Justin Long, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, and other seven stars have been attached to lend their voices to Universal's computer-animated feature of "The Tale of Despereaux."
- September 14, 2006
AceShowbiz -
Being ambitious with its new film project of "The Tale of Despereaux", a computer-animated feature adapted from Kate DiCamillo's bestseller book of the same title, Universal has announced Wednesday, September 13 that it has cast ten stars to lend voices to the picture.
All expected to be able to "bring to life the unforgettable characters and help convey the excitement, adventure and fun of this perfect gem of a book", the talents involved are Justin Long, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, Robbie Coltrane, Ciaran Hinds, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Tracey Ullman, and Sigourney Weaver.
Currently can be seen in "Accepted", Long is assigned to voice the title character, a brave and virtuous mouse, while Hoffman filling the voice of a good-hearted rat named Roscuro. In the meantime, Kline is billed as the king's royal cook, Andre, Coltrane as the palace jailer, Gregory, Hinds as the sinister leader of the sewer rats, Botticelli, Lloyd as an old, blind mouse named Hovis, Macy as Despereaux's father, Lester, Tucci as Andre's ally in the kitchen, Boldo, Ullman as the slow-witted Mig, and Weaver as the film's narrator.
Set for a 2008 release, pic is directed by Mike Johnson with Gary Ross and Allison Thomas producing via their Larger Than Life Productions banner. The story will likely stay close to the original one which tells about the tale of three misfits of a banished mouse, a rat who likes the light, and a young servant whose fates are intertwined with their princess.
