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| Director: | 
Sam Fell, Rob Stevenhagen |  | 
Writer: | 
Gary Ross, Kate DiCamillo |  | 
Starring: | 
Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, Tracey Ullman, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy |  | 
Released: | 
December 26, 2008 |  | 
Rating: | 
 
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Runtime: | 
93 minutes
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Websites: | 
 
 
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Story: | 
Written by Kate DiCamillo - author of "Because of Winn-Dixie" - 2003's "The Tale of Despereaux,"
spent 96 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and the recently published paperback 
version has been on the New York Times Top Ten list for the past 14 weeks. The book, which won 
the 2004 Newbery Medal for the most distinguished offering in children's literature, has sold 
more than 1.6 million copies to date.
  
Once upon a time, in the faraway kingdom of Dor, there was magic in the air, raucous laughter 
aplenty and gallons of mouth-watering soup. But a terrible accident left the king broken-hearted, 
the princess filled with longing and the townsfolk despondent. All hope was lost in a land where 
sunlight disappeared and the world became dreary gray. Until Despereaux Tilling was born...
  
A brave and virtuous mouse, Despereaux is simply too big for his small world. Though tiny, wheezy 
and saddled with comically oversized ears, Despereaux refuses to live a life of weakness and fear
...believing he was destined to be celebrated in the tales of chivalry he so adores.
  
When he's banished from his home for not following the rules that society expects of a mouse, 
Despereaux befriends fellow outcast Roscuro, a good-hearted rat who can't bear to look in the 
mirror and hopes to live far from the grim underground of his kind. While Despereaux begins his 
noble quest to rescue Pea - a princess who can't see beyond her distorted view of the world - 
his pal Roscuro receives a painful rejection from her highness that sets him on a course of self-destruction.
  
Along their parallel adventures, the two encounter colorful characters from a serving girl who 
wishes to be a princess to the evil leader of the sewer rats, who plots revenge on humans from 
his fiefdom in the subterranean shadows he relishes but Roscuro can't abide.
  
From the highest turrets of the glittering castle to the dankest dark of Dor's sewers, friendships 
will be tested as Despereaux and Roscuro embark upon a journey that will change the way they look 
at their world - and themselves - forever. In this tale of bravery, forgiveness and redemption, 
one tiny creature will teach a kingdom that it takes only a little light to show that what you 
look like doesn't equal what you are.
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Cast: | 
| 
Matthew Broderick
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Despereaux (voice) |  | 
Dustin Hoffman
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Roscuro (voice) |  | 
Emma Watson
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Princess Pea (voice) |  | 
Tracey Ullman
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Miggery Sow (voice) |  | 
Kevin Kline
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Andre (voice) |  | 
William H. Macy
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Lester (voice) |  | 
Stanley Tucci
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Boldo (voice) |  | 
Ciaran Hinds
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Botticelli (voice) |  | 
Robbie Coltrane
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Gregory (voice) |  | 
Tony Hale
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Furlough (voice) |  | 
Frances Conroy
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Antoinette |  | 
Frank Langella
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Mayor |  | 
Richard Jenkins
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Principal |  | 
Christopher Lloyd
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Hovis (voice) |  | 
Charles Shaughnessy
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Pietro (voice) |  | 
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