The Tale of Despereaux ***

Cast (voices): Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Waston, Tracey Ullman, Kevin Kline, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Frank Langella, Sigourney Weaver
Directors: Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen
Running Length: 1:30
MPAA Classification: G

Despereaux (Broderick) is a mouse who is banished from Mouseworld for not acting like a mouse. He doesn’t cower, he doesn’t intentionally trip mousetraps, and he speaks to humans. In the human’s world, he meets Princess Pea (Watson), and decides to go on a quest for her to restore sunlight to a dark and grey kingdom. He is assisted by the rat Roscuro (Hoffman), who had caused the problem in the first place. Meanwhile, Miggory Snow (Ullman), the princess’s servant, is plotting to remove the princess and take her place.

“Despereaux” has a more complex story than one might expect from G-rated fare, but it is not too much to alienate younger viewers. The storylines intersect well, and all come together in the end. The animation is good, but not Pixar quality. That is a small complaint, and Pixar is in a league of their own anyway. The voice talent is made up of many big names, and Broderick, Hoffman, and Watson are all excellent. This is an entertaining family film that can be enjoyed by all.

Definitely, Maybe ***
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Derek Luke, Kevin Kline
Director: Adam Brooks
Running Length: 1:50
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Will Hayes (Reynolds) is almost divorced. After picking up his daughter, Maya (Breslin), they head to his house where she asks him to tell her the story of how he and her mother met. Her hope is that his memories will deter him from signing the divorce paperwork. He agrees, but decides to change the names of those in the story so that Maya will have to guess who her mom is. The three main choices are Emily (Banks), Summer (Weisz), and April (Fisher). Emily is Will’s college sweetheart, Summer is Emily’s ex-lover, and April is a co-worker at the Clinton campaign.

“Definitely, Maybe” is a surprisingly good romantic comedy. The reason it really works though, is because of the uncertainty of who Will will end up with. It isn’t your typical romantic comedy. Even if you pick out who Maya’s mom is, you may not predict the ending. The trio of actresses are all good in there roles, and manage to help Reynolds along. Kevin Kline even turns up for a scene stealing role as Summer’s professor/lover. “Definitely, Maybe” is a solid date movie that will be enjoyed by both men and women. I recommend it.