Despicable Me (2010)

Director: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
Story: Sergio Pablos
Cast: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand
Music: Pharrell Williams, Heitor Pereira
Time: 94 minutes
Bottom-line: Not a great story, but fun to watch 

One thing makers of animated films will worry about, in my view, is that their film might be a bit childish. A good animation film provides regular laughs, has a good story and also some sort of moral that lingers in your mind. Despicable Me has a charm of its own that makes it interesting to watch, even if the story is not up to the mark. The film stars Steve Carell, Jason Segel, and Russell Brand in the lead roles, with Miranda Cosgrove, Julie Andrews, Dana Gaier and Elsie Kate in the supporting roles.

Super-villain Gru

Super-villain Gru (Carell) has just suffered a setback – another new villain has made headlines by stealing the Pyramid of Giza, thereby becoming the more popular super-villain. The thief turns out to be Vector (Segel), a villain who commits crimes with “both direction and magnitude”. To earn back his fame, Gru devices a new plan: he will shrink and steal the Earth’s moon, with the help of his colleague Dr. Nefario and his minions. However, the moment Gru successfully steals the shrink ray from a secret research facility, Vector grabs it from him. When Gru’s attempts to get it back fail, he notices three orphan girls who are able to enter Vector’s fortress because they sell cookies. So Gru decides to adopt the three girls. The adventures the four of them have form the rest of the film.

The girls Edith (left), Agnes (middle) and
Margo

I liked the way the characters have been created. Gru, a so-called super-villain who goes around freezing people with a “freeze-ray”; the incidents during the song I’m having a bad bad day illustrate his “evilness”. Then there’s Vector, who seems like a lame character, till it is revealed that he is the one who stole the pyramid. Each of the three girls has different traits too: Margo, the eldest, who is always protective of the other two; Edith, who is known for her short temper, and Agnes, the youngest, cutest and most innocent of the three. But the main reason the film created an impact on the viewers was because of Gru’s minions: the yellow dwarf-like beings in his lab. Somehow their appearance and voice has made them perhaps the most popular cartoon characters of today.

Vector, the antagonist

The contrast between the characters itself creates some humour. The story focuses on how Gru goes from super bad to super dad. But the story seemed to be directionless... I mean, though all the events are connected, somehow the narrative wasn’t that good. What made it interesting, however, is the animation and jokes. I agree with the Rotten Tomatoes consensus of the film, which states that the film has heavily borrowed from The Looney Tunes. Some jokes resembled those you would have probably seen in The Looney Tunes Show, and if you loved them then, you will enjoy them now. This is what I meant when I said that though the story as such is average, watching the film is interesting.

Some of the minions... 

The score was good, and the animation as well (especially the way the minions have been created!!). The characters, except the three girls, all look kind of weird: Gru, with his Pinocchio-like nose and extremely thin legs (and his monster-like dog), Vector with his big geeky spectacles, Dr. Nefario with his oddly shaped head... Steve Carell has done a fantastic job – it was impossible for me to recognise his voice in the film. The others who have lent their voice have also done well.

Despicable Me is a film that doesn’t quite match the standard of Pixar films, but nevertheless, it is a fun-filled family entertainer. Watch for the animation graphics and the jokes. This is one of those films that somehow manage to lighten your heart as soon as you start watching.

My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 81%