FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: The Tale of Despereaux [DVD] [2008]

The Tale of Despereaux [DVD] [2008]
enlarge	Directors: Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen Actors: Emma Watson, Sigourney Weaver, Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline Studio: Universal Pictures UK Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £3.25 as of 21/11/2009 15:29 GMT details You Save: £16.74 (84%) New (24) Used (4) from £2.49 Seller: doors409 Rating: 12 reviews Sales Rank: 544 Format: PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Universal, suitable for all Region: 2 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 93 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5050582604719 ASIN: B001G0N23U Theatrical Release Date: 2008 Release Date: April 20, 2009 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review emThe Tale of Despereaux/em looks a little like emShrek/em. The storytelling and animation draw on everything from emRatatouille /emand classic fairytales to Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, Indiana Jones, and, in its action sequences, even Bourne and Bond. But this movie stands on its own; too dark and violent for very young children, perhaps, but for the most part itrsquo;s exciting and funny, and it delivers a message about bravery and forgiveness that is relevant to us all. Voiced by Matthew Broderick, the title character is a little guy, even by mouse standards, with enormous ears and an imagination to match; much to the dismay of his elders, he "never cowers, wonrsquo;t scurry, and refuses to be taught to be scared" (hersquo;d much rather read a book than eat it, a pursuit that fills his head with visions of valiant knights, damsels in distress, and a life defined by "courage, honor, and decency"). That leads to his being banished from Mouseworld to the realm of the rats, where, it is presumed, he will be eaten. But no. Ratworld--a dark, chaotic, genuinely scary place--happens to be the current residence of one Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman), a peaceful sort whose shenanigans in the human world have accidentally led to the death of the Queen, the imprisonment of the Princess (Emma Watson), and, worst of all, the banning of Soup Day (no small deal) and the end of soup itself! Roscuro and Despereaux join forces, inadvertently helped out by a homely but soft-hearted farm girl named Miggery Sow (Tracey Ullman), and, well, you can imagine how it all turns out. Directors Sam Fell and Robert Stevenhagen and scriptwriter Gary Ross (adapting Kate DiCamillorsquo;s book) have concocted some vivid and interesting worlds for their film; the look is unusual, often washed out, muted, and bathed in hazy light; and the voice acting is excellent (others include William H. Macy, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, and Frank Langella). All in all, despite a conclusion thatrsquo;s confusing even while itrsquo;s predictable, emThe Tale of Despereaux/em is a worthy addition to the crowded animation field. --emSam Graham/em

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 12 1 2 3 Next » excellent little gem of a movie! May 16, 2009 K. bruce (U.K) 11 out of 13 found this review helpful I stumbled upon this film whilst browsing the kids section in HMV, to see if there was any C.G.I efforts that I didn't own yet, I'd never heard of this movie and was surprised to see something I had neither heard of or seen an advertisement for! The artwork on the box made me pick it up, I scanned the blurb on the back and decided to buy it based on curiousity and the drawn in "Burtonesque" (my term for anything that reminds me of the artwork/style of Tim Burton the king) faces of the human characters on the cover. br /I watched this with my 6 year old daughter as my 4yr old son was too busy playing "Sonic the hedgehog" to want to come and watch the film, (probably just as well, as I feel the film may not have been as 'engaging' for a younger child- as the other reviewer pointed out that the film sits somewhere between the lines of being an adult/child cartoon) br /As an adult cartoon I very much enjoyed it and found the artwork therein to be absolutely stunning! yes it does look a little like "shrek" and it follows a somewhat "mish-mash" formula as does shrek but the film differs in that it has dark undertones and barely any humour at all. This did not make the feature boring, instead it gave it a mythical, epical and most importantly serious feel instead, there is nothing wrong with a cartoon being serious in my opinion and it made a refreshing change from all the other happy go lucky colorful stuff out there. br /The story is not really all that epical after you've watched it but the general feel of the film due to it's style, themes and sound give it an epical feel. There are only a couple of laugh out moments, the rest of the film's focus is pretty serious and straight-forward with a few darker themes, It still held my daughters attention from start to finish none the less! br /I loved the visual style of this film, the narration I felt worked well most of the time, although at times I did find it a little intrusive, but not so much that it spoilt my enjoyment of the film. br /I gave this 4 stars because I thought it was a brilliant addition to my C.G.I collection and well worth the £12 I paid for it, I don't think anybody should give it a miss based on opinions that it is not engaging enough, I don't feel it should be compared to other contemporary C.G.I efforts, this is not toy story, bee movie or shrek, but it has it's own style and enough charisma and substance to sit among classics such as "Rattatouie" and "The nightmare before christmas" just for being different and grown up! this is definitely one for the adults, but children who have an affection for more grown up stories or who like to watch films with their parents rather than on their own will watch this. Get it if you yourself like cartoons and quirky imaginative storytelling and/or you have kids who share your tastes, fine for older children, some younger children may not find it engaging enough to sit through the entire movie, but that's just some, we are not all the same! better than I expected September 28, 2009 Y. Iizuka (Japan) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful This is interesting story. My daughter loves it.It's a bit dark but we enjoyed it. Great film June 3, 2009 R. Earl (Bedfordshire, England) Loved the book and was excited when film was announced, and wasn't disappointed. I love the character of Miggery Sow, and Emma Watson as Princess Pea is very good. The whole film was very sweet and heart-warming, a great little film for all the family mini adventure...maxi fun August 14, 2009 Mrs. R. E. Hargreaves (scotland uk) We saw this film at the cinema and the children really enjoyed it.... br /we enjoyed it and decided to buy the dvd....the characters are fun and the storyline is brilliant....it is a story with a moral so the children learn something very important Family fun for all October 12, 2009 Ms. L. Halls (Great Britain) I bought this dvd for my grandaughter who is five and she thoroughly enjoyed it. A must for all ages old and young. Showing reviews 1-5 of 12 1 2 3 Next »

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