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THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX (Rated G)
Not all cute mice belong to the Walt Disney animated universe. Our newest champion is a tiny, brave mouse named Despereaux Tilling, graced with such oversized ears that he should probably be called the Dumbo of Mouseworld.
“The Tale of Despereaux,” based on the best-selling children’s book by Kate DiCamillo, celebrates the virtues of this unique mighty mouse, the most unlikely of valiant heroes who lives in a storybook medieval world that lends itself beautifully to colorful animation.
The story is set in the magical Kingdom of Dor, an inviting place that draws people from around the world. Dor is as renowned for its great soups as France is for its cheese.
This is what appeals to the rat Roscuro (voiced by Dustin Hoffman), who arrives at the kingdom just in time for the annual Royal Soup Day on which Chef Andre (voiced by Kevin Kline) reveals his latest culinary masterpiece.
Alas, by virtue of a series of mishaps, Roscuro lands in a bowl of soup, causing a terrible accident resulting in the death of the Queen. Banished to the filthy sewers of Ratworld, Roscuro longs to return to the place inhabited by humankind.
Meanwhile, over in the thriving society of Mouseworld, a tidy, cozy and friendly place, the brave and virtuous mouse Despereaux (voiced by Matthew Broderick) lacks the required timidity and adherence to conformity that is expected of all mice.
Failing to cower or display fear, Despereaux flouts the traditional ways of Mouseworld, much to the consternation of his parents and teachers. When he spends time in the Royal Library, it is not to eat the books but rather to read the great stories that inspire his imagination. For his enthusiasm to experience life at its fullest, Despereaux is soon banished to the castle dungeon and the world of the rats.
Another story unfolds in the Royal Castle, which since the death of the Queen has turned into a dark and gloomy place. The King, consumed by grief and oblivious to the needs of his kingdom, sits alone in his music room and plays somber tunes on his lute. Princess Pea (Emma Watson) feels loneliness and isolation in the castle, and longs to escape her doldrums.
While the Princess bemoans the burden of her royal birthright, homely servant girl Miggery Sow (Tracey Ullman) dreams of becoming a princess, even though she fails to understand that one must be born into royalty.
“The Tale of Despereaux” devolves into a more complex plot than one would imagine feasible for a family animated entertainment. The story requires the various realms of Mouseworld, the Royal Castle and Ratworld to collide in a giant scheme of treachery and deception.
For one thing, Miggery plots against the princess for personal gain and strikes an alliance with the denizens of the dark underground in the castle dungeon. And so, Princess Pea is kidnapped and delivered to Ratworld, where the fate that awaits her should prove disturbing, if not downright frightening, to small children.
Oddly enough, this family entertainment has its share of menace and gloom that could prove unsettling. However, the air of uncertainty and dread sets the stage for Despereaux’s inevitable bravery and heroic rescue efforts on behalf of the Princess.
In the end, the principal characters find redemption and forgiveness. Roscuro reclaims his dream of chivalry and derring-do. Despereaux becomes all that he can be, mustering his courage to become the knight in shining armor that saves the imperiled Princess.
For all its visual beauty and inspired animation, “The Tale of Despereaux” is most beautiful for its earnest exaltation of the timeless virtues of bravery, forgiveness and redemption. It’s a winning message that trumps the cynicism so easily found in popular culture.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
History is a lot more fun when it is serialized in a Showtime cable series. That’s the case with “The Tudors,” a no-holds-barred look at Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), the promiscuous British monarch whose move to divorce Queen Katherine and marry Anne Boleyn prompted an excommunication by Pope Paul III.
“The Tudors: The Complete Second Season” revisits the turbulent world of the King’s expansive appetite.
Anne’s failure to provide Henry with a male heir sets the wheels in motion for her eventual beheading and sends the King into the arms of Jane Seymour (Anita Briem).
The third season of “The Tudors” returns to Showtime in the spring of 2009, with Joss Stone joining the cast as Henry’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
Meanwhile, I also want to make you aware that one of the all-time best TV detective series is getting its second season released on DVD. “Mannix: The Second Season,” which stars Mike Connors, features all 25 episodes.
In this second season, the tough-talking Joe Mannix has set up his own agency, aided by his loyal secretary Peggy Fair (Gail Fisher), a young widow and mother, whose policeman husband died in the line of duty.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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From a wacky pet detective to a lawyer incongruously unable to fib, Jim Carrey has played all sorts of comedic characters in a film career that is, if not exactly brilliant, still worthy of appreciation.
Though the rubber-faced comedian incessantly mugs for the camera, he has the endearing quality of being disarmingly funny in his frequent bursts of anarchic humor. For example, “Dumb and Dumber” is arguably a frontal assault on good taste, but riotously funny.
But then, like all mortals, Carrey has had some flops. I, for one, never did catch on to the weirdness of “The Cable Guy.”
Carrey’s latest venture into the arena of screwball comedy finds him as a hapless mope in “Yes Man,” a film so blatantly inspired by “Liar Liar” that a sharp copyright lawyer could make a credible infringement claim. Then again, Carrey wouldn’t be the first person recycling his comedic material.
After a hiatus from comedy, Carrey’s return to form is most welcome.
We first see Carrey working in a Los Angeles bank as loan officer Carl Allen, stiff and unbending to the pleas of loan applicants. He delights in saying “No” to just about everything and everyone, including his handful of friends.
Divorced and living by himself in a modest apartment, Carl would never dream of doing anything spontaneous. Even a best friend (Bradley Cooper) about to get married cannot convince Carl to attend his bachelor party.
But then Carl’s life changes when he encounters former colleague Nick (John Michael Higgins), who has been liberated from the conventions of society. Nick convinces Carl to attend a self-help seminar run by a New Age-type guru (Terence Stamp) who insists that the key to happiness is to say “Yes” to every opportunity that arises.
Of course, taken to the extreme, as happens here, this pliable state of mind leads to all sorts of mischief.
Under the spell of the “Yes” state of mind, Carl gives a lift to a homeless man to a remote area of Griffith Park. Having given away his money to the homeless guy, Carl becomes stranded by car trouble.
The only upside to the terrible start of his new impulsive attitude is that he has a chance encounter with perky, eccentric artist Allison (Zooey Deschanel) at a gas station. Though she seems far too willing to live life with wild abandon, Allison is oddly enough the right person for the new Carl, and together they spark some genuine romantic chemistry.
As a result of the serious attraction, which appears to defy the odds, the chemistry between Carl and Allison develops into more of a romantic comedy than might be expected. They do some wild and wacky things together, such as breaking into the Hollywood Bowl just on a whim.
Nothing tops the unplanned visit to the airport when they decided to visit the destination of the first available flight. Their impromptu trip lands them in Nebraska where they cheer for the Cornhuskers at a football game and visit the local telephone museum. This sequence of the visit to Middle America is both touching and very funny.
Seeing that this is a comedy that seeks at times to channel the Farrelly Brothers, “Yes Man” is victimized by some crude low-brow comedy.
It sinks to its lowest point with a sequence involving Carl’s randy, elderly female neighbor, oral sex and dentures in a glass of water. Less disturbing is Carl’s date with a traditional Persian woman he encounters online.
Funnier still is Carl’s goofy boss Norman (Rhys Darby), a Brit who enjoys staging costume parties. Now that he can only say “Yes,” Carl starts accepting invitations to Norman’s parties, which are ridiculously themed to such movies as “Harry Potter” and “300.”
Jim Carrey is not really at the top of his comedic game in “Yes Man.” That is not necessarily due to a failing on his part, considering that the focus on the love story with the appealing Zooey Deschanel takes center stage.
In striking a balance between comedy and romance, “Yes Man” is a definite maybe insofar as the film does not commit fully to the full-blown screwball comedy that the premise suggests.
Nevertheless, Carrey delivers some of his trademark humor. For some lighthearted fare during the holiday season, “Yes Man” may be worthy of affirmative support.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
It seems odd that around Christmas time, some of the DVD releases are far from the holiday spirit.
Take, for instance, “Pulse 3,” the horrifying nightmarish fright-fest starring Rider Strong and Brittany Finamore. As a sequel, “Pulse 3” takes place seven years after the phantom invasion, and the survivors on Earth have settled into a primitive lifestyle completely devoid of technology, until Finamore’s character is lured into the city and unleashes the deadliest digital invasion yet.
The “Resident Evil” franchise now spawns “Resident Evil: Degeneration,” an animated thrill ride that takes the franchise’s terrifying zombie action to a whole new level with jaw-dropping visual effects and heart-pounding suspense. Hordes of zombies are unleashed at a major airport in a plot masterminded by a revenge-seeking terrorist.
Your enjoyment of “Resident Evil: Degeneration” is theoretically enhanced by its release in Blu-ray High-Def, DVD and PSP.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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