I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

As a child, (3rd grade-ish?) I read this book over and over again. It was dark, but powerful, and it rang true. It helped me through some dark times.Even today, being 18 years old, it's still one of my favorites. THE BOOK.However, the second I heard they were making a movie, I was scared of them butchering this wonderful tale. They certainly did.I stuck through until the end, just to hope it would have some sort of redeeming quality-- and it did not... I understand that they couldn't make it as dark as the book (It'd have to be rated PG or PG-13 or something) but STILL. A veggie monster?! What's up with that? The singing and dancing? They have absolutely RUINED a childhood (and adult) favorite.SUMMARY: If you read this book and enjoyed it... please do not even bother looking at this movie. It will absolutely ruin your day.

nice, charming, sweet. a fairy - tale from old and precise recipes. a delight. and seed of special joy. because the princess, the sad kingdom, the silky moral lesson are at perfect place. but, more important, the hero is magnificent. and very special. a family film. or just a form of magic in the era of blockbusters. a beautiful work in which each detail is important. because it is a story about old fashion virtues - courage, truth, honor, honesty. and respect for duty. and a new mouse in middle of action is not bad thing. maybe for be conscience for a sad rat. and Charming Prince for a young girl. and model for public. because message is simple - the identity is more important than voice of majority. always.

I truly enjoyed this movie although I do have to agree with some posters and their question of ratings. Personally I didn't find anything terrible about it and would allow my 8 or 9 year old to watch, possibly 7 if I felt they where able to handle it. I grew up watching the visually amazing cinematic accomplishments like Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Watership Down (that one was horrible for a child), and The Secret of Nimh, while I never found those scary (except Watership) I can imagine some parents wouldn't want their young ones to watch them either.From a story stand point, The Tale of Despereaux is lovely; the animation is quite stunning with the colors running more towards the dark then the light (since the sun went away). It's a fairly classic tale, brave mouse gets ostracized for being brave (different) and banished to be eaten by the rats. One rat takes him in and they become friends. All through out there are different characters with their own personal stories emerging which all in all I found well done. The cast was amazing with some well known actors lending their voices, while personally I didn't like Matthew Brodericks voice as Despereaux, I still think he did a fine job of it. I think it's a movie worth watching for adults and older children, but I would think a PG rating would be better suited.

"The Tale of Despereaux" was a cute, little film, which tries to evoke the same feeling of several old fairy tales and classic animated movies. However, despite the good intentions, this movie had several flaws and annoying aspects that made it very much less enjoyable, and while this film could have been great, it ends being just okay.The best aspect of this film it's the animation, with a great atmosphere and cute and appealing designs. (The sequence where Desperaux reads a fairy tale about knights and dragons is particularly beautiful and well made, and for me, it was the best part of the movie) The voice acting is correct, without being particularly memorable. Personally, I think it was a mistake to cast Matthew Broderick as Desperaux. I don't have anything against that actor, but his voice doesn't fit with the character. Also, the narration made by Sigourney Weaver is incredibly annoying and preachy (And completely unnecessary, since all the scenes and the message from this movie are quite clear and easy to understand) That narration just get worse and worse while the movie advances, to the point of being distracted.The story, without being incredibly original, starts very well, but while it advances, it turns somewhat rushed, having some plot holes, and unconvincing twists (And to get it worse, the annoying narrator doesn't even bother make a good explanation about those aspects of the story, telling the most obvious things and reminding the viewers the message of the movie instead) Some of the characters that at first seem like they are going to have a relevant role in the story are quickly forgotten and never mentioned again (Such as weird guy made out of fruits and vegetables) Anyway, despite those flaws, this movie was funny to watch and had some good scenes and an excellent animation. Personally, I would recommend this film to all the viewers who love the classic animated movies based on fairy-tales, though I think that this movie could be a little "dark" and heavy handed for the little kids (Well, at least compared with the most recent CGI animated films which are more focused in the comedy)