"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)
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)