*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*
Since its release in 2010, Despicable Me has gone on to become a successful franchise in its own right with two sequels and a spin-off film, Minions. When it was first released seven years ago, many people had low expectations as it was Illumination Entertainment's first animated film. However, those expectations were beaten and Despicable Me proved to be enjoyable for the whole family.
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 (voice of Steve Carrell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon. 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 (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Elsie Fisher).
Because I was in my early teens when Despicable Me was released, I had no interest in watching and passed it off as nothing more than a kid's film. However, it proved to be more than that. It features one of the best character developments in any animated film. In the beginning, Gru wants nothing more to become the best villain in the world and he thinks that, by literally stealing the moon, he will achieve that goal. Unfortunately, his nemesis, Vector (Jason Segal), has the same plan and steals a Shrink-Ray from Gru. This leads to Gru's many various attempts at breaking into Vector's house, all of them failing hilariously. This is where Gru sees the three young girls, Margo, Edith and Agnes, who sell Vector cookies and he comes up with a plan to adopt them and use them for his own gain. However, after succeeding, Gru becomes closer to the girls and becomes a father-like figure to them. This leads to him making one of the hardest decisions of his life. Does he go through with shrinking and stealing the moon or should he attend the girls' dance recital?
Apart from achieving the theme of family, Despicable Me also succeeds in being constantly funny. The humour mainly comes from, of course, Carrell's voice work as Gru, whose accent is described as a cross between Ricardo Montalban and Bela Lugosi, two actors I'm not familiar with, however, it makes Gru's voice all the more unique. Humour also comes from Gru's 'minions' who are short, yellow figures and are voiced by directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, who, together, came up with their own language for the minions and sounds a lot like gibberish.
Recognisable names include: Russell Brand as Gru's friend, Dr. Nefario, who creates gadgets such as Cookie Robots and a dart gun; Julie Andrews as Gru's disapproving mother and Will Arnett as Gru's boss, Mr. Perkins. All give solid voice work and add to the enjoyment of the film.
The three young sisters are developed well enough to make them likeable. Before Gru adopts them, they are living in a foster home run by Miss Hattie (Kristen Wiig) who is Despicable Me's answer to Miss Hannigan from Annie. As the oldest of the three, Margo is the most mature and isn't fooled by Gru. Edith is mischievous and Agnes is cute and obsessed with unicorns. The sisters' relationship with Gru is convincingly developed after the four have fun together at a fair with Gru winning Agnes a giant unicorn toy with her screaming in delight, 'It's so fluffy!'. Unfortunately, Gru's relationship with his newly adopted daughters puts his original plan of stealing the moon at risk as it coincides with their dance recital. However, the three girls are kidnapped by Vector and the climax of the film involves Gru transforming from a villain to hero when he goes out to rescue them.
After the release of Despicable Me, it went on to become one of the highest grossing animated films of that year, making over $543 million at the box office. It also received critical acclaim with many stating that it's a 'suprisingly thoughtful, family-friendly treat'.
Despite being released the same year as other animated features such as Toy Story 3, Tangled and Shrek Forever After, Despicable Me proved to be successful with both critics and audiences alike. This lead to a sequel being released three years later. Because of the success of Despicable Me, Illuminations Entertainment have gone on to release other animated features including The Secret Life Of Pets and Sing.
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 (voice of Steve Carrell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon. 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 (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Elsie Fisher).
Because I was in my early teens when Despicable Me was released, I had no interest in watching and passed it off as nothing more than a kid's film. However, it proved to be more than that. It features one of the best character developments in any animated film. In the beginning, Gru wants nothing more to become the best villain in the world and he thinks that, by literally stealing the moon, he will achieve that goal. Unfortunately, his nemesis, Vector (Jason Segal), has the same plan and steals a Shrink-Ray from Gru. This leads to Gru's many various attempts at breaking into Vector's house, all of them failing hilariously. This is where Gru sees the three young girls, Margo, Edith and Agnes, who sell Vector cookies and he comes up with a plan to adopt them and use them for his own gain. However, after succeeding, Gru becomes closer to the girls and becomes a father-like figure to them. This leads to him making one of the hardest decisions of his life. Does he go through with shrinking and stealing the moon or should he attend the girls' dance recital?
Apart from achieving the theme of family, Despicable Me also succeeds in being constantly funny. The humour mainly comes from, of course, Carrell's voice work as Gru, whose accent is described as a cross between Ricardo Montalban and Bela Lugosi, two actors I'm not familiar with, however, it makes Gru's voice all the more unique. Humour also comes from Gru's 'minions' who are short, yellow figures and are voiced by directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, who, together, came up with their own language for the minions and sounds a lot like gibberish.
Recognisable names include: Russell Brand as Gru's friend, Dr. Nefario, who creates gadgets such as Cookie Robots and a dart gun; Julie Andrews as Gru's disapproving mother and Will Arnett as Gru's boss, Mr. Perkins. All give solid voice work and add to the enjoyment of the film.
The three young sisters are developed well enough to make them likeable. Before Gru adopts them, they are living in a foster home run by Miss Hattie (Kristen Wiig) who is Despicable Me's answer to Miss Hannigan from Annie. As the oldest of the three, Margo is the most mature and isn't fooled by Gru. Edith is mischievous and Agnes is cute and obsessed with unicorns. The sisters' relationship with Gru is convincingly developed after the four have fun together at a fair with Gru winning Agnes a giant unicorn toy with her screaming in delight, 'It's so fluffy!'. Unfortunately, Gru's relationship with his newly adopted daughters puts his original plan of stealing the moon at risk as it coincides with their dance recital. However, the three girls are kidnapped by Vector and the climax of the film involves Gru transforming from a villain to hero when he goes out to rescue them.
After the release of Despicable Me, it went on to become one of the highest grossing animated films of that year, making over $543 million at the box office. It also received critical acclaim with many stating that it's a 'suprisingly thoughtful, family-friendly treat'.
Despite being released the same year as other animated features such as Toy Story 3, Tangled and Shrek Forever After, Despicable Me proved to be successful with both critics and audiences alike. This lead to a sequel being released three years later. Because of the success of Despicable Me, Illuminations Entertainment have gone on to release other animated features including The Secret Life Of Pets and Sing.
Despicable Me isn't the best of animated feature films, however, it's certainly one of the most entertaining. The humour is consistent throughout, mainly because of Carrell's funny vocal work as Gru. It succeeds mainly because of its protagonist who goes from being, as the poster suggests from superbad to superdad and the narrative shows that family doesn't necassarily mean the people who are related to you by blood.
Overall, Despicable Me is a fun and entertaining watch.
7/10
Overall, Despicable Me is a fun and entertaining watch.
7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment