After an Egyptian pyramid is replaced with a blown-up counterfeit, the world of villains is put on high alert. Not only is there a new player in town, but he is good...very good. Gru, feeling personally attacked, opts to one up his new nemesis, Vector, promising to pull off the biggest heist in the history of the world"¦ by stealing the moon! But when three young orphan girls enter the picture, the usually wicked man transforms into something no one ever saw coming - a potential Dad.
So many times the villain takes over the film. I mean really, think about it: Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight, Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, and the shark in Steven Speilberg's iconic Jaws. So it is time to give credit where credit is due and make a movie entirely about the bad guy - and what a way to do it.
Universal's Despicable Me is a charming and whimsical tale about good and evil. Directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin collaborate with a long list of highly respected actors to bring forth a film that rivals that of Pixar's Toy Story 3. (To be quite honest, the film seems to pull from the Pixar playbook verbatim, so that comparison is to be expected.) Full of emotion, laughs, and childhood innocence, there is no stopping this sure fire hit from becoming the surprise of the summer box-office.
While the film does feature the voice talent of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand and Kristen Wiig -to name a few, I think it is important to note that only in rare instances are we ever able to confidently place each actor with the character they portray. Using different accents and dialects, each actor is able to transform their vocal identity to bring a truly unique character to the big screen. It was nice to experience a big movie without the obviously bloated list of A-list talent (even if it was really there all along).
Easily the best part of the film is the presence of three young orphan girls who attempt to steal the heart of Gru. They end up stealing the heart of the entire audience (and Gru's helpers, the minions) with their soft spoken mannerisms and pure childlike behavior, but Gru doesn't seem to fall for such low level play - at least not at first. His plan is to use the three adolescents to gain entry into Vector's mansion and then leave them. But one amazingly animated roller coaster ride later and Gru looks to be having a change of heart.
I was fortunate enough to catch the film in 3-D and, I whole heartily appreciate its lack of silly, cheap jabs at the added dimension. It isn't until the credits that they note the 3-D effects in the film itself, and even then it is done from a humorous angle. It is hard to fully explain just what makes Despicable Me so grand, and it really is something that you have to see to believe, Unlike many of the animated films before it, this one hits it out of the park.
