Despereaux is an unusual mouse right from the very beginning. He is tiny with huge ears and he doesn't act like other mice. He doesn't scurry and he doesn't eat paper. He is more likely to read a book than eat it. But his biggest transgression is the fact that he loves a human. He fell in love with Princess Pea the moment he saw her. And because of that love he spoke to her and let her touch him. These are big no-nos for mice so Despereaux is banished to the dungeons to be eaten by rats.

Roscuro is not your typical rat. Sure he lives in the dark dungeon, but he really dreams of the light. On one fateful day he makes his way upstairs. He finds the ballroom full of people at a banquet. After scurrying up the chandelier to get a better look, Roscuro falls into the Queen's bowl of soup causing her to die of shock. In his grief, the King outlaw's soup from the kingdom and banishes rats. 

Miggery Sow was sold when she was just a little girl. Her master cuffs her ears so often that they turned into little cauliflower ears that don't hear much at all. She dreams of the day she will be a princess after seeing Princess Pea from afar. When she is taken to the castle to become a servant her dreams become even bigger. She wants to be Princess Pea. 

These three stories come together when Roscuro and Miggery Sow plot to kidnap the Princess Pea. Miggery Sow wants to change places with her, but Roscuro has darker ambitions. It is up to Despereaux to save the princess. 

This is a darker tale and definitely not a Disneyfied fairy tale. Despereaux's family lets him be banished without much thought. In fact, his dad and brother are part of the mice that do the actual banishing. Roscuro and the rats torment the humans in the dungeon until they are without hope. But Despereaux believes in love and light and that will win the day. 

Because I read this for a book/movie discussion I will mention that the movie is almost nothing like the book. The movie changes the backstories and characteristics of all the main characters. Despereaux is not the timid little mouse of the book, but an adventurous explorer willing to jump into danger. Roscuro actually comes into the kingdom on a ship having always lived in the light. Miggery Sow is not deaf or truly abused in the movie, but hers is probably the most similar. The movie also includes some weird magical elements. When the soup is banished the sun disappears and it stops raining. The cook is joined by a strange magical vegetable thing that helps him cook. The rats plan on eating Princess Pea. I am not sure any of the changes were for the better and I am sure anyone who read the book was very disappointed by the movie.