend buying this on Blu-ray for the sheer clarity of the awesome animation.
It also comes with some great features - some exclusive to Blu-ray which includes two all new deleted songs, and make up your own soup game. Also there is an animating the animals feature, which shows you how artists brought Despereaux and other to animated life.
There is also a picture-in-picture that allows you to see interviews and behind-the-scenes footage while viewing the film. A BD-live feature allows you to create your own greeting card with video and graphics from the movie (you have to have an internet-connected player to send to friends, however).
Hi-Def features include an exclusive sneak peak at Curious George 2: Follow that Monkey. Also, there is a making of Despereaux feature and the top ten uses for oversized ears.
This film comes highly recommended for Blu-ray. From the excellent animated picture to the wonderful story filled with familiar star voices, to the message of forgiveness, to the special features, this is well worth the money and won’t disappoint.
The Tale of Despereaux [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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