Despicable Me Review

I am starting to worry about myself.  As I look over the last few months of theatrical releases and ponder on what could be considered solid entertainment and what should be considered trash, I can’t help but notice that a majority of the real substantial films released this year have been animated.  This is disconcerting.

Am I merely a sad illustration of the 21st century man-child living a stunted life, trapped in my childhood and waiting with baited breath for the newest “Grand Theft Auto” video game?  Or is that, more often than not, animated films tell well-rounded stories, attract top creative talent and give the audience their moneys worth? I will side with the latter choice because a) it makes me feel better and b) it is true.

So far, 2010 has given us fantastic family entertainment.  How to Train Your Dragon featured some breathtaking flight sequences that rivals James Cameron’s Avatar in transporting the audience to another world.  Mary and Max is a unique film from Australia that utilizes stop motion animation to tell it’s heartbreaking story of friendship and loss, and Toy Story 3 is a major achievement that might end up being the best film of the year.

Now you can add Universal’s hilarious new 3D CGI feature, Despicable Me, to the list.  The PG family film is surprisingly original and crammed with gut-busting performances by many of today’s comedic heavy hitters, including Steve Carell and Jason Segel.  It features great bits and buckets of old school Bugs Bunny-level cartoon violence.  At its core, however, Despicable Me is about the importance of family and how we all, even the world’s second most diabolical supervillian, need someone to love.

The despicable one here is a scoundrel named Gru (Carell) who is planning the greatest heist of all time: he is going to steal the moon!  It seems that someone has recently swiped the Pyramid of Giza and this has given Gru a slight inferiority complex.  The best he has been able to do so far is hijack the Jumbotron from Times Square.  When Gru discovers the identity of the pyramid snatcher, an evil super-geek named Vector (Segel), the two quickly become archenemies.

After several failed attempts to infiltrate Vector’s lair, Gru decides on a wonderfully deceptive tool to gain access: three adorable orphan girls.  But once the girls are allowed into Gru’s solitary life, he begins to doubt the reasons behind his plans for complete dominance, and soon Gru must decide whether it is more important to be the world’s greatest supervillian or make it to a dance recital and watch the little girls pirouette.  The use of orphans as a plot device to soften Gru seems too easy at first and a lazy choice to tug at your heartstrings, but the girls grow on you and Gru’s transformation is genuine and touching.

Despicable Me features an all-star cast of funny people that puts Adam Sandler’s crew of has-beens in Grown Ups to shame.  Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Danny McBride and many others join Carell and Segel in the shenanigans, and the film’s directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, give these performers enough liberty to bring their signature comedy to the roles.  Brand and Wiig are nearly unrecognizable, obviously relishing the opportunity and freedom of voicing cartoons.

The fan favorite will, no doubt, be Gru’s goofy assistants, the Minions.  Coffin, Renaud, and “Flight of the Conchords” star Jemaine Clement provide the high-pitched babble of these bizarre, gleeful creations that deliver much of the film’s laughs.  These little guys deserve their own Saturday morning show.

The filmmakers make great use of 3D, a gimmick that, after lackluster results in The Last Airbender and Alice in Wonderland, was quickly wearing out its welcome.  Here images have great depth and parts pop off the screen.  Stay through the credits for a couple of final funny bits that showcase the expert use of the extra dimension.

Despicable Me is a film that is both a throwback to old Loony Tunes sensibilities and, with the use of eye-popping technology, a very current comedy that should keep even the most restless child fixated.  Mark it up as another winning family film of 2010.

4 out of 5