| “ | I am a gentleman. | „ |
| ~ Despereaux Tilling |
Despereaux Tilling is the titular main protagonist of The Tale of Despereaux. He is a young mouse who was sent into exile after breaking the rules that forbid other mice from reading books, befriending a human princess named Pea, and displaying unmouse-like behavior. After a confrontation with the rats, he forms a bond with a sea rat named Roscuro, who was also looked down upon after unintentionally falling into the Queen of Dor's soup, which gave her a heart attack and drowns in the soup. When Princess Pea was kidnapped, Despereaux sets off to save her.
He was voiced by Matthew Broderick who also voiced Simba from The Lion King.
What Makes Him Pure Good?[]
- Despereaux Tilling had displayed an exceptional extent of bravery, even when in mouse society they were expected to be fearful, a trait which would be pivotal for the future of the kingdom of Dor.
- When he read the story about a knight who saved a princess, he was inspired to become a knight
- He made friends with the lonely Princess Pea and helped her cope with their grief by visiting her.
- After being banished into the dungeons below, and assisted by Roscuro in escaping the rats, Despereaux was outstandingly kind to him when he himself was in a very tough situation.
- When he learned that Pea was captured (and the only one who knew about it), he attempted to let her father know about her plight, though he was unsuccessful in getting his attention, as the king was too absorbed in his grief over the loss over his late wife to notice him.
- When he was mistaken for a ghost in his hometown, Despereaux rings the bell to alert them. This in turn, caused the Chef Andre and Boldo to make the resolve in making soup again and resulted in the sun's light returning, which is important in the battle against Botticelli, as he and the rats have aversion to the light. This had caused the miserable people to regain their lost hope and willing to move on from the tragedy of the queen.
- Even in moments where he had to hurt someone (poking Andre's foot with his needle), he was only trying to get his attention and teams up with Boldo to enter the dungeons to save Pea from the rats.
- Even though he left Mig behind in the dungeon, Pea's situation was urgent as she was about to be mauled by the rats, and it was Gregory who freed Mig and reconciled with her after finding out that she was his daughter. (If Despereaux had freed her, Mig would have lost her chance at reuniting and reconciling with her missing father).
- Despereaux freed the caged cat to scare the rats off the princess and fought many of them and confronts Botticelli, who was eventually defeated after Roscuro blinded him and chased by the cat into the cage, with Pea kicking the door shut and locking it, where he was eaten. This way, they managed to prevent him and the rats from overrunning the humans living in Dor.
- Because of Despereaux's actions, Princess Pea and Roscuro have reconciled and the ban on soup and the rats was lifted and Despereaux was welcomed back into his hometown where the other mice were inspired to become just like him.
Trivia[]
- While he is Pure Good, it is irony that he is a complete foil to his arch-nemesis, Botticelli Remorso, who was previously Pure Evil.
External Links[]
- Despereaux Tilling on the Heroes Wiki
- Despereaux Tilling on the Shonen Heroes Wiki
- Despereaux Tilling on the The Tale of Despereaux Wiki
