Shawn's The Tale of Despereux Review

2008 Movie #157 - The Tale of Despereux

I have never read the book this is based on. In fact I didn’t even know it was based on a book until it was released. The movie gave me no real desire to go back and read the book, but it does a few things right that I have to give it credit for.

It’s been an up and down year for animated movies. On one end of the spectrum, we have great movies like Kung Fu Panda, Wall-e, and even Horton Hears a Who. On the far opposite end, we have ones such as Madagascar 2, Igor and Veggie Tales (wow now that one takes me back). Somewhere in the middle of all that, lies The Tale of Despereaux.

First off, I’ll list the things I thought the movie did well. For starters, I liked the look of the movie. It goes a very different route than most animated movies. Usually they are bright and colourful, but this one has a much more drab colour palette. Not that it looks bad, it looks very good. It has a unique look that makes it stand out from just about every other animated movie that has come out this year.

Second of all, this is a kid’s movie that gives kids some credit. You know this is an issue I have with most kids movies and it’s always nice to see one go a different route. Sure there are some slapstick moments and whatever, but not nearly to the point we’re used to. This one actually tries to tell a story and actually features some darker moments. I could see a lot of kids finding this movie slow since it doesn’t spend the whole time screaming in their faces, like fucking Madagascar 2 never stopped doing.

Those points aside, it’s still a pretty average movie. It looks great and doesn’t condescend to the kids, but it’s still just ok. The storyline is in fact a little on the slow side and the storyline is a little familiar. There is a scene with a cat that I rather liked though. Overall, not bad.

** ½ / 5