Amongst the new batch of movies that are coming out this week, the only thing that looks like it is worth its salt is the newest Dreamworks Animation movie Despicable Me 2. I must attest I have seen The Long Ranger and just wished they would have shot that horse behind a barn and move on with their lives. I guess a little lighthearted fun this time around with a sequel to a surprise favorite of mine will surely give some relief in this weeks release. But hey, I guess there is no better time than now to go back to the first movie of the series.
A mysterious criminal mastermind has stolen one of the pyramids in Egypt, sparking a fit of jealous envy in evil genius Gru (Steve Carell), who hasn’t managed to make headlines since he and his minions swiped the Times Square JumboTron years back. Ever since Gru was a little boy, he dreamed of going to the moon. Now, if Gru can just build a rocket and get his hands on a powerful shrink-ray, he can cement his reputation as the greatest thief who ever lived by stealing the Earth’s satellite right out of the sky. But immediately after Gru heists the shrink-ray, the cunning super-nerd Vector (Jason Segel) swoops in and snatches it right out of his hands. Now, in order to claim the moon, Gru must first reacquire the weapon from Vector. Armed with the knowledge that his nemesis has a mean sweet tooth, Gru adopts cookie-selling orphans Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Agnes (Elsie Fisher), and Edith (Dana Gaier) and commissions a new line of cookie robots from the evil Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), his personal weapons specialist. But as Gru and his diminutive yellow minions prepare to carry out the biggest heist in history, something strange happens. Gru discovers that the three little girls who have come into his life are much more than simple pawns. They actually seem to care about Gru, and it turns out the scheming evildoer makes a pretty good father. When Gru realizes that his upcoming moon mission clashes with a ballet performance by the girls, he must decide what’s more important — being a present parent or cementing his nefarious reputation once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
I really didn’t know what to expect when I first saw Despicable Me, mainly I was just assuming some sort of usual bleh release from Dreamworks. Given their track record of animated releases that pale in comparison to Pixar, Despicable Me certainly surprised me with its family friendly leanings, smartly written dialog and fun characters that end up creating this wildly enjoyable movie. But let’s be perfectly honest, the little yellow minions are what steal this entire movie. Who would have thought that slightly unintelligible henchmen would end up being some of the best aspects of this movie?
The minions might be the marketing strength for the movie and young kids to latch on to, but for me it is the light story about a villain who ends up finding a heart he didn’t know he had, embracing (resisting more like it) the aspect of adopting three little girls, all of which are a handful on their own. The touching moments of finding a family and togetherness from the strangest of people, this is what really brings it all together. The comedy, drama, and every little thing about the characters make it stand out from the pack of animated films altogether. Gru is voiced wonderfully by Steve Carrell, who certainly makes for a unique voice actor. The little girls in the film are lovable and add the anchor to the movie for the kids, but once again I keep coming back to those damn minions. I don’t why but they certainly just hold your attention with their cutesy antics.
Again, this turned out to a surprising fun and good film, solid from start to finish about a bad guy turning over a new leaf and being slightly bad I guess. The writing is sharp, but also meant for both kids and adults to enjoy. The interacting is a bit slapsticky with the minions and henchmen. The antics are almost Looney Tunes like, but that certainly is not a bad thing. With Carrell giving us some solid voice work, this Dreamworks movie is probably one of the better offerings from a company who loves to make animals into animated characters. I guess branching out is risk that would tank their ongoing formula, but the end results if a lovable movie that warranted a sequel (if only to see more minions) and I look forward to checking this out again.
