Brash Entertainment has announced today it's doing the Tale of Despereaux video game for Xbox 360, PS2 and Wii, set to release alongside the film on December 19th. The movie and the game are both based on an an award-winning book by Kate Dicamillo — would that make this the first video game yet tied into a Newbery Award-winner?

I saw this game when I visited Brash in New York a little while ago — the build I saw was very early, and being unfamiliar with the film, I couldn't tell how well it captured the aesthetic, but it did look cute, showing some scenes of a tiny little mouse whose friend was unhappy with his distinct un-mousiness. Despereaux isn't really interested in scurrying around and chewing things up — he kind of just wants to save a human princess. Aw.

Definitely a kids' title, though. It's still interesting to see how cross-media proliferates, a game from a movie from a novel. Full announcement and screens after the jump.

I often hear longtime platformer fans complain they don't make 'em like they used to, and bemoan the perceived "selling out" of their favorite mascot franchises, when all they want is the great gap-skipping of old that they remember from their younger days.

Most of us were kids during the 3D platformer heyday. So maybe, though, just maybe, if any of those games were to be released today, we'd say they looked like children's games. Brash Entertainment's upcoming Space Chimps film tie-in platformer is a kids' game, and giving it a whirl today was what made me think about days of yore.

It doesn't look too fancy, and it's aimed to be friendly to the younger set. But it sure took me back a bit, which was a surprisingly fun experience.

How do you cram all of the fun of a visit to a Six Flags theme park into your living room? You don't, but Brash Entertainment is still willing to try. They've just announced Six Flags Fun Park, due out this fall for the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2. Gamers can create their own character and engage in quests that take you all over the virtual theme park, just like a real life visit. And what visit to Six Flags would be complete without 40 different mini-games to challenge family and friends? None, I say.

“Six Flags is synonymous with great family fun, and Brash Entertainment is committed to bringing fantastic family entertainment to the gaming world,” said David McKillips, Vice President of Corporate Alliances for Six Flags. “Six Flags Fun Park is the next best thing to actually being inside the park. Now families can keep their favorite theme park gaming skills fresh year round.”

I am sorry if I am taking the piss here, but I cannot see a collection of mini-games coming anywhere near recreating the Six Flags experience. Now if they fill each case with biting gnats that break your air conditioning, then we'll be in business.

Brash Entertainment "Loses" A President

Variety's The Cut Scene reports that Hollywood based publisher Brash Entertainment, which in its own words is "laser focused on high quality theatrical based" video games for every platform, has lost its president. Founder Nicholas Longano is said to have exited the company after just a year in business. As The Cut Scene points out, its two completed projects—Alvin & the Chipmunks and Jumper—were critically slammed, each averaging a dreadful 30 on Metacritic.

The publisher has deals in place with developers Factor 5 and Game Republic to work on unannounced movie tie-ins and the publisher is behind a Saw video game, but we have to be worried for Brash's fate. Alvin & the Chipmunks reportedly sold well to the shovelware buying crowd, but it appears that Jumper: Griffin's Story only sold 16,000 copies. Ouch.

Changes at the top of Brash; Jumper sold 16,000 units [The Cut Scene]

Brash Teams With Factor 5 For Movie Game

We're already working on a title that is more than two years out, and because the filmmaker is a game fan who is really excited about how we want to expand on the story of the film, we've been given a lot of latitude. It's been really fun to dig deep into this universe.

Folklore Devs Working On Secret Movie Game

"In collaborating with Brash, we were introduced to a very compelling fictional world and given the freedom to expand it through the game. We are working directly with the creative talent from the film, and feel that the close collaboration will result in an amazing game play experience that immerses the player in an incredible fantasy world."

Saw Writer Talks Saw Video Game

Leigh and I are very excited about this new venture. We are big gaming fans and we think it would a great opportunity to continue the SAW legacy into a different platform/medium. Keeps things fresh for us anyway. A lot of people have asked us if we would be interested in writing another SAW movie...well, we are writing another SAW story...but it's for the game. We're treating this story like the SAW movies with lots of twists and turns. We have no idea how that is going to apply to a computer game format, considering that most games are generally pretty simple in it's plotting. Maybe its a good thing that Leigh and I are naive to the video game world and that we're writing it like its a movie!

Saw Coming To Consoles (Please No, NOOOOO!)

The first Saw movie was decent, until you realized that a tiny little clown puppet was supposed to be killing people, and then later, you realize that (SPOILER ALERT!!!!) some decrepit cancer patient is somehow setting up all these traps. And then the series gave up on any intelligence in lieu of more red dye and corn starch mixtures.

And then they started licensing the awesome concept for video games!! Due out on Halloween October 2009 for Xbox 360 and PS3, we CAN'T WAIT! Developed by Brash Entertainment with the Unreal Engine 3, supposedly the game will be the result of close movie to game studio collaboration.

Oh, and to all the Saw fans. I'm sorry. (Not about this post, but that you've been sucked into liking crappy movies.) Oh, I kid. I love you all and have already judged you as perfect for reading my ramblings.

WhoIsJigsaw [Official Site via GameLife]

The rumors were right. The Chipmunks are getting their own PS2/Wii/DS videogame from Brash Entertainment. This December alongside their film, The Chipmunks will launch a rhythm game in which they perform 40 castrated classics like REM's Shiny Happy People and Run DMC's It's Tricky.

In a setup similar to Guitar Hero's venue progression, the squirrel-like annoyances will screech their way from high school gyms to Burning Man. Despite our once unabashed love for both the former show and movie, we're now older, wiser and way more knowledgeable about studio enhancement. You lied to us, Alvin. And we'll never forgive you for it.

Brash To Publish Alvin And The Chipmunks Rhythm Game [gamasutra]

Brash Lands Deals With Five Studios

Legendary Pictures Talks WoW Movie

Brash Working on Saw Game

Start-Up Looking for Cash for Movie Games