Written by: PBF
Despicable Me is brought to us by Universal and Illumination Entertainment. Illumination has some seriously questionable projects going on. Like Where’s Waldo? and The Addams family directed by Tim Burton. Can we stop giving Burton films that can be easily transformed into a Bauhaus fan’s newest favorite picture?
Gru (Steve Carell) is a villain. He hopes to be the worst, and thereby the best villain in the world. An unknown villain steals a pyramid in Egypt and the crime makes national news. Determined not to be outdone, Gru attempts to get a loan from the Bank of Evil. The loan is to fund the construction of a rocket. He plans to steal a shrink ray from a lab, take the rocket in to space, then shrink and steal the moon. The bank denies the loan, however, informs Gru that if he gets the ray, they will give him the money. They explain that he is old and that there are many younger, more capable villains that they would rather loan money to. One of these younger villains, Vector (Jason Segal) is also waiting in the bank for a loan, and annoys Gru to such an extent, that Gru freezes his head on the way out. Later, Gru steals the shrink ray, but Vector steals it from him as payback. Of course one can not simply waltz in to Vector’s home, so Gru has to figure out a ruse to get in. This is where 3 orphaned girls (one voiced by Miranda Cosgrove) come in to play.
First off, let me say that the movie is fine. It was delightfully cute and funny and all that. It wasn’t as good as the TV tells me it is, but it was not a bad movie. Everyone in it is great except maybe Cosgrove; she can’t act her way out of an iCarly lunchbox, but luckily she doesn’t talk so much. I should tell you that I did not see this in 3D, but the animation was fine. If I had one complaint, it’s that it didn’t feel as “slick” as Up or Wall-E. Similarly to Up, you have grumpy old guy that has to “deal” with annoying but cute adolescence but learns from the experience. I’m not claiming that this story originated with Up (nor am i pulling an anti Despicable Me argument ala the anti Inception movement), but it was just done a little better. Possibly because the story was a tad more engaging and characters seemed deeper in Up. Despicable Me was more jokes and situational humor and did not really delve in to the potential morals it could have taught us. Again, this is fine, as it was entertaining most of the time, and who doesn’t like little creatures with high pitched voices pushing each other and laughing all the time?
Not bad for a first effort by Illumination, but Pixar it is not. It was perfect for what it was for me: a Sunday afternoon with my daughter enjoying a movie.
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