The Tale of Despereaux Critic Reviews

Too bad the story's such a mess.Read the full review

While the story does not quite come to magical life, the themes of courage, hope and decency are sweetly inspiring.Read the full review

While the voice acting is fine and the story is nicely paced, the visuals are disappointing.Read the full review

As usual with these animated epics, much depends on the vocal performances, and it's a mixed bag.Read the full review

This graphically well-rendered kidpic is less crass and mouthy than many recent feature-length toons, but also more sluggish and ungainly as it tries to approximate DiCamillo's singularly delicate tone.Read the full review

A pleasantly immersive, beautifully animated, occasionally sleepy tale.Read the full review

The flatly generic results certainly appear at odds with the picture's stirring visual style, which pays homage to the great Flemish artists.Read the full review

May not be a classic, but it still has a lot of class.Read the full review

It is a joy to look at frame by frame, and it would be worth getting the Blu-ray to do that. I am not quite so thrilled by the story, which at times threatens to make "Gormenghast" seem straightforward.Read the full review