It takes a few minutes to get into this adorable animated story by Spanish animator Sergio Pablos before three little orphan girls throw this movie into warm and funny override. Despicable Me is full of heart-warming moments and anxious adventures – everything that keeps both children and adults laughing all the way through.
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Gru and two of the minions
Miss Hattie (voiced by Kristen Wiig) tries the best she can to take care of the kids in her orphanage, but there is only so many hours in a day and so much room on a tired lap. She desperately hopes someone will adopt the little darlings. Little does she know that when Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) shows up oozing with fatherly love, he’s really a villain wanting to further his plot to steal the moon.
Vector
Gru needs access to the sleek outer space-looking home of Vector (voiced by Jason Segel), and nothing seems to work. Until the day when he sees Vector allow the girls in when they come to sell cookies. With his evil plot thickening, he brings Margo (voiced by Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (voiced by Dana Gaier) and Agnes (voiced by Elsie Fisher) home. Gru’s snide, mean and short-tempered. The girls wish he were nicer to them, especially longing for a good-night hug or kiss, but Gru can’t relate to those things. How can attending ballet lessons be more important than the work of a genius?
Agnes, Margo & Edith
Despicable Me’s animation is superb. The human-like characters were designed by CG character designer Carter Goodrich who designed the characters for Ratatouille. Even though they are animated – they feel like real people. The 3-D is a kick every minute, causing even more laughs or aah’s when something appears to jump out of the screen. John Benson, the 3-D specialist on Coraline, actually moved to Paris to work on the movie. Mac Guff, a Paris-based digital visual effects studio, was chosen to animate the screenplay by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, writing partners who also penned Horton Hears a Who!
There is so much to enjoy about this film. The characters are easily likeable and the voice cast does a great job instilling them with believability. Carell, who worked hard to find an unrecognizable voice, looked forward to playing a villain but was attracted by other aspects of Despicable Me. “The story is really sweet,” Carell said. “That’s what drew me to it. As crazy as Gru sounds and as diabolical and mean and awful as he is, there is humanity to him. People aren’t either good or evil…there’s always some good to evil.”
Julie Andrews is sweet and natural as Gru’s mother. Jason Segel is perfect as the geeky brat Vector. All three adorable girls aren’t cutter-cookie; each one has her own personality. Gru soon realizes little Agnes with those big round eyes loves unconditionally. The girls begin to melt his exterior of steel.
The brilliant story is full of humor, which includes the constant presence of the minions – a stubby yellow army that look like large pill capsules with legs. Not only are they predominate in the film, the little scene-stealers are now jumping off the TV screen in pancakes and other commercials.
What I liked best about Despicable Me is it charmed me from beginning to end. The drama is as much apparent as the humor, but it’s the delightful characters that enchant. This first-rate production is destined to be among the Academy Award list next year for Best Animated Film. Take the entire family – even the grandparents. You’ll want to see it twice. And stay through the credits.
Photo credits: Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment
