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All member reviews for The Tale of Despereaux

suehyer
adult
 
A tied up princess on an arena floor waiting to be eaten by rats doesn't really strike me as kid friendly.
Very dark/gloomy for a kids movie. Having the queen die from fright at having a rat in her soup was bad enough but then our "Good" rat talks the handmaiden into kidnapping the princess. A tied up princess on an arena floor waiting to be eaten by rats doesn't really strike me as kid friendly. Then there's the side conversation of the hand maid being given away by her father only to be sold by her uncle. Now it is a small part of the movie but its there and raises questions for little ones. This was a poor choice for my kids 6 and 7.

chez_geek
parent of 4 year old
 
Good movie for older kid but totally off for K or pre-K
I think this movie (which is otherwise very good) is really off for the pre-K/K set and iffy for 1st-2nd grade. The site review implies that the only issue is some cat/mouse scariness, but in fact the whole movie is, as the BBFC rating says, "tonally dark". The site review says that a minor character dies early on; in fact this character is the princess's mother, the incident of her death is revisited throughout the film, and the human characters grieve deeply for her. Adding to how upsetting this event is, the movie does not provide an obvious cause, which can give the impression to a young kid that their mother can just drop dead. The mouse (Deveraux) is banished to the dungeon for breaking a rule (talking to a human) that was not specifically articulated to him; the expectation is that he will be eaten by the rats (so it is de facto a death sentence). His parents just sit helplessly watching this, crying in their hankies but doing nothing to interfere. A rat which is a "good" character for most of the movie does something truly awful; a peasant girl quite delusional (i mean mental-illness delusional, not just has fancy ideas); the villain is definitely not played for laughs; there are "gladiatorial" scenes were victims have to fight for their lives; etc. This is a good movie for kids that are able to handle dark material, and raises some very good issues about the complexity of human behaviour and especially grief. It is good watching for adults, but approach it carefully and be prepared to spend a lot of time discussing it. Frankly, because of the persistent dark tone, I wouldn't even have rated it G, I think it is a PG emotionally even though it lacks a lot of the "tickboxes" like violence, language and so on.

travelinlite75
parent of 4 and 7 year old
 
i say skip it, at least for preschoolers and young elementary kids
i thought this was a fairly boring movie. even the mouse didn't really draw me in. my almost 6 yr. old was frightened but the sword fighting, trying to capture the rat, then the mouse and also the princess being tied up to be eaten. this was not "G" for my and my family. i am fairly selective and don't let them watch too many movies.

sash99
kid, 12 years old
 
good
i like despereaux.i think he is cute.the movie tells you that you have be brave.much better than the book.

Hotaru Chan
teen, 14 years old
 
Good, but maybe scary for little kids
It's a cute movie, and I enjoyed it, but it may be a little scary for younger kids (then again, my cousin who was 5 at the time seemed alright). I think it should have been rated PG.

arthur16morgana
teen, 16 years old
 
love it! its cute and funny and entertaining.i watched it with my dad.

 
Know your kid's threshold
If your kid(s) worry about a character while in peril then you may wish to reconsider this one. A minor character has a heart-attack which leads to endless questions but not concern. One character is over obsessed with being a princess and helps one rat kidnap the real princess. This message might (and probably SHOULD) be questioned. Rats are the villains and portrayed as such they can get a little intense. At one point they tie up the princess and prepare to serve her for supper. At this point my seven year old began crying. He REALLY did not like this scene! He asked us not to buy the movie. He bounced back once the scene was over. Think about your child's reaction to past movies. Some kids may take this in stride, while others not so much. It was a good movie, several sub-plots go on simultaneously which may seem confusing but they all get resolved.

cstrick
adult
 
Walked out halfway through: Not 'G', not for young kids
My children are 3 and 5. After several sword fights where people are gutted, and where the handmaiden picks up a cleaver while contemplating murder, we decided to leave. That said, my friend thought it just great for her kids. Then again, she let her 2 year old and 4 year old watch all of the Star Wars, Indiana Jones series, and Harry Potter. If you are like me, and think that 'G' rated movies should lack profanity, violence and sex, then I would avoid this movie. No profanity or sex, just lots of darkness and violence. The movie was well done, though, ...for older kids.

mote
kid, 8 years old
 
Super movie
I loved it but it would be too scary for 4 year olds.

turtlelover123
teen, 14 years old
 
nice
i liked it

Fangbite91
kid, 11 years old
 
Kinda cute but not that good
Well it is cute but it wasn't a good movie. My dad hated it!

fif
educator
 
Great Family Film
Good film with a good message. The movie seemed very disconnected at first, going off on tangents that I deemed unnecessary, but once was used to their style of storytelling I really enjoyed it. A movie all ages can enjoy.

guitarangel96
teen, 16 years old
 
So Cute!
Really good book, really good movie. I don't think there is really any violence.

love2
parent of 19 year old
 
not so.......
not so good

num1snook
teen, 16 years old
 
really good!!!
I loved it it was a cute and funny movie good for the whole family

BlueCastle
kid, 10 years old
 
cute
I love the mouses big ears

Yeah.
teen, 14 years old
 
Check out my page for other great recommendations.
I'm not here to give a review because if it shows up on my page its a 5 star movie and so therefore you know what i think about it.

zeezee_awesome ...
teen, 18 years old
 
Sooooo cute!!! Please watch!!!
I really really loved this movie for all the different elements of it. There was action, romance, and a whole bunch of different morals to it. The one that I think was the most important and that everyone should pay attention to is that I doesn't matter who people see you as, it's what you see yourself as that really counts! I would reccomend this book to people ages 6-60! I went to see it with my mum and both of us just loved it! My favourtie character was probably Despereux! He was so cute and his ears were soooo HUGE!!! Please watch this movie, I'm sure you'll love it!

kittykaters12
kid, 13 years old
 
Self worth and Self esteem
The only problem with the movie is that the rat just appears on a plate by accident, then the person who just took a bite faints and dies, even when the rat wasn't in it. Overall it's pretty nice and it teaches good self esteem and self worth.