Next month, the big screen is making way for a little mouse. The Tale of Despereaux, based on Kate DiCamillo’s Newbery-winning novel about the adventures of a brave, big-eared rodent, hits theatres December 19. Sam Fell (Flushed Away) and Robert Stevenhagen (his directorial debut) direct the CGI film from Universal Pictures, which was written by Gary Ross (Seabiscuit; Pleasantville).
The film features the voices of many big-name actors, including Matthew Broderick as Despereaux and Emma Watson (Hermione in the the Harry Potter films) as Princess Pea, as well as Christopher Lloyd, Dustin Hoffman, Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline, among others.
Candlewick Press will offer eight tie-in titles, including an interactive Deluxe Movie Storybook, a junior novelization, activity and paperback picture books, as well as a graphic novel adaptation by Matt Smith and David Tilton (available in both hardcover and paperback). The combined first print run for the tie-in publishing program is 670,000 copies.
