Despicable Me
With their first feature, Illumination Entertainment animation studio signals themselves as a major player in family entertainment. They aren’t at Pixar or Aardman levels of genius yet, but I’d say they might have a leg up on Dreamworks (“How to Train Your Dragon” & “Kung Fu Panda” excepted) already.
They get how to make a movie- it’s the story stupid. The technology (be it the CG-animation or the 3-D, which are both beautiful and quirky) is secondary, and no substitute for a lacking story. Thankfully, directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud have a clever one, and an even more clever cast to bring it to life.
Steve Carell is Gru, a supervillain in the Bond vein with a faux-European accent and hundreds of yellow Minions at his disposal (watch out parents- the Minions will be everywhere; they steal the show). He’s also, well, not that great a supervillain. His latest crimes haven’t been so impressive, especially when you consider an up-and-comer named Vector (Jason Segal, hilarious, and his voice unrecognizable) just stole the Great Pyramid of Giza. When he goes to the Bank of Evil to get a loan for his next grand scheme (shrinking and stealing the moon), Gru is denied, and a rivalry is born.
But the film is about more than just comic chicanery between bad guys; Gru becomes a foster parent to three girls who visit his lair selling cookies. Of course, his reasons fit with his plans for Vector (who’s stolen the shrink ray he needs for his plan), but it provides the heart in the film to see Gru change into a caring parent to the girls over the course of the film.
The film doesn’t reach the creative and soulful heights of “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Toy Story 3,” but there’s no denying it’s a long way from the crass and drab likes of “Shrek Forever After.” It’s brightly animated and bouncy in its’ entertainment, with a cast that gets laughs all around (including Russell Brand as Gru’s scientist and Will Arnett as Vector’s father), and a story that tugs just enough on the heart strings to make you weep with joy. Gru may be despicable, but the film he stars in is anything but. It’s hip but not cynical. It’s hilarious without being crude. And it’s heartwarming without being cloying. It’s also a breath of fresh air in a summer of more of the same.
