The Tale of Despereaux, while wildly thrilling and amazingly animated, has more of a teaching bent than an entertaining one. While the computer work of Sam Fell and Rob Stevenhagen brings Kate DiCamillo's characters to life, it has more than its fair share of adult motifs, and certainly comes across as a "dark" tale (while not quite as dark as, say, Igor.) But in the end, this is about a mouse who dreams big and knows what it means to be courageous and honorable—and that's a tail (pun intended) that the whole family can follow.

A rat named Roscuro (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) accidentally causes the death of the human queen, resulting in the banishment of all rats, the disappearance of the sun, and the absence of all rain. Okay, so he's not responsible for all of that, but the cause-and-effect plays out that way in the long run. He's not terribly bitter but he doesn't make a good rat, because he's not mean and carnivorous. Similarly, born into the mouse community, Despereaux (voiced by Mathew Broderick) is not the ideal mouse because he isn't meek, but is bold instead.

The two meet, and the voiceover narration by Sigourney Weaver connects the two of them with the legends of Arthur and the dead queen's princess daughter (Emma Watson), whom Despereaux has met. When Roscuro tries to make nice with the princess, she has a breakdown, Roscuro becomes bitter, and plots his revenge for the hurt that her family (the banishment, refusal to forgive) has caused him. In the end, the brave mouse Despereaux will have to rally the troops and save the day, while everyone (or nearly everyone) finds their own redemption in the end.

And that is where the story finds its gospel truth, shining through the sunshine at the end of the film. Forgiveness proves to be the strongest emotion, the greatest power, even when courage and honor allow the princess to be freed. Because being freed physically is not the same as being freed in one's heart—as Roscuro, the king, the princess and Despereaux well know. Freedom to forgive allows the heart to live, and the men, mice, and rats to live side-by-side again.

Jesus was encouraged to free the Jews from the Roman rule, to be a king who ruled on earth with a kingdom of power and might, and the people would have followed him. But he knew that God's plan wasn't just about physical freedom but freedom from sin and death, so he went to the cross to die for our sins. And that is true freedom indeed.