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You're Despicable

Evil and cute are two things that don’t usually go together. Yet in the charming new computer animated movie, Despicable Me, evil and cute go together like chocolate and peanut butter.

The evil in question goes by the name of Gru. He’s a pointy nosed fellow who looks like the love child of Dr. Evil and Uncle Fester. Gru has earned his place in the world by being mean, evil and well, despicable. He’s the kind of guy who will delight in making a kid cry and laugh about it all the way home, Monty Burns style. He’s a criminal mastermind who these days seem to be losing his touch. You see there’s a new villain on the scene who, amongst other things, has stolen Gru’s thunder. So he sets in motion an attempt to carry out one final deviant plan so big that it will surly immortalize him in wherever it is that they immortalize super villains.

This is where the cute comes in. Through a turn of events, Gru ends up needing the help of three orphaned girls. Despite not knowing a thing about caring for other people, especially other people who need to be driven to dance classes, Gru adopts them and takes them to his creepy home where they unwittingly help him carry out his villainous plot. But of course, things don’t quite go as planned for any of them.

What transpires is a fun, zany, loud and completely enjoyable movie. Though it relies on familiar themes, Despicable Me stands out because of its sharp characters and its unabashed love of physical comedy. The movie swings back and forth between exciting action and heartfelt story seamlessly.

There are many great touches in the movie, but the masterstroke just might lie in the Minions. The Minions are little yellow guys that look like cold medicine and sound like the Raving Rabbids. They are loyal to a fault and downright hilarious, stealing every scene they are in. Your kids are going to love them. You'll love them too.

The voice talent is top notch, borrowing more from the Pixar philosophy of casting, who picks the best voice for the role regardless of stature, rather than the Dreamworks method, which is to always use a recognizable star’s voice whenever possible. Steve Carrel adopts a strange Russian-ish accent as Gru and Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) gives the rival uber-villain Vector a manic geeky quality. Comics like Russell Brand (Get Him to the Greek), Kristen Wiig (SNL) and Jack MacBrayer (30 Rock) round out the excellent cast.

Unlike the spate of recent 3D flicks to light up the big screen, which were either made 3D as an afterthought, like Clash of the Titans or Alice in Wonderland, or unnecessary, like Toy Story 3, Despicable Me actually makes great use of the third dimension without feeling gimmicky. Gru’s pointy nose pokes out of the screen, a rocket’s crash landing becomes all the more visceral and a roller coaster ride is made all the more thrilling because of extra dimension. The use of 3D is cleverly utilized throughout and actually enhances the experience quite a bit. (Be sure to stay through the first half of the end credits where the Minions get in on the 3D action.)

I wasn’t quite sure of what to make of this movie when the first teaser trailer came out last year. But because my son briefly became obsessed with it, I’ve been secretly hoping that it would deliver. I’m very happy to say that Despicable Me is a ton of fun. It manages to be both evil and cute and in a summer movie season filled with all too many cinematic disappointments, it couldn’t come at a better time.

Despicable Me opens in theaters July 9th.

Tags: movies, reviews

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Comment by Mommy Monster on July 1, 2010 at 4:58am: This is very welcome news! I feared it was going to suck, but now I'm actually looking forward to it.

Comment by ks on July 1, 2010 at 5:49am: Thank you. We were going to see it anyway, as the boys also got obsessed with it as soon as they saw the trailer last year, but I do feel a lot better about it now. I'll even brave the headache and spring for the glasses for them.

Also, thanks for the heads up on Toy Story. I took the kids on Tuesday and I cried like a little baby at parts of it. I'm glad I read your review and thought to take tissues.

Comment by mcglory13 on July 1, 2010 at 7:08am: Awesome! Can you give me a guess at what age is appropriate? Small one loved Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, thought Toy Story was boring, and was scared out of his wits by How To Tame Your Dragon.

Comment by mightyninjamom on July 1, 2010 at 7:10am: This will make an awesome second movie to see once AlphaGeek gets home. The weather has been rainy here (thanks Alex!) so we aren't able to go to the pool as much and need indoor stuff to do. Thanks for doing the legwork on these!

Comment by mcglory13 on July 1, 2010 at 7:24am: We're getting Alex fallout too MNM. I was thinking the same thing. :)

Comment by Reeling on July 1, 2010 at 8:09am: McGlory...I think if small one liked Cloudy, this one won't be a problem. There are some big action sequences, but I think they're on par with the finale of Cloudy. Plus, they are all pretty comedic so it's not as intense as Toy Story or Dragon. Though if your kid is like my kid, you may be fielding lots of answers about "why is the man so mean?" and "Why does he want to steal things?"

Also, not sure how small one takes to 3D. Some of the stuff popping off the screen may be a little frightening for younger viewers, specifically the roller coaster sequence. Again, if you saw Cloudy in 3D, you probably won't have issues here.

Comment by Gumbo Momma on July 1, 2010 at 11:17am: Oh, we are all dying to see this one! NB keeps quoting the commercials over and over again and laughing hysterically at her "joke."

Personally, I can't do 3D movies. They literally give me a headache and motion sickness. Sad, huh? So we usually ditch the glasses and go for the regular movie.

Comment by Daddy Geek Boy on July 1, 2010 at 11:23am: Gumbo...I don't think the 2D version will dampen yours or your kid's enthusiasm. Those Minions are awesome no matter how many dimensions.

Comment by JTX on July 2, 2010 at 6:39pm: Thanks for the review -- I am so relieved that this will be as good as it seems. I already want minions!

Comment by Reeling on July 3, 2010 at 1:32pm: Capp...I would say that this one feels very original, but later this year Dreamworks is releasing Megamind, which feels like it plays on similar territory.

You're Despicable

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