The Tale of Despereaux (film)

The Tale of Despereaux
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sam Fell Rob Stevenhagen
Screenplay by	Gary Ross
Story by	Will McRobb Chris Viscardi
Based on	The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Produced by	Gary Ross Allison Thomas
Starring	Matthew Broderick Robbie Coltrane Dustin Hoffman Richard Jenkins Kevin Kline Frank Langella William H. Macy James Nesbitt Tracey Ullman Sigourney Weaver
Cinematography	Brad Blackbourn
Edited by	Mark Solomon
Music by	William Ross
Production companies	Relativity Media Larger Than Life Productions Framestore Animation[1]
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	December 19, 2008 (2008-12-19) (United States)
Running time	94 minutes[2]
Countries	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$60 million[2]
Box office	$86.9 million[2]

The Tale of Despereaux is a 2008 animated adventure comedy film directed by Sam Fell and Rob Stevenhagen (in his feature directorial debut). It is based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo. The film is narrated by Sigourney Weaver and stars Matthew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Kevin Kline, Frank Langella, William H. Macy, Tracey Ullman, Emma Watson and Ciarán Hinds. Animation was provided by Framestore Animation.

The film was released in the United States by Universal Pictures December 19, 2008. It is the second theatrically released computer-animated film distributed by Universal Pictures, following The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie. The Tale of Desperaux grossed $86.9 million against a $60 million budget and received generally mixed reviews; many critics praised the film for its animation, voice acting and the title character, but disparaged its story.