The Tale of Despereaux

"This graphically well-rendered kidpic is less crass and mouthy than many recent feature-length toons, but also more sluggish and ungainly as it tries to approximate DiCamillo's singularly delicate tone."

"A pleasantly immersive, beautifully animated, occasionally sleepy tale."

"It is a joy to look at frame by frame, and it would be worth getting the Blu-ray to do that. I am not quite so thrilled by the story, which at times threatens to make "Gormenghast" seem straightforward."

"A beautifully animated fairytale with adorable characters, but it's too sombre to appeal to the younger audience it's aimed at."

"The flatly generic results certainly appear at odds with the picture's stirring visual style, which pays homage to the great Flemish artists."

"While it meanders on its way to the requisite happy ending, the lush, stylised animation and courtly flourishes would win over anyone."