Despicable Me

I'd like to start this review off with a special belated happy birthday for my good friend Emily, who came along with Stephanie and me to Thursday night's premiere of Despicable Me. It was her first time at a midnight movie and hopefully a good kickoff to her day.

Now, on to the main attraction: Despicable Me.

The choice everyone has to make these days seemingly, 2D or 3D, was unanimous as Emily Stephanie and I all agreed that we enjoy 2D more. (editor's note: I hate 3D)

However, I can honestly say that this movie made me want to see it again... in 3D no less.

How you ask? Well, for starters, it is a good movie, which I will get to in a moment. But there are many instances in the film that you could tell were designed solely to play with the 3D (further proof that the trend is, in fact, a gimmick). This playfulness is something that has been missing from most 3D movies, especially the ones that were post-converted to 3D, not originally shot in 3D. I have heard terrible things about Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender.

As for the overall quality, Despicable Me is a charming, if not overly innovative, animated flick. It lacks the substance of Pixar's work but still has its heart in the right place.

The main character is "super" villain Gru, a humanized version of Wile E. Coyote. He has schemes to spare but is lacking in execution. He and his band of minions (hybrid Oompa Loompa/ Twinkie the Kid cross breeds) set out to pull the greatest act of villainy the world has ever seen.




A wrench is thrown into Gru's dastardly plans as three girls he initially adopts to aid him end up as more of a distraction than he had bargained for (the littlest girl Agnes is cute to the point where it is incomprehensible that she had not yet been adopted).


Then there is Vector, the weaselly, sea-life obsessed rival to Gru's enterprises. I never really bought him as a threatening character, but he does do a good job serving as the roadrunner to Gru's coyote. He has all the cool gadgets, the spiffy ultra modern fortress, and an impressive stolen monument cleverly disguised in his back yard.

Gru must make a decision: is his quest for the ultimate act of villainy getting in the way of his relationship with the girls, or the other way around?

Naturally mistakes are made, lessons are learned, and we are sent home happy. But the plot really isn't the selling point of Despicable Me. Rather, that would be the spectacles and the laughs.

The animation is vibrant and the humor is ever-present, with plenty of physical gags for the kids and slightly more sophisticated laughs for the parents. The voice acting too is top notch, Gru is characterized so well that I forgot that Steve Carell was even involved. And Russell Brand did an amazing job in his part (I didn't even realize who he played until getting on the imdb page).

Despicable Me is a good film, hopefully it has the staying power of such franchises as Shrek and Ice Age.


Attendance: 4/5
Crazy Fan Boy Factor: 1/5
Crowd Response: 4/5

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Production Value: 4/5
Animation: 4/5
Humor: 4/5
Agnes Cuteness Quotient: 9/5

Overall: 8/10