A Flawed, But Refreshing Animated Movie.
These days most animated fairy tales tend to be parodies of the archetypal Disney movies of old. These movies, clever at first, now seem artificial and far more hackneyed than the fantasies they spoof. Fortunately, Tale of Despereaux is many ways the antidote to these cynical new cartoons. If not for the far superior Wall-E, I would say Despereaux is the only film of the year that captures the old-school magic and wonder that makes cartoons great.
The animation is good, maintains a nice, distinctive storybook look while maintaining liveliness and detail. The rats do look a little like those from Ratatouille, though, and Boticelli, despite being a rat himself, looks almost exactly like Anton Ego.
The voice acting is good too, although I have a problem with unnecessarily casting easily recognized voice actors in cartoons when their voices are not distinctive enough. It always struck me as a lazy way to get attention for a cartoon, and I prefer that they use professional voice actors (who specialize in it) and character actors who fit the role. Matthew Broderick delivers on the emotions, but his thirty-year-old voice may not be the best fit for a teenage character. Sigourney Weaver does well, even though she is an example of fruitless A-list casting. Dustin Hoffman was OK, as well, but his voice isn't as good here as in was in Kung Fu Panda. Emma Watson is too recognizable as Hermione Granger. The best voice in it was Tony Hale, who does a wonderful job as Despereaux's neurotic brother. The other voices I liked were William H. Macy (Despereux's father), and Richard Jenkins (Mouse Principal), and Christopher Lloyd (Threadmaster)
One of the criticisms this movie has endured was that it wasn't funny enough. True, there really aren't many laughs, but that wasn't the point of this movie. It was a serious attempt at an imaginative fairy tale, and seriously, do *all* cartoons have to be comedies? The very few jokes this movie does have are well executed and character driven. As little jokes as there were in this movie, I have to say that I laughed at it more than I laughed at Bolt, which was actually trying to be funny. One of the most refreshing parts of this movie was the complete lack of the sophomoric toilet humor, artificially random dialogue, and cheap referential jokes that plague many cartoons nowadays.
Also, the movie's music is good, and at no point does anyone seem to break into a bad pop song.
*Potential Spoilers* The story overall is original and enjoyable enough, but it has some flaws. Unlike Wall-E, whose story was smoothly handled throughout it's entire running time, Despereaux does seem to be a bit rushed. The 90-minutes does not seem to perfectly handle the story and its sublplots. Like many movies that could have been longer, the finale could have been more climactic, but was not because it did not have sufficient buildup. Also, there was a subplot involving a hackneyed estranged parenthood plot device which the movie really could have done without. It revolved around a character for whom I initially had hopes of being a good "unlikely hero" character.
The movie does seem to use the outsider plot device that many cartoons use, though it is amusing to see the other mice react to Despereux's bravery. Despereaux is a good role model and character for kids, However, he lacks even the most minor character flaws, and adults might prefer to watch a character with at least some personal quirks they could relate to. Roscuro, though, was an example of moral ambiguity.
Despite its flaws, Tale of Despereaux is a solid family movie, and consider what else you could take your kid to see this Christmas, you could much worse. I never respected movie critics but I simply cannot understand how this movie's reviews were not as good as those given to Bolt, which was mediocre, and Madagascar 2, which I'm not even going to bother seeing.
The animation is good, maintains a nice, distinctive storybook look while maintaining liveliness and detail. The rats do look a little like those from Ratatouille, though, and Boticelli, despite being a rat himself, looks almost exactly like Anton Ego.
The voice acting is good too, although I have a problem with unnecessarily casting easily recognized voice actors in cartoons when their voices are not distinctive enough. It always struck me as a lazy way to get attention for a cartoon, and I prefer that they use professional voice actors (who specialize in it) and character actors who fit the role. Matthew Broderick delivers on the emotions, but his thirty-year-old voice may not be the best fit for a teenage character. Sigourney Weaver does well, even though she is an example of fruitless A-list casting. Dustin Hoffman was OK, as well, but his voice isn't as good here as in was in Kung Fu Panda. Emma Watson is too recognizable as Hermione Granger. The best voice in it was Tony Hale, who does a wonderful job as Despereaux's neurotic brother. The other voices I liked were William H. Macy (Despereux's father), and Richard Jenkins (Mouse Principal), and Christopher Lloyd (Threadmaster)
One of the criticisms this movie has endured was that it wasn't funny enough. True, there really aren't many laughs, but that wasn't the point of this movie. It was a serious attempt at an imaginative fairy tale, and seriously, do *all* cartoons have to be comedies? The very few jokes this movie does have are well executed and character driven. As little jokes as there were in this movie, I have to say that I laughed at it more than I laughed at Bolt, which was actually trying to be funny. One of the most refreshing parts of this movie was the complete lack of the sophomoric toilet humor, artificially random dialogue, and cheap referential jokes that plague many cartoons nowadays.
Also, the movie's music is good, and at no point does anyone seem to break into a bad pop song.
*Potential Spoilers* The story overall is original and enjoyable enough, but it has some flaws. Unlike Wall-E, whose story was smoothly handled throughout it's entire running time, Despereaux does seem to be a bit rushed. The 90-minutes does not seem to perfectly handle the story and its sublplots. Like many movies that could have been longer, the finale could have been more climactic, but was not because it did not have sufficient buildup. Also, there was a subplot involving a hackneyed estranged parenthood plot device which the movie really could have done without. It revolved around a character for whom I initially had hopes of being a good "unlikely hero" character.
The movie does seem to use the outsider plot device that many cartoons use, though it is amusing to see the other mice react to Despereux's bravery. Despereaux is a good role model and character for kids, However, he lacks even the most minor character flaws, and adults might prefer to watch a character with at least some personal quirks they could relate to. Roscuro, though, was an example of moral ambiguity.
Despite its flaws, Tale of Despereaux is a solid family movie, and consider what else you could take your kid to see this Christmas, you could much worse. I never respected movie critics but I simply cannot understand how this movie's reviews were not as good as those given to Bolt, which was mediocre, and Madagascar 2, which I'm not even going to bother seeing.
