Despicable Me

It seems like there are more animated movies being released than ever before.  This year has been full of animation and family films so far.  Thankfully, this one is really good.  Despicable Me takes a bit of a different approach, focusing on a villain rather than a hero.  Of course, it must be a pretty likeable villain for the movie to work.  And that he is.  His name is Gru, and he doesn't really do anything harmful like hurt people or anything.  He pretty much just steals stuff... like the moon for example.  That's his next mission, and he's really just doing it to impress people with his talent.  There's nothing wrong with that.  What purpose has the moon ever served us anyway? 
Steve Carell gives Gru a rather amusing Eastern-European accent (pretty much Russian-sounding) and has a lot of fun with it, often over-emphasizing words for extra zing.  He's got a mother who never seems to be proud of him and often indicates he's even an underachieving villain.  This further fuels his quest to be the best villain in the world.  He is quite good at what he does and is probably considered the best, until he finds out a new villain named Vector has stolen an entire pyramid in Egypt.  Not only that, but Vector even steals something right out of Gru's hands.  This sets off a war between villains.
Gru tries breaking into Vector's elaborate home but is unsuccessful in all attempts.  That's until he finds that a trio of orphan girls selling cookies are easily allowed into Vector's home (due to his love of cookies).  Since Gru is a man who will go to great lengths to get what he wants, he decides to adopt the 3 children.  Thanks to these adorable kids (especially the youngest), the movie starts to show some emotional depth.  Gru is used to maintaining his bad guy image and not accustomed to showing any concern or sentiment towards others, especially due to his own unappreciative mother.  But he does have a sweet side in his heart; he just doesn't know how to show it.  It's not hard to figure out that the children eventually bring it out of him.
Aside from Gru and the cute orphans, the real scene-stealers are the Minions.  They're basically an army of tireless, little yellow capsule-shaped beings that help Gru with everything he needs.  They look up to Gru like he's a rock star, but he seems to take care of them as well.  If you see the film in 3-D, make sure to stay for the credits where the Minions make a clever demonstration of how to get the full effect of the 3-D format.  Some people may prefer the work of Pixar (Wall-E, Up, etc.), saying they're smarter, wittier, and often aimed at adults as much as children.  But it's the characters here that really make this one work, along with a modern feel that won't leave the adults bored at all.  The score is even composed by hip-hop producer Pharrell Williams under the tutelage of Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.  I'm not one to recommend an animated film often, but this is one of the most enjoyable I've ever seen.

http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-philadelphia/danny-porcaro

As is the drill with such films, granddaughter and critic-in-chief joined me as I viewed this popular animated film of the summer of 2010.  There is a 3-D and a regular version of the film.  Granddaughter and I always see such things in 3-D because a 6-year-old thinks this is really cool.
 
 
The main character of the film, a really bad fellow who fell upon his evil ways because of a mother who utterly failed to instill in him any sense of self-esteem, is deeply involved in a life of bad deeds.  His latest and greatest goal is to steal the moon right out of the sky and hey, this is cool. 
 
 
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1323594/">IMDB site for this movie.</a>
 
However Gru has a competitor for despicable greatness.  A fellow named Vector is closing in on the cartoon curmudgeon and Gru despairs.
 
This is when we have three cute orphan girls come on the scene.
 
Using this trio, Gru manages to sabotage his nemesis and get inside his home.  Said act helps him gain access to an invention that one would necessarily need if one wants to swipe the moon outta the sky.
 
Much of the movie is taken up by two story lines, both of them happening simultaneously.  Gru plots, plans and steals the moon while falling in love with his three unwitting orphan cohorts in crime.
 
Hey, it’s a good movie, good characters, has action where action is needed, has sweetness as required.  The viewer is left thinking there really is no hope for despicable Gru when the human spirit, as it always does, awakes to a brand new morn and life’s priorities are once again set straight.
 
The movie has, as expected, a happy and heart-warming ending.
 
I’m not convinced this movie will do for the 10-12 year old little boy hellions out there in movie land.  I’m not convinced that children much beyond age 8 will demand to see the thing although once in DVD I think it will nicely occupy a few hours time.
 
Parents will like it as there’s enough adult wink-winks and nod-nods in the film and we get it. 
 
It’s a stereotypical film but then again, what’s wrong with that?

Following the immense high that Toy Story 3 gave me, I was pretty much ready to see any animated movie that might come out. Unfortunately I decided to shell out the extra cash for 3-D.

I'm not saying that Despicable Me is bad, because it's not, but I am saying that if I pay 12 dollars to see a movie in 3-D it better blow my mind away with visual effects.

Despicable Me, is the story of longtime villain Gru (Steve Carell). Gru is getting up there in years, and his dastardly plans don't have the punch that they used too. When he finds that a rival villain has actually stolen the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt (and quite hilariously puts it behind his house and paints it like the sky) Gru decides to put into action his most evil plan of all time, stealing the moon. Yes, the moon; his plan is to use a North Korean designed shrink ray, shrink up the moon and bring it back to Earth, to show off his awesome evilness.

But there's one small problem, Vector (Jason Segel) the guy who stole the pyramid, has also stolen the shrink ray, so Gru has to get creative and adopt three adorable orphan girls to get it back.

Despicable Me is like a dark comedy for children, which is incredibly hard to put into words, but if you see it you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. It is made for children but there is enough humor here for adults to enjoy it all the same. Gru's house is littered with endangered animals that could cause a chuckle. Gru's responses to the little girls demands and pleas are what every parent thinks, but loves too much to say it, and he gets to do it in a delicious Russian accent. "Pretty please?" "The physical appearance of please does nothing." More amusing things like the Bank of Evil (formerly Lehman Brothers) made for an enjoyable time.

The voice cast is pretty good as well. Steve Carell shines as Gru and his accent is flawless. Russell Brand jumps in as Gru's 80 year old sidekick Dr. Nefarious and you never once think it sounds like a young man. Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, and Julie Andrews make nice showings as well.

The little yellow things climbing all over the poster are Gru's minions and really only serve as slapstick humor for the kiddies. Despicable Me is incredibly predictable but it adds a nice twist with its dark humor and general pacing. Plus, the littlest orphan is the cutest thing on the planet.

Just don't pay for 3-D.

2 and a half out of 4 stars

-Christopher O'Connell

The world of animation has a great barrier to leap if it wants to be taken seriously as an art form again. Pixar has done a great deal to make up for the lack of credible animation storytelling that consistently finds its way into the theaters, while Dreamworks has almost matured past their use of stated character and simplistic narratives. However, when a newcomer wants to enter the compacted film market that always ends up honoring mediocrity it inevitably comes as no surprise when the final product slants towards immature children’s entertainment rather than a quality product that can be for all ages. And a mediocre product is what Despicable Me offers its audiences by shoving as much chaotic imagery onto the screen alongside its basic characters and undeveloped narrative. Despicable Me comes off as a movie that tries way too hard to please its audience while at the same time distracting them with fast paced action and way too marketable cute yellow pill shaped creatures. Kids will be pleased with Despicable Me and perhaps parents will find it amusing as well, but really it’s just another mediocre animation film that even is lacking in comparison to Dreamworks. Sure it might make you smile but really it’s a forgettable experience that’s too hectic and immature to be reminiscent of any quality cinema.
            Despicable Me revolves around a pseudo-Russian accented Gru, who dresses as though he’s Boris Badenov and gets into similar situations as Wiley Coyote. Voiced by Steve Carrell, Gru is an aspiring super villain who devises a plan to shrink and steal the moon to try and out best his new super villain rival: the young and sports suit wearing Vector. Gru is aided by his trusty, idiotic, and overly cute yellow minions who appear to do more harm than good in his plans of evil. And if the minions weren’t a cute factor alone the animation filmmakers also introduce three Orphans that are trapped in a Charles Dickens-esque world of selling cookies door to door for their tyrant keeper Miss Hattie. Basically the lives of Gru and the Orphans come together when Gru sees them as a distracting opportunity to steal a shrink ray from his new arch-nemesis Vector from his modernist home. Of course, the evil Gru never expects to be charmed by these annoying children though our predictions aren’t far off as the script’s predictability of explaining why one becomes a villain is exceptionally childish. The post-modernist appeal of explaining the victim role of the villain has become a trumpeting point for a lot of children’s animation where evil is simply being misunderstood rather than an existing threat. This was a fault of Dreamwork’s How to Train Your Dragon earlier this year and Despicable Me, for all of its charm, falls a bit short due to the fact that an actual threatening antagonist is non-existent. If there are no such things as villains than there is no such thing as a hero, and though Gru transforms in the end to caring for these adorable children the transformation is not felt but rather just fits into the familiar narrative that the filmmakers seemed too lazy to complicate with actual emotions.
            Sitting in the theater watching Despicable Me in 3D is quite the disorganized experience considering the filmmakers took full advantage of the spectacle that 3D can offer. Slowed down sequences, a barrage of missiles, pointy objects coming out of the screen are all prime examples of the fun 3D can offer for audiences that just absorb what’s in front of them. However, Despicable Me also provides a great template as to what is really unfortunate about the 3D age and how it relates to cinema being pure entertainment. It turns the movie experience into a sort of theme park attraction rather than being there for a story that has relatable or intriguing characters that speak to us in some form or another. The film seems a bit distant when the characters are there to just make the experience a fun ride rather than what filmmaking was intended to do and that is to tell stories or introduce us to different perspectives. Take any of Pixar’s films and you’ll be able to compare in great detail how a dedication to story and character provides a more meaningful theater experience rather than just an amusing one. Despicable Me does have a lot of charm through the voice acting, certain characters, and never allows itself to get boring as it fills the screen with more and more action, but is simply just another mediocre animation film to be added to the countless ones that are produced year after year.
            Joining Steve Carell in the cast is a plethora of television actors who do a good job at making the experience that is Despicable Me a lively one. Jason Segal offers a slant on his voice making it almost indistinguishable as the young, clichéd Vector and provides for some delightfully random moments throughout the film. The adorable Orphans are voiced innocently enough by Elsie Fisher, Dana Gaier, and Miranda Cosgrove, all of whom bring enough charm to counter balance their basic dialogue and unbelievable character situation. However, it really is the unrecognizable voice of Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario that will really impress those familiar with the actor and makes the situations surrounding the character a bit more comedic. What will probably divide some audiences are the little yellow minions, which will certainly amuse children but annoy parents. They are certainly overused though the filmmakers wanted as much in the film to distract you from the basic storyline so the minions are an easy tool of nonsense to use in this case. At first they are funny and cute, but then they seem to appear everywhere and out stay their welcome as their gibberish acts as a sort of progressive Asian torture technique rather than a consistent humorous occurrence. Despicable Me survives due to the lively cast of characters despite the simplistic narrative they’ve been implanted into, showing just how mediocre an animation film can become.
            Going to the movies has become such a fall back for low and middle class entertainment that studios try to get away with producing rushed products to just get them into the theaters. However, with animation films there is a lot of planning, storyboarding, and overall work that goes into making them especially if they are in 3D. Despicable Me offers a great deal of charm with the characters, but they are undeveloped and must be accepted in their time and place rather than allowing the audience to connect with them. This is the complete opposite from Pixar who openly utilize the strengths of storytelling to flush out their complex characters. Considering the amount of development and planning go into animation the creators of Despicable Me really have no excuse for their chaotic children’s film. There are some enjoyable moments but that is really just a result of how hard the filmmakers tried to make an amusing film rather than a quality family film. Even in comparison to Dreamworks’ films, Despicable Me falls drastically short.