A heartwarming tale of a little mouse that could, Despereaux is a cross between Dumbo and The Princess Bride. Matthew Broderick voices the titular mouse, a tiny, big-eared dreamer, with aplomb and a beautiful sense of measured dignity as he falls in love with a (human) Princess (Emma Watson), befriends a rat (Dustin Hoffman) and saves a kingdom. Along the way there is an evil rat king (Ciaran Hinds) to be faced, a soup genie (Stanley Tucci) to befriend and a timid serving girl (Tracey Ullman) to placate.
The astonishingly starry voice cast is testament to the story’s charm, and while it meanders on its way to the requisite happy ending, the lush, stylised animation and courtly flourishes would win over anyone. A word of warning: despite that U rating, some moments may scare very young viewers.