Friday, May 21, 2010

Friday Arts!

Well here we go....day one embarking on Friday Arts! This will be something fun to take us into the weekend--art, music, film, books! I'm giddy with the possibilities (o;

This week's art form is FILM: The Tale of Despereaux.

In the far away kingdom of Dor . . . lived a brave and virtuous mouse with comically oversized ears who dreamt of becoming a knight. Banished from his home for having such lofty ambitions, Despereaux sets off on an amazing adventure with his good-hearted rat friend Roscuro, who leads him, at long last, on a very noble quest to rescue an endangered princess
and save an entire kingdom from darkness.

Loved it! A classic fairy tale with a twist (a courageous little mouse who defies the odds by not giving way to fear and instead rescues the princess and the Kingdom from darkness!)

What I loved about the film (and the apparently incredible original author) was the underlying message of HOPE throughout.

H O P E for RESCUE (the princess),

H O P E for RELEASE & HEALING (the king from grief of a lost queen),

H O P E for LIGHT & RENEWAL (the kingdom that was banished from celebrations and lived in darkness)

H O P E for a NOBLE QUEST (little Despereaux who was told to tame his courageous heart and settle for a mundane existence)

H O P E.

Each character throughout the film must live with it, wrestle in it, question it, but ultimately let it lead them, opening their hearts anew.

I also loved the word choice the narrator used to describe the Princess' quandary, "she was one with longing." And what needed to be protected and fought for was keeping this beautiful maidens heart open and alive. It was an important element to the greater story and the freeing of the kingdom.

Sound familiar?

And strong, little Despereaux doesn't shrink back from her heart or the mission to free the kingdom. He regularly reminds himself of the greater story which requires him "to be a gentleman of courage, honor and truth."

The kingdom had lulled itself to sleep by letting go of joy, desire, hope, dreams and settled in to a life of cowering fear and loneliness.

And this little mouse, because he had the courage to believe, changed everything.

Hope is contagious.

Here's to The Tale of Despereaux!!! (and all the little tales we are courageously living out today).

"The lives of many rest in the courage of the few." John Eldredge






5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You were up early! Yes, this is a neat book.... Happy
weekend and festive happenings!

Lindsay said...

Ah, hope! Love hope! Lord, keep our hearts alive to hope! Love you friend and now I want to watch this flick! xo

Susie (Shaw) Fitler said...

this is why we can automatically schedule when a blog goes out...don't think for a minute i was up early writing. (o; TGIF!

Michael said...

I loved the book, but I just didn't think the movie could possibly live up to the book. But maybe I'll give it a try.

KYLE AND LISA said...

Such a cute film! ::)