3D Despicable Me (2010); animated comedy film review

Poster artwork for the animated comedy family film Despicable Me。

High-Tech Heist by Linh

Despicable Me is based on an original story by writer and executive producer Sergio Pablos, and is the first animated feature film from Illumination Entertainment. Director and founder of Illumination Entertainment Chris Meledandri and co-director Pierre Coffin bring together a team of brilliant comic and dramatic actors to provide the character voices.  The story has a mix of heart and soul. The soul of the film are the three orphan girls from ‘Miss Hattie’s Home For Girls’, but the heart of the film becomes Gru, the super-spy, after he is transformed from a cold and unfeeling man to a warm and caring parent by the three girls’ chaotic presence in his orderly life.

MAJESTIC MOON: Gru (Steve Carell) announces his greatest criminal plan to steal the moon from the sky in the animated film Despicable Me. Image: Illumination Entertainment, Universal Pictures.

Despicable Me opens with a mysterious and most spectacular theft of a Giant Pyramid in Egypt, and the news of this latest heist captures the attention of the world, especially from super villain Gru (Steve Carell). The perpetrator turns out to be Gru’s rival, the young and dorky Vector (Jason Segel). Gru sets out to prove to his demanding and nasty mother Mrs. Gru (Julie Andrews) that he is still the world’s number one super villain by attempting to steal the moon. He sets out to steal a shrinking gun from a secret hide-out in South East Asia and build a powerful rocket to take him to the moon. His plans include adopting three little orphan girls (Margo, Edith and Agnes) and dupe them into helping him, but they become more than a challenge for Gru and his team of munchkin-sized Minions.

ORANGE OBSESSION: Vector (Jason Segel) is the geek with a villainous streak and also plans to steal the moon in the animated film Despicable Me. Image: Illumination Entertainment, Universal Pictures.

The voice cast is exceptional with Steve Carell (Date Night, Dinner For Schmucks) as the deliciously wicked Gru, whose villainous antics have supposedly stemmed from his lack of love and attention from his uncaring mother since childhood. Gru knows his little Minions by their first names and treats them like his family but his crazy pursuits of villainy have made him a super-bad super-villain. Carell maintains Gru’s affability and shows some endearing qualities through great use of vocal expression and his unusual Eastern European accent adds mystery to Gru’s identity.

Julie Andrews as Mrs. Gru is the anti-Mary Poppins and shows little to no interest in any of her son’s creative and clever inventions when he was a child. She is cold, distant, unloving towards Gru and never supported, encouraged or nurtured his creativity.  Andrews is delightful as the kick-boxing, hard-nosed mother with a love of embarrassing Gru rather than praising him.

Writer, producer and actor Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Jeff Who Lives At Home) voices Gru’s nerdy and nastier nemesis Vector, who has an obsession with the colour orange (orange tracksuits and logo) and a fascination with marine animals (he keeps a shark in his living room, creates a piranha gun and squid pistol). Vector (originally named Victor but changed his name to sound cool) commits equally huge heists as Gru, and his attempts to impress his pushy father, Mr. Perkins (Will Arnett), mirrors Gru’s situation with his mother.

The three little orphan girls are scene-stealers throughout the film with Miranda Cosgrove as Margo, the eldest and most protective and sensible of the three; Dana Gaier is the middle child, Edith, who the most mischievous, imaginative and is eager to test out Gru’s weaponry; and Elsie Fisher voices the youngest girl, Agnes, who is the most adorable, curious child and is obsessed with unicorns.

STORYTELLING SPY: Gru (Steve Carell) reluctantly reads Sleepy Kittens as Agnes (Elsie Fisher) looks on in the animated film Despicable Me. Image: Illumination Entertainment,Universal Pictures.

The supporting voice cast includes British comedian and actor Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him To the Greek) who is excellent as Dr. Nefario, the hearing-impaired mad scientist and friend to Gru, and is responsible for creating all the high-tech weaponry; Will Arnett (Horton Hears A Who!, Jonah Hex) is suitably evil as Mr. Perkins, the loan manager at the Bank of Evil, who refuses to fund any more of Gru’s wicked heists, including his plan to steal the moon; Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, Anchorman: The Legend Continues) is Miss Hattie who runs the orphanage and is seemingly kind and concerned about the girls until they fail to meet their biscuit/confectionery selling quotas; the most fun and funny characters are the Minions, voiced by Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud and Jemaine Clement, who provide most of the laughs with their gibberish language, dressing up as humans to go shopping, playing ping pong, singing and dancing.

Despicable Me has pop culture references, intertextualises Mad comics’ Spy vs Spy, and various metaphors. The moon-stealing attempt is supposed to be a metaphor for Gru who has longed to obtain the most impossible trophy to impress his mother. It could also be a parody of the space race between the United States and Russia in being the first to conquer the moon. The importance of family and having a role model is depicted when the three orphan girls who keep wishing for the world’s best and kindest parents, eventually get Gru. Despicable Me is one of the best animated comedy feature films for the family and a fine debut for Illumination Entertainment.

Directors: Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin

Writers: Cinco Paul (screenplay), Ken Daurio (screenplay), Sergio Pablos (original story)

Voice Cast: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Danny McBride, Jack McBrayer, Miranda Cosgrove, Elsie Fisher, Dana Gaier, Pierre Coffin, Jemaine Clement, Mindy Kaling, Rob Huebel, Ken Jeong, Ken Daurio

Producers: Chris Melendandri, Janet Healy, John Cohen, Nina Rowan, Sergio Pablos

Original Music Composer: Pharrell Williams

Film Editors: Pamela Ziegenhagen-Shefland, Gregory Perler

Production: Yarrow Cheney (Production Designer), Eric Guillon (Art Director)

Running Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes