It was nearly a year ago when Universal unveiled a teaser trailer for “Despicable Me”. That’s a long time to wait for a movie. But it was worth it.
That trailer turns out to be the opening scene of the film, but that’s pretty much the only predictable thing about “DM”.
Steve Carell voice Gru (though you wouldn’t know it was him if you didn’t know it was him). Gru likes the fact that he’s the #1 evil villain in the world. But when a young villain named Vector steals the spotlight by stealing the Pyramid at Giza, Gru gets angry. He needs to come-up with the ultimate evil act. So, with the assistance of his Minions, hundreds of little yellow helpers, Gru sets out to accomplish his life-long dream: stealing the moon.
Gru decides to adopt three little girls to help him with his plan, but soon the girls start to change him and he has to decide what’s more important: being a great villain or being a great dad.
Going into the film I thought the plot of “Despicable Me” was going to be ’villain vs. villain’, with the girls and the Minions simply supporting characters. Instead, all of the characters play major roles and the movie has a big heart and important messages about family and caring for the people who are important to you.
It’s very funny, sweet and the Minion are hilarious. They are the funniest group of animated characters we’ve seen on screen in years. There’s a great chance they will be break-out stars, with their own spin-off movie and maybe a TV series as well.
All of the voices in “Despicable” are excellent. Along with Carell, there’s Jason Segel, Miranda Cosgrove (from “I Carly“) and the incredible Julie Andrews continues her recent successful run in family films as the voice of Gru’s mother. She looks a lot like the Granny from “Hoodwinked”, and has some great lines.
“Despicable Me” is rated PG for some cartoon violence. It’s good for kids 7 and up, who will love the little girls, the action, and the silly gags, while parents will appreciate the story and the funny dialogue. And everybody will love the Minions! And you must see this movie in 3-D. In fact, it should get an award for the best use of 3-D for laughs in movie history, including in the closing credits, which are hysterical.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Despicable Me” gets a B+.
2010 could go down as the best year ever for animated films with “How to Train Your Dragon“, “Shrek Forever After”, “Toy Story 3” and now “Despicable Me”. And we’ve still got 6 months to go.