The Tale of Despereaux (film)



A 2008 CG animated Fantasy film based on the book by Kate DiCamillo which Disneyfied many of the darker elements while still keeping much of the original fairy tale feel of the book.

"Despereaux: Red? Hovil: Ah, so they tell me. You're the brave one? Despereaux: I guess. Hovil: Wear it proudly. There's no shame."
 * Blind Seer: After Despereaux is, he meets the blind mouse Hovil, whose eyes are pearly white. Hovil is charged, among other tasks, with overseeing the gateway into the darkened sewers beneath the dungeon. Early on, he is the only mouse who seems sympathetic to Despereaux's curiosity and fearlessness.

"Hovis: Courage, right? Despereaux: And truth. And honor. Hovis: Good. But especially courage. Despereaux: I'm ready."
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: See Nightmare Fetishist, below.
 * Evil Albino: Botticelli.
 * Expy: Botticelli looks like the rat version of Anton Ego.
 * Faceless Masses: Averted. In the scene when the king finally decides to try soup again, there is a MAN with a BEARD who has BOOBS in the crowd! Nightmare Fuel!
 * Family-Unfriendly Death:
 * Fisher King: The kingdom goes grey and overcast when the king goes into mourning.
 * Hair of Gold: Princess Pea.
 * Happily Ever After: Subverted. The narrator remarks that this is normally where everyone lives happily ever after in the epilogue, but "what fun is that?"
 * Humans Are Cthulhu
 * My God, What Have I Done?: The jailer regrets being so mean to Mig when.
 * Nightmare Fetishist: Despereaux drew pictures of cats in his notebook, much to his teacher's (and parents') horror.
 * Opening Shout-Out: Early on in the film, the meager Despereaux becomes enchanted with certain, often-recurred Renaissance notions of heroism: honor, courage, chivalry, and truth. When Despereaux encounters Hovis, the older mouse cryptically references these precise words to reassure the frightened mouse.

"Narrator: First of all, rats hate the light. They spend their lives in the darkness. (A rat is shown looking right at the sun.) Narrator: They're also terrified of people, which is why they slink and cower all the time. (The rat walks right up to a human.) Narrator: And as far as telling the truth as concerned, well, that is impossible, because as everyone knows, a rat can't talk. (The rat begins speaking to the human.)"
 * Prophet Eyes: Hovis the thread-master, but only in the film.
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter: Despereaux.
 * Serious Business: Soup.
 * Suicidal Gotcha: For the audience. The subversion of the Happily Ever After occurs while
 * Unreliable Voiceover: