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Despicable Me Review

Earlier today, I saw an advance screening for Despicable Me, possibly the only non-sequel CGI cartoon scheduled for this summer. The first I had heard of it was the trailer for it in front of Shrek: Forever After, but it looked like it had potential. Happily, it more than lived up to that potential, and was really surprisingly very good. I say "surprisingly" because - as many people will point out - the story is not very deep. It's a typical "villain with a heart of gold" tale where you can see the ending from a mile away. Instead, Despicable Me is one of those movies where the real beauty is the journey.

One of the movie's strongest features is its economy: jokes are never explained, the only "exposition" takes place via two sub-10 second fantasies, and the characters are allowed to develop naturally. It makes the pacing note-perfect, and the comic relief and glurge are pretty well neutralized. Maybe the crew at Universal listened to the talk about what Pixar has been doing right over the years, and allowed room for both kid-friendly and adult-friendly content.

As mentioned above, there's really not much story to cover here, but there are a few fun things to watch out for: as Gru enters the Evil Bank, pay attention to the former name of the institution. Also note that its nepotistic chairman looks very similar to a certain "pointy haired boss," right down to the bulky frame in a blue suit. Just before the credits roll, there is a sequence that should look very familiar to anyone who saw Saturday Night Fever. All throwaways, but they were beautifully used and the filmmakers deserve credit for their efforts.

One other interesting note: unlike similar movies, there is no superhero in Despicable Me - only villains. We're introduced to our lead Gru (Steve Carell) as he goes through his normal daily activities: upsetting children, cutting in line at Starbucks (with the help of a freeze ray), driving an environmental disaster on wheels, etc. His only nemesis is a younger, more ambitious villain who makes up for a lack of brainpower by having good connections. The lack of a "hero" stereotype also helps the story, as it prevents an unnecessary sub-plot. Again, a good call by the crew at Universal.

I also have to give credit to the way the 3D effects were handled. I am generally not a fan of 3D, but some movies do it better than other, and this was definitely at the higher end of the spectrum. The filmmakers knew when to go for the "wow" factor, and when to cut away before the audience got nauseous. I'm still not ready to jump on the 3D bandwagon, but this movie definitely helps the case for it.

Despicable Me is scheduled for general release on July 9, and I definitely recommend it as a good, lighthearted movie that you can have fun with.

Collector/Modeler Interest:
Gru's daily driver and airship would make for awesome collectibles, but I haven't heard of any tie-in products yet. Hopefully we'll see something before the end of summer.


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