Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Once upon a time... in the far away kingdom of Dor... lived a brave and virtuous mouse with comically oversized ears who dreamt of becoming a knight. Banished from his home for having such lofty ambitions, Despereaux sets off on an amazing adventure with his good-hearted rat friend Roscuro, who leads him, at long last, on a very noble quest to rescue an endangered princess and save an entire kingdom from darkness.
The Tale of Despereaux is a somewhat muddled adaptation of the beloved novel, juggling multiple narrative threads (Despereaux, Roscuro, Miggery Sow) in a way that feels fragmented and tonally inconsistent. The voice acting is competent with a strong cast, but the script doesn't give them much to work with. Visually it has some appealing storybook moments but nothing particularly distinguished for its era. The concept of a chivalric mouse is charming but the execution feels derivative of other fairy-tale animated films of the period. The resolution wraps things up too neatly given the emotional complexity the story hints at, leaving the ending feeling rushed and unsatisfying.