“The Tale of Despereaux” may qualify as a new film but it is far from qualifying as a new idea, unless one has never heard of the concept of a family-friendly animated movie featuring, as its main character, a cute, affable and heroic little mouse who speaks English, along with his rodent brethren. More significantly (not that conversing in a way thought to be exclusive to the human species is not significant), the character in question seems much more enlightened than the average mouse and, on top of everything else, also tries to save the world, or at least make some sort of difference. Examples abound, from Walt Disney’s original cartoon mouse named Mickey to 2007′s rodent chef in “Ratatouille.” In between, there have been cartoon mice portrayed in the more conventional role of catbait (ala “Tom and Jerry”) and in the less plausible role as superhero coming to save the day (“Mighty Mouse”). There was also that story in the eighties called “An American Tail,” about a mouse living the life of an immigrant to America. Somehow our furry friends seem so much cuter and sympathetic on screen in such productions than they usually appear in real life, found scurrying in piles of garbage, filthy sewers and whatnot.

The likeable mouse in this outing, bestowed with the heroic-sounding name Despereaux (voiced playfully by Matthew Broderick) is an unusual mouse, indeed, and not only because of his appearance, which features an average cartoon-mouse body, topped with huge ears resembling those of Dumbo. His behavior is a problem. Where he should eat the pages of books, he reads the books–with sincere interest. Where he should cower, he innocently stands his ground. Where he should be meek, he’s brave. So unlike his mousy community is he that his teachers and his parents grow seriously concerned about him, as all attempts to teach him the sacred traits and rites of mousehood fail to impact him in any meaningful way. Eventually, he’s banished from the community falls–rather literally–into the dark, dank dungeon that is home to the vicious rats.

Conveniently enough, he meets Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman with an accent that is vaguely Bostonian), a friendly rat who used to be the assistant to the (human) royal chef–it seems “Ratatouille” inspired someone–in the lavish palace before a culinary accident that kills the queen and resigns the king to never-ending melancholy about his dear departed and other misfortunes forced our misunderstood and maligned rat into a life of exile in the underground. He longs to return to the gentility and prestige of the royal family, but his appeals to Princess Pea (Emma Watson), the most accessible member of the family and on whom he has something of a crush, go misunderstood, with disastrous consequences.

The story is also about the humble Miggery Sow (Tracey Ullman), a servant to the princess who–after yet another misunderstanding (there seem to be many of them in this film)–finds herself no longer at the gracious side of the princess she so respects and honors, but toiling in the dark, obscure bowels of the castle, leading a life filled with miserable drudgery.

As one predicts early on–less from the nature of Despereaux than from the fact that such is usually the case with films of this sort–the mouse at the center of it all plays a part in the lives of all of these characters and more. Eventually, what was wrong is righted. Obscurities in characters’ lives unexpectedly become clear (unexpected to those characters, not to the audience). There’s a climactic battle toward the end of the story, as you may have figured (because there always is), this one involving hordes of the hostile rats who conspire to overthrow the monarchy.

Though the movie, at ninety minutes, does not have an epic running time, it still feels as though it could have spared several minutes. Its story rambles somewhat and is not particularly inventive–more like a scattershot assemblage of bits and pieces of enduring themes from other, more memorable stories (empire in decline, people–and animals–banished from their rightful lives, lost dignity, alienation, fighting for one’s beliefs, reunions with long-lost family, damsel in distress, and so on). As usual with movies such as this, an army of celebrities has been cast to play the voices. Aside from those already mentioned, we hear Robbie Coltrane, Richard Jenkins, Kevin Kline, Frank Langella, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci and narration by Sigourney Weaver.

Meanwhile, the animation is well-crafted and, to its credit, does not share the overly-sleek and -shiny look that most computer-rendered animated movies flaunt, presenting images that feel a touch closer to an enhanced, yet classic, hand-drawn aesthetic, presented in colors that don’t feel too artificial. However, it is, ultimately, fairly average animation that does not push the envelope in any way or offer anything of significance by which to remember itself.

Such is the case with the rest of the film. We live in an age in which there are not only more films produced annually than any time in recent memory, but there are many animated features (mainly from outside the US) that push the boundaries of the film, of storytelling, and of the subject matter that can be told. Not that there haven’t been some compelling individual animated movies from the States lately, but virtually all major Hollywood animated movies of at least the past decade are interchangeable in terms of aesthetics, target audience, and overall story arc. Once upon a time, Hollywood was known for being innovative in animation. But, while “Despereaux” is not a disaster, it is unfortunate that a film which purports to be about a character who represents boldness in the face of spirit-crushing submission passed off as an acceptable norm is itself content to remain nothing more than just one more banal, unchallenging movie in crowd full of them.

This movie is evil. I took my 4 and half year old daughter to see it in the theater, and after 40 minutes, she was begging me to take her away from it. It’s just dark, sinister and terrifying to anyone with a good heart. There’s nothing human or engaging here, just darkness and lots of scenes of falling into dark and forbidding places. She’s been having nightmares about falling ever since. Watch Wall-E or Toy Story. Please do not make the same mistake I made and assume this is a movie for young children.