Despicable Me (2010) movie review by Kate

Despicable Me (2010)

Movie reviews by Kate

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Rating: PG  for rude humor and mild action

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Kids & Family

Running time: 1:35

Starring: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig

Director: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud

Plot: In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) in Universal’s new 3-D CGI feature, Despicable Me. Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad.The world’s greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes. (Rotten Tomatoes)

Kate says – 3 1/2 stars “Despicable Me” is a wonderfully odd and delightfully entertaining movie. Finally we have a film that feels fresh, mostly because of it’s quirky, bright and bizarre  animation style  from first time French directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud. The hero of this movie is actually the dastardly supervillan Gru, who lives in an absurd  little world, and derives joy out of blowing up kid’s balloons just so he can pop them. Of course by the end, Gru will be a changed villain because of the love of three cuter-than-cute little girls, and we get our feel good moral about everyone needing love, even a super villain who realizes being there for your kids is what’s most important (even more important than stealing the moon). The movie is chock full of fast paced slapstick comedy and has an attitude of cartoon zaniness. I love the fact that the directors didn’t try to make things logical or realistic and seemed to revel in letting the characters do ridiculous things just because in the cartoon world anything is possible. The biggest laughs come from Gru’s army of little yellow bouncy Minions who are absolute scene stealers. “Despicable Me” is an outlandish summer treat you won’t want to miss.”

Ebert says – 3 stars “Despicable Me” begins with the truth that villains are often more fascinating than heroes and creates a villain named Gru, who freeze-dries the people ahead of him in line at Starbucks and pops children’s balloons. To make a villain into the hero of an animated comedy is daring, but the filmmakers bring in three cute kids to restore good feelings. The film is funny, energetic, teeth-gnashingly venomous and animated with an eye to exploiting the 3-D process with such sure-fire techniques as a visit to an amusement park. The sad thing, I am forced to report, is that the 3-D process produces a picture more dim than it should be. “Despicable Me” is technically competent and nowhere near the visual disaster that is “The Last Airbender,” but take my word for it: Try to find it in 2-D.” (read full review)

Roger Moore (Orlando Sentinel) says – 3 stars “A conventional “Grinch grows a heart” tale rendered with an unconventional blast of anarchy, Despicable Me is a 3D cartoon comedy of whiplash-quick laughs, funny punch lines and a wickedly gimmicky appreciation for 3D…This is dizzy diverting fun, from it’s first Carell one-liner to the 3D gimmick gags stuffed into the closing credits.” (read full review)

Christy Lemire (Associated Press) – says 2 1/2 stars “Here, the look of the film is what makes it stand out amid the glut of summer cartoons. The characters are cute in their weirdness, down to Gru’s shaggy, growling dog. Even the trio of spunky orphans crucial to Gru’s latest diabolical plan – Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Elsie Fisher) – are adorable in an unusual way. What’s mainly missing from this first animated 3-D offering from Universal is story. There’s just nothing to “Despicable Me,” and that becomes glaringly obvious when you compare it to this summer’s “Toy Story 3″ in particular and Pixar movies in general, where story is paramount.” (read full review)

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