Desperately Disappointed

I L.O.V.E. The Tale of Despereaux. Let me clarify. I love the book entitled The Tale of Despereaux.

The movie?

Not so much.

Don't get me wrong, if you haven't read the book, the movie is entertaining and worth two hours and the $7.50 one pays at a matinee.

If you have read the book, save your money and just go read the book again. Re-reading it is a much better use of your two hours.

I wonder whether Kate DiCamillo got the chance to sign off on the screenplay. I sure hope not. I would hate to think that she let her Newbury award-winning children's literature get dumbed-down to Mouse Rambo with her full, knowing consent.

The dialog didn't fully disclose all the characters names. The story didn't relay why the characters were damaged, and why these characters needed to come together in the time and place where they did. For goodness sakes, the movie made it seem like Roscuro was the main character. I understand why they changed the sequence of events for the movie - without the change, the children might have hard time keeping up with the plot. There were characters invented for the movie that were unnecessary..... scenes that looked like they were out of Gladiator.

Tsk, tsk. It's a shame that there are a vast majority who will never read the book and think that this movie is representative of its message. The book is so much more.