Movie Review – Despicable Me (2010)

Full-length animated movies have been around since Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered back in 1937.

While hand-drawn animation still exists today, many of the animated cartoons and movies are produced on computers, from the backgrounds and settings to the characters themselves.  As the technology and process of creating animated films continues to improve, it won’t be long until more companies make their stake in the animation industry.

That brings us to today’s review of the animated movie, Despicable Me.  Released in the summer of 2010, Despicable Me was the first feature film from the newly created Illumination Entertainment studio.  Illumination Entertainment is a subsidiary of Universal Studios, with Comcast as the primary owner.

Despicable Me is an animated movie about a villain striving to become an elite super-villain.  This villain, Gru hits a brick wall when a competitor villain steals an important weapon.  Gru hatches a plan that requires adopting three young orphaned sisters, and using them to open a hole in his competitor’s security.  As we see, the sisters win the affection of Gru, and the badass super-villain finds a soft side inside of him.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

Despicable Me begins with the shocking news that the Great Pyramid of Giza had been stolen by an unknown super-villain, and the missing pyramid had been replaced by a lifelike inflatable structure.  To make matters worse, the theft was described as a move that makes all other villains look lame.  Next we meet Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), a person who enjoys bringing sorrow and misery to innocent people.  He drives his tank-like car with a rocket engine like a banshee, and his home is the most dreadful and scariest looking house in the neighborhood.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

After Gru arrives home, he receives a knock on the front door.  Standing outside are three little girls trying to sell him some cookies.  Gru tells them to go away, and after some convincing the girls leave him alone.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

After talking to the girls, Gru receives news about the Pyramid of Giza theft from his top assistant, Dr. Nefario (voiced by Russell Brand).  Gru quickly heads downstairs to his secret laboratory and has Dr. Nefario assemble the Minions.  Once his workers are gathered, Gru informs everybody of his grandest plan yet —- shrinking and stealing the Moon!

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

An evil plan as grand as one to steal the Moon is rather expensive.  Gru makes a visit to the prestigious Bank of Evil and tries to get a loan to fund his grandest of plans.  As we see in a flashback, Gru has been dreaming of visiting the Moon since his days as a child.  While waiting to meet the bank’s president, Vector (voiced by Jason Segel), a rival villain, chats with Gru for a few minutes.  Vector is a nerdy, loud mouth braggart, and Gru wants nothing to do with him.  The Bank of Evil’s president, Mr. Perkins (voiced by Will Arnett) is impressed by Gru’s plan, but he requires Gru to steal the shrinking ray first before he can receive the loan.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

It’s off to a top secret research laboratory in eastern Asia for Gru and a couple of his Minions.  Stealing the shrinking ray is an easy snatch-and-grab operation, but the same trick is used by Vector when Gru begins flying back home.  Gru tries to battle Vector in the sky, but Vector shrinks Gru’s flying machine and gets away with the shrinking ray.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

After returning home, Gru tries to sneak into Vector’s elaborate and highly defensive home.  Vector is waiting for him and blasts Gru about a dozen different ways.  Gru realizes that he’s going to need to find some other way to sneak into Vector’s home and steal the shrinking ray.  As he’s sitting in a crater in the street, Gru watches as the three orphaned sisters approach Vector’s house.  Vector tries to remove them until the girls mention that they’re selling cookies.  He allows the girls into his house so that he can place an order for cookies.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

For Gru to succeed in stealing the shrinking ray from Vector, he needs help from the girls.  This means adopting them from the orphanage.  Gru poses as a dentist and manages to adopt all three of the sisters, Margo, Edith and Agnes.  He brings them home and shows them a couple of rooms.  Gru tries to restrict the girls and keep them contained, but as we see, they quickly test the villain’s patience.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

Down in his underground laboratory, Gru is working with Dr. Nefario and the special robot cookies he’s been designing.  As we see, the prototype isn’t exactly as Gru figured they would look (or act).  When Gru told Dr. Nefario he needed a dozen cookie robots, Dr. Nefario misheard this as a dozen boogie robots.  The same problem occurs when Gru asked Dr. Nefario for a dart gun.  The girls quickly find themselves in the laboratory, and when Agnes’ unicorn toy is accidentally disintegrated, Gru sends a few Minions to the store to find her a new unicorn toy.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

When the day finally comes to deliver Vector the cookies he ordered, the girls refuse to go with Gru . . . . until after their ballet practice.  They inform Gru that they cannot skip practice as a big recital is coming up, and they need the extra practice.  Near the end of practice, Agnes gives Gru a ticket to the ballet recital and makes him promise to attend it.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

After ballet practice, Gru drives the girls to Vector’s house and has them deliver him his cookies.  As we see, the girls distract Vector with a bunch of questions as the robot cookies sneak off to the vault where Vector has been storing the shrinking ray.  The robots shut down the security system and cut a hole in the wall for Gru and his Minions.  Gru isn’t able to escape before the robots seal the hole, so he and the Minions have to carry the shrinking ray out through Vector’s house, avoiding Vector while doing so.  They succeed and make off with the shrinking ray weapon.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

While driving back home, the girls make Gru stop at an amusement park called Super Silly Fun Land.  He agrees, seeing it as a way to ditch the girls.  But when the girls try to go on a roller coaster, the worker informs Gru that they’re too small to ride alone.  Gru has to go on the ride with him.  After the roller coaster it’s then time to win a stuffed unicorn prize for Agnes.  The game’s worker is a bit of a smart ass, but Gru shows him who’s boss in the end.  Hours later, Gru and the girls arrive back home after having a fun time at the amusement park.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

Back at home, Gru makes a conference call with Mr. Perkins at the Bank of Evil.  After showing the bank president the shrinking ray and then going over his elaborate plan of shrinking and stealing the Moon, Mr. Perkins refuses to give Gru the financial loan.  The bank’s president feels that it would be better if a younger villain were to take on the task, somebody like his son, Vector.  The conference call ends with Gru devastated from the bad news that he’ll never achieve his lifelong dream of travelling to the Moon.

Gru announces the bad news to Dr. Nefario and the Minions.  Gru is ready to give up, but the Agnes offers Gru what little money is in her piggy bank.  Gru realizes that he can still accomplish his dreams, he just needs to start selling items around the house and laboratory.  He does so and construction of the rocket begins.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

While the rocket is under construction, Dr. Nefario grows tired of Gru paying more and more attention to the girls.  This reaches a breaking point, and Dr. Nefario calls the orphanage, impersonating Gru and telling the orphanage that he wants to return the girls.  Gru is forced to comply when Miss Hattie, the mistress of the orphanage, comes to collect the girls.  Gru is hit with sadness again as he realizes just how much he misses the girls.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

Launch day arrives.  The laboratory opens and Gru’s massive rocket blasts off into space.  Vector is there and tries to hitch a ride on Gru’s rocket, but his attempt fails.  In no time Gru is orbiting the Moon and achieving his dream.  He successfully shrinks the Moon and returns to Earth with his prize.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

Back on Earth, it’s time for the ballet recital.  The girls wait and wait for Gru, but he doesn’t arrive in time for the show.  By the time Gru gets to the theater, everybody is gone.  Gru finds a note to him from the girls, but when he sees the back of it, he realizes that the girls were kidnapped by Vector.  Vector is demanding Gru to give him the Moon in exchange for the girls.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

Gru makes his way to Vector’s home and gives him the Moon.  Vector takes it and refuses to give him back the girls.  When Vector launches a bunch of missiles at Gru, Gru uses his skills and sends the missiles at Vector’s house, blasting a way through Vector’s defense wall.  As Gru approaches the home, Vector flies away in an escape pod, taking the Moon and the kidnapped girls with him.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

When Gru thinks that all hope is lost, Dr. Nefario arrives with Gru’s flying machines and a few Minions.  They pursue Vector and tether a cable between the two flying machines.  As we see, the Moon is quickly expanding back to its original size.  Dr. Nefario explained that the larger the item’s original size, then the quicker it returns to normal size after being shrunk.  The Moon rolls around in Vector’s ship, crashing into the girls’ cage and freeing them.  Gru is able to rescue the girls before the Moon returns back to its normal size.  Vector was trapped on the wrong side and it carried by the Moon out into Earth orbit, stranding him out in space.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

Back at home, Gru tucks the girls into bed and reads them a new bedtime story.  This is a story that he wrote himself, titled “One Big Unicorn,” and the girls realize just how much they mean to the evil villain.

Despicable Me (2010) – (c) Universal Pictures

Some time later, the underground laboratory is transformed to a stage and the girls finally perform their ballet recital for Gru.  One of the Minions decides to change the music and a wild dance party begins.  The girls make Gru join them on stage where he shows off some wild dancing skills, amazing everybody with his ability to dance.  In Despicable Me‘s end credits, the Minions continue to cause mischief.

So is it any good?

Despicable Me is an incredibly simple but highly entertaining film that will almost certainly appeal to a wide audience.  This movie missed my radar back in 2010, and it wasn’t until the new Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride opened at Universal Studios Florida that I gave Despicable Me any serious attention.  Just a few minutes of viewing was more than enough to convince me that this was going to be a great movie experience.

One of the things I enjoy so much about Despicable Me is Gru’s lifestyle as a villain.  His car is really neat and it looks like an invention you’d find in a cheesy 1950s science-fiction movie.  Here in this universe, Gru’s car (and his flying machine) are just plain cool.  Throw in his oddball weapons and inventions, and there you go.  He’s a retro-style villain who enjoys making people’s days miserable.

Despicable Me also looks spectacular.  It’s a bright and colorful movie, and the attention to detail is just amazing.  The level of detail at the amusement park alone is simply fantastic.  Had it not been for the intentionally cartoony people, it would be hard to convince people that this is actually an animated film, and not something live action.  Just imagine how much more lifelike these animated films will look in the next five to ten years.  The rapid advancement of computer technology and animation is just incredible.

I’m probably one of the few people out there who doesn’t really like the Minions.  I get it that they’re a big part of the comic relief, but their looks and speech are just plain weird.  The rumors about a future Despicable Me movie starring the Minions just makes me cringe.  Dr. Nefario and the three girls are great characters, Vector is amusing as a super nerd villain, and Gru is just plain awesome.  It’s great being able to cheer for an anti-hero like Gru.  Those Minions though are just a bit on the annoying side.

Fans of Despicable Me will be pleased to know that the movie has been the latest addition to the Universal Studios Florida theme park.  Despicable Me Minion Mayhem is a 4-D simulator ride that took over the Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast ride which was converted from the original ride in that spot, The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.  The overall experience is still a simulator ride, although this time the riders get to wear 3-D glasses for an eye-popping, high-definition experience.

Despicable Me (2010) – movie trailer

If you haven’t already, go see Despicable Me.  It’s definitely worth your time.  I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much during an animated film.

Edith – “Are these beds made from bombs?”
Gru – “Yes, but they are very old and highly unlikely to blow up. But try not to toss and turn.”
Edith – “Cool!”
[finishes raising the bomb beds against the wall]
Agnes – “Will you read us a bedtime story?”
Gru – “No.”
Agnes – “But we can’t go to sleep without a bedtime story!”
Gru – “Well, then, it’s going to be a long night for you, isn’t it?”
[speaking to all three girls]
Gru – “So, good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.  Because there are literally thousands of them.”
[turns out the bedroom light]
Gru – “Oh, and there’s probably something in your closet.”