Upcoming Animation film ‘The Tale of Despereaux’

The Tale of Despereaux is an upcoming animation fantasy film directed by Sam Fell and Rob Stevenhagen. Based on the 2003 fantasy book of the same name by Kate DiCamillo, the movie is narrated by Sigourney Weaver and stars Matthew Broderick and Emma Watson. Slated for a December 19, 2008 release by Universal Studios, the film is rated G by the MPAA and was sent by Universal Pictures as a contender for the possibilty of being nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

Synopsis:
In the faraway kingdom of Dor, four unlikely heroes emerge: Despereaux, a brave mouse banished to the dungeon for speaking with a human; Roscuro, a good-hearted rat who loves light and soup, but is exiled to darkness; Pea, a Princess in a gloomy castle who is prisoner to her father’s grief; and Mig, a servant girl who longs to be a Princess, but is forced to serve the jailer. Tiny and graced with oversized ears, Despereaux was born too big for his little world.

Refusing to live his life cowering, he befriends a Princess named Pea and learns to read (rather than eat) books--reveling in stories of knights, dragons and fair maidens. Banished from Mouseworld for being more man than mouse, Despereaux is rescued by another outcast, Roscuro, who also wants to hear the tales.

But when the Princess dismisses Roscuro’s friendship, he becomes the ultimate rat and plots revenge with fellow outsider Mig. After Pea is kidnapped, Despereaux discovers he is the only one who can rescue her--and that even the tiniest mouse can find the courage of a knight in shining armor.

Cast
Matthew Broderick as Despereaux Tilling
Emma Watson as Princess Pea
Belinda as Princess Pea (in Latin America)
Dustin Hoffman as Roscuro (Chiaroscuro)
Tracey Ullman as Miggery "Mig" Sow
Sigourney Weaver as The Narrator
William H. Macy as Lester
Kevin Kline as Andre
Stanley Tucci as Boldo
Robbie Coltrane as Gregory
Ciarán Hinds as Botticelli
Christopher Lloyd as Hovis
Tony Hale as Furlough

Production
This is Universal's first animated film to be filmed in a 2.35:1 widescreen format.

‘The Tale of Despereaux’ Official Trailer