Posted on: Friday, December 26, 2008
Many life lessons to be learned in 'Despereaux'
By Roger Moore
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
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Noble mouse Despereaux, voiced by Matthew Broderick, devours tales of knights and princesses and learns to be brave in the process.
Universal Pictures
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'THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX'
Rating: G.
What it's about: A mouse reads books of chivalry and learns to be brave and noble, and not to cower.
The kid attractor factor: Winning animation, with mice, cats, rats and a princess in distress.
Good lessons/bad lessons: Many good ones, the biggest being "No one starts out afraid" in life.
Violence: Sword fights, a cat attack.
Language: Disney clean.
Sex: None.
Drugs: None.
Parents' advisory: The film of Kate DiCamillo's award-winning book has life lessons about tolerance, courage, honesty and common sense that most parents can get behind.
'YES MAN'
Rating: PG-13 for crude sexual humor, language and brief nudity.
What it's about: A glum loner's life changes when a motivational speaker orders him to "say yes" to everything.
The kid attractor factor: Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel, slapstick and a bit of off-color humor.
Good lessons/bad lessons: When you say "yes," you can't avoid helping others, you start taking chances and "you embrace the possible."
Drugs: Booze is abused, as is Red Bull.
Parents' advisory: Fairly chaste, but the life lessons and one really crude sex joke make this more appropriate for teens than preteens.
