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| 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
