This year has been pretty good for animated films. "How to Train Your Dragon" was a surprisingly awesome film, "Toy Story 3" was an expected awesome film, and there's a couple of other movies coming out this year that look like they might be pretty enjoyable. So how does "Despicable Me" stand up to the rest of the films out this year? Well it could have been awesome...but a few things hold it back, just slightly.
The film is about Gru (Steve Carell) a supervillain who is trying to top the theft of one of the great pyramids by stealing the moon. His rival, a new up and coming villain Vector (Jason Segel) stands between him and his goals. Through some crazy shenanigans Gru adopts three little girls who might be able to help him best Vector. The film follows a pretty predictable path, but it's an entertaining one. There's a lot of slapstick humor, which isn't necessarily bad. but there was one aspect of the film that just made the film entirely stupid, and ruined my enjoyment of it...
I hate these things...HATE these things, they are the epitome of what is wrong with children's films. The worst part of it is that there are hundreds of these...things in the film, they don't even explain what they are. They are the thing that constantly remind you that this movie was meant for kids...or stupid people. Like Jar Jar Binks or Donkey from "Shrek", everytime they're on screen they have to be either doing something wacky/or just being generally goofy. So yeah picture "Phantom Menace" with hundreds of Jar Jars...nightmarish. They've been the push of the marketing for the film, and unfortunately they are quite prevalent in the movie. Luckily most of the rest of the cast makes up for this awful aspect of the film.
Steve Carell does a decent job of making Gru seem sinister, but his inevitable turn to good is believable. The kids are pretty good, unlike in "The Children", they aren't unbearable, but at the same time act like realistic kids, only slightly annoying at times. The main antagonist Vector is a lot more annoying than the kids, and like the stupid minions, totally pointless, and his absence would greatly improve the film.
Overall it's a nice looking film, all the character designs are unique and have a nice charm to them. The locations in the film are colorful and pleasant to look at. The music is...well it's a mixed bag. Pharrell Williams composed the music for the film, the orchestral pieces are epic and are pleasantly reminiscent of a spy film. The regular songs are slightly grating, and feel out of place. All in all it's a good film, It's maybe meant for younger kids than something like "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" was meant for. If you can handle some very annoying characters, then you're in for a decent movie. 3 outta 5!
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