Despicable Me

Let's start things off with a few simple truths about Despicable Me. No, it's not as memorable as Toy Story 3, and no, it doesn't have to be. In terms of animated films released this year, I would put it just under How to Train Your Dragon, and well above the latest Shrek film. This is a fun and light-hearted animated film that has a surprising amount of warmth to it. It also has a wicked sense of humor, with plenty of visual gags for adults to pick up on. It's also the best use of 3D I've seen in a while. While I would still recommend seeking out the traditional 2D version to get the full color of the film, the 3D on display, for once, is not a hindrance.

In this film's world, supervillains are an everyday fact of life, and are constantly competing against each other in a game of one-upping the competition. The central character is Gru, a mad scientist who looks kind of like Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers films, but talks with an accent that reminded me of Bela Lugosi. Steve Carell provides his voice, and it's nice to see a name actor willing to hide his voice for a starring role in an animated film. In the film's clever opening sequence, we see how Gru freezes the customers in front of him in line at a local Starbucks with an icy ray gun, so he can cut ahead. He then drives his massive, gas-guzzling vehicle to his home - A dark manor that is decorated with panda bear skin rugs and a hollowed out alligator as a couch. Beneath his house is his secret lair, where countless Minions (who kind of look like animate corn kernels with eyes) toil on his latest diabolical schemes, with the aid of the aging evil scientist, Dr. Nefario (voiced by an unrecognizable Russel Brand).

Gru returns to his lair and his Minions with troubling news - A young upstart villain named Vector (Jason Segel) has just pulled off the "crime of the century" by stealing the Pyramids in Egypt. They are now sitting on top of Vector's home and lair as a trophy of his evil act. (Of course, nobody notices.) The only way Gru feels he can save face is by topping the crime by stealing the moon itself. Unfortunately, that would require a Shrink Ray, something he does not possess. When the Bank of Evil refuses to fund his plan without a Shrink Ray, Gru decides that the only course of action is to steal the one that Vector keeps within his fortress. When access to the fortress proves impossible by regular means, Gru hatches a plot concerning three little orphan girls who sell cookies in their spare time. The girls, who are sisters, are Margo (Nickelodeon TV star Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher). I smiled when I heard their names. I love it when movies use old fashioned names like that.

The plot of Despicable Me is not hard to predict. Gru plans to use the girls to distract Vector. While they are selling him cookies, he will sneak in and steal the Shrink Ray. Naturally, the more time he spends with the three girls, he opens his heart to them, and begins to find something more important in life than stealing the moon and competing with fellow supervillains. And yet, this is not really a story of redemption. Yes, Gru does soften up to the little girls, but we never really get the impression that he's giving up his evil deeds by the end. When the end credits come, he still has his secret lair, still has his Minions, and still has the old scientist designing weapons for him. He's just learned the values of fatherhood. I kind of liked this aspect. I also liked the way that the movie explains why Gru does what he does. He's really just looking for the attention he never received from his mother (Julie Andrews) growing up. We witness in flashbacks how she never acknowledged his accomplishments. After all, why would someone plot to steal the moon, other than just to get a little bit of attention?

The movie is filled with the usual stunt of casting recognizable names in small roles. Aside from the previously mentioned Andrews, Kristen Wiig lends her voice to the domineering woman who runs the local orphanage, and Will Arnett is the guy who runs the Bank of Evil. It never bothered me too much, as the film has enough wit and heart to go around that it never becomes a distraction. The relationship between Gru and the three girls is charming, and the movie has a lot of fun with taking some family movie cliches, and adding a twisted spin, due to the fact that the father figure is a mad scientist villain. This allows the movie to never become too sappy. It's also fun to look at, whichever format you choose to watch. While the 3D loses some of the film's vibrant colors, it does have some very well done sequences, especially a roller coaster scene at an amusement park. The fact that the movie was designed for 3D from the ground up, instead of having it tacked on to ride a current trend, definitely helps.

It's kind of a risky move to put an anti-hero at the center of a CG kid's comedy, but Despicable Me pulls it off. I can easily see it becoming a franchise, though I hope the studio doesn't milk it dry like Shrek. One more movie with these characters would be enough. With a summer that's been dominated with animated sequels (even with one as good as Toy Story 3), this movie provides some much needed originality.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

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