Movie Reviews

Universal Pictures

Review in a Hurry: No soup for you! But there's still plenty to feast upon. In this animated fable, a king outlaws Soup Day after a culinary accident involving a rat. Yes, rodents are in the kitchen again, which begs unfortunate comparisons to Ratatouille but doesn't spoil this sweet—albeit overstuffed—concoction.

The Bigger Picture: From Stuart Little to An American Tail to, yes, Pixar's tasty mélange of vermin and haute cuisine, adorable mouse tales are catnip to the kiddies. Thanks to an endearing hero and a talented voice cast, Despereaux will also have children cheering rodents to the rescue—even if the world is darker than expected. But then, when were fairytales supposed to abandon the Grimm tradition?

Based on books by Kate DiCamillo, the story is set in the faraway kingdom of Dor. When the queen literally dies of fright, the rat responsible, Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman), gets banished to the underworld, and all of Dor is cast into shadow and sadness, especially Princess Pea (Emma Watson).

After this lengthy prologue, we finally meet virtuous Despereaux (Matthew Broderick), a tiny mouse with big ears and bigger dreams of chivalry. Refusing to follow the rules of Mouseworld (no, not Disney)—he reads books instead of eating them, faces fears instead of cowering—Despereaux, too, gets shunned by society.

Befriending fellow outcast Roscuro, Despereaux goes on a noble quest to save the princess, who's kidnapped by her embittered chambermaid, Miggery (Tracey Ullman), and turned over to vengeful rats. Like I said, dark.

The pic packs lots of plot—too much—into its kid-friendly running time, interweaving three storylines and even a fairytale within the fairytale. But it also packs poignancy and positive lessons and manages to make complex emotions accessible to young viewers.

Refreshingly devoid of wink-nudge irony and pop-culture references that frequently plague such flicks, Despereaux—with its lovely, stylized animation—plays like an old-fashioned storybook adventure.

The 180—a Second Opinion: What's with the man/muse/genie made entirely of vegetables? Never explained, this bizarre sidekick to the royal chef should have been cut—and turned into ratatouille.