Despicable Me

It is not often that we get an animated film that is not based on a fairy tale or a beloved children’s book, but Pixar has paved for way for original stories and now Universal has followed suit. Despicable Me tells the tale of Gru who has just been replaced as the number one villain of the world. When a mysterious new villain steals the Egyptian pyramids and replaces them with an inflatable duplicate, Gru feels that he must out do this outlandish feat to get his reputation back.

Voiced by Steve Carell (Evan Almighty) Gru meets three adorable little girls who have a knack for getting past formidable obstacles. He adopts them as a means of thwarting his enemy, but they end up melting his black, black heart and he learns the joys of fatherhood.

The strength of this movie is in the voice talents of Steve Carell and all the sight gags perpetrated by his minions. Minions are small little pill shaped characters that do his evil bidding. They are yellow, possess large goggle shaped eyes, and seem to have a language of their own. Each one has a distinct personality and they are a lot of fun. Remove them from the film and it wouldn’t nearly be as successful.

I enjoyed the film and especially liked the personalities of the little girls played by Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher. My favorite line is when the middle sister comments about Gru’s baldhead. She says something like, “When I saw his bald head I was thinking more Daddy Warbucks.” She is reacting to the dark gloomy home they have just entered decorated with weapons, taxidermy, and a snarling dog. Gru’s house is like walking into a Bond villain’s lair.

Despicable Me is very entertaining but it relies too much on sight gags and the minions. The minions steal the show while Gru is trying to steal the moon. I can easily see the minions having their own Saturday morning series, they are very cute and the kids will love them, but for an entire film, the premise wears thin fairly quickly. As an adult I was only amused.

I appreciated the warmth of the film, especially when Gru tries his hand at reading bedtime stories. As adults, his candor over the contents of the stories is well understood. I just wish that the film was a little more clever with the dialogue. I like it when films work on several levels. This movie has all the visuals for the kids, and the cute, funny voices of the minions, but it could have had more bite and satire for the adults. As is, Despicable Me is family friendly and will keep the kids occupied. Let the merchandising begin!

Rating: First Run Watch out for minions