Last weekend contained my son’s big day, his third birthday, so as part of his celebration we took him to a movie. There aren’t a lot of kid movies out right now, but he’d been captured by the images of The Tale of Despereaux he’d seen, so we thought we’d check it out.
I thought it was an absolutely wonderful movie. I was pulled in by the story which wound through some twists and turns. It’s not simple kids fare, but has a story and characters that I think parents can find fascinating as well.
I was a little surprised when I went out on the net afterward and found that a lot of parents were really down on the movie. They thought it was too dark and complicated for kids. There certainly were elements of the ratworld that were dark and the adventure sequences of people chasing mice or a cat attack could be scary, but our son, who has a sensitive heart, was fine throughout (Yeah, he was looking pretty intense a couple of times, but with a little parental reassurance he was fine).
I appreciate a kid movie that tells a story about important themes like courage and selflessness. It also tells a story of characters who have to move past loss, forgive, and find joy in new and changed circumstances. Some people said they thought it was too dark and some people said the themes were familiar. I don’t think this movie was either. I think it appealed to kids with the nature of the story, the fun charactes, and the animation, but also told a story that has themes many adults should pay attention to as well. My vote is that Jesus would digg it.
This movie is actually based on a book which won the Newbery Medal in 2004. I’ve yet to read it (or see the movie)but intend to do so.