It was just a few days ago that I was talking about the Despereaux movie, and I still haven’t seen it, unfortunately. The holidays are a time for family togetherness and also, apparently, plagues. So, um, we haven’t been out to the movies yet. We’re far too busy tossing germs back and forth.

But I just read the review over at Toon Zone, and thought it was one of the most thoughtful pieces I’ve seen on it:

The Tale of Despereaux aspires to join the rarified company of classic animated fairy tales, but while the final film possesses ample charms, they are not quite enough to counterbalance the film’s flaws. In the end, The Tale of Despereaux tells a delightful story, but it doesn’t quite achieve the lift it needs to truly take flight.

I’m still disappointed, given how much we all loved the book, but I guess they can’t all be blockbusters.

On the other hand, thanks to my 4-year-old nephew I’ve now watched Ratatouille about four times in the last three days, and I’ve gotta say… it’s still good, every time. Talk about a movie that I never expected to be any good that completely blew away my expectations. The only problem with that movie is that it makes me hungry. But it’s a great flick.

So I guess that’s good news for Remy, but bad news for Despereaux. Sorry, Despereaux.

I’ve really been looking forward to the Tale of Despereaux movie, and I’m sad to see that it hasn’t been receiving unanimously favorable reviews. So far the Tomatometer is running at about 52% positive. Which means that the kids and I will probably still enjoy it, but still.

I mean, just look at this. Doesn’t this look like a movie that ought to be amazing?

(See more clips and read more about the movie at Collider.com.)

I’m still hoping to see it this week. I trust that Despereaux’s large ears will entertain me even during the less-than-stellar parts.

Being the curmudgeon that I am, taking the kids to see Bolt and then discovering that our theater was charging an extra $2.50 apiece for the “rental” of the 3-D glasses completely annoyed me. Also, I wasn’t expecting much from the 3-D experience, itself.

Nothing made me feel better about the extra money we had to plunk down, but the 3-D turned out to be surprisingly good. Much better than the stuff I remember from my childhood. (You know, the movies where the 3-D effects were created using red and blue lines, and also dinosaurs.) And my kids actually cheered when the preview for Monsters vs. Aliens came on and and announced that it, too, would be in 3-D.

Or maybe they were just cheering for the movie itself. Check this out:

And now I see that some of my favorite actors (hello, Rainn Wilson) are part of the project. Really, do I have to wait until March??

I’m putting this one on my calendar.