Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Once upon a time... in the far away kingdom of Dor... lived a brave and virtuous mouse with comically oversized ears who dreamt of becoming a knight. Banished from his home for having such lofty ambitions, Despereaux sets off on an amazing adventure with his good-hearted rat friend Roscuro, who leads him, at long last, on a very noble quest to rescue an endangered princess and save an entire kingdom from darkness.

This is one of those hit or miss animated features for me. Based on the bestselling children’s book, this one has a large following of fans. The animation is excellent and the animators used a style not typical of what we see so much from CG films lately. But the story is where the issues come in. As a whole this is a great story but it moves at a very slow pace and I found it hard to get into. Despite the themes the story doesn’t captivate the way most animated films do, especially given the shorter runtime. I could see kids losing interest quickly and the adults not falling very far behind.

The animation has a very different look to it that really lends itself to the story. Colors have a somewhat muted appearance and the use of haze does take away from some of the fine detail on occasion. Dimensionality is outstanding and depth of image is quite strong. Contrast levels are a bit hit or miss, some of the blacks look intentionally raised which does hurt some dimensionality at times. Overall though this is an exquisite looking transfer that rarely disappoints.

The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is good but this track isn’t quite as dynamic as some of the other more recent animated films I’ve watched. I love the film’s score and the presence it adds to the mix and the voice work is quite solid. Subtle details are conveyed nicely within the soundstage and the surrounds do a nice job with the rich atmosphere. Low bass extension is there when it is needed but this isn’t an aggressive mix.

Universal includes some nice extras for this Blu-ray release including some exclusives you won’t find on the DVD. On the interactive side you get a soup game and a picture-in-picture feature that looks at the animation and includes interviews with the cast and crew throughout the film. Some deleted scenes and a production feature are also included. There is also a sneak peek at the new Curious George sequel.

I was hoping for a slightly more engaging film with this one. I loved the animation style and the transfer is breathtaking at times, but the film didn’t captivate me like I would have expected. For this reason alone I would have to recommend a rental before a purchase.