Despicable Me (2010)

★★★
Universal's Despicable Me has all the flair (though little of the depth) of a Pixar animated movie, with the kind of good humor reminiscent of that iconic company. It has a likable lead, funny creatures, cute kids and a greedy villain. The twist is that there is no hero with the usual traits of nobility. The likable lead is a thief, but he has a soft side that is exposed with time. The movie's selling point then is not how the hero can overcome obstacles on the way to victory. This is really more about the humorous situations in which the thief finds himself on his way to hatching his master plan.

The thief is Gru (Steve Carell), who lives in a mansion inspired by The Addams Family and features a vast underground workshop from which he plans his next heists. As the movie opens, someone has stolen one of the pyramids of Egypt. It was not Gru, but he wants to do one better by stealing the moon. He goes to a bank that caters to villains, but he is denied a loan to fund his scheme until he can produce the means to steal the moon: a shrink ray. He learns of a scientific testing facility nearby that has a shrink ray, so he steals it with the help of his loyal minions, little yellow creatures who speak gibberish and help him execute his plans.

Trouble arrives when rival thief Vector (Jason Segel) steals the ray for himself so that he can steal the moon. Gru, while watching Vector's fortress, sees three orphan girls deliver cookies. Gru gets the idea to adopt the three girls so that they can return to Vector and allow Gru to infiltrate the fortress. All goes according to plan, except that the three girls' presence introduces complications. Initially, they get in the way and ask too many questions. They were expecting a father figure but instead get this distracted man who's indifferent to them. After they get the shrink ray, the girls Margo, Edith and Agnes (voiced by Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher, respectively) beg Gru to take them to an amusement park. He does so reluctantly, but he begins to drop his guard and slowly realizes that this arrangement gives him some sense of satisfaction.

The plot proceeds as planned. Gru and Vector come to blows, the girls wind up in danger, and the minions come to the rescue. The plot isn't particularly interesting, but there are plenty of other ways for the movie to draw us in. It looks great. The animation is colorful, smooth and creative. The human characters are designed in an exaggerated manner, like something out of an abstract painting. The minions are an entertaining bunch. There are over a hundred of them on screen most of the time, and the work that went into making each one a distinct individual is remarkable. The one downside is that no one minion ever emerges as a character. They have names, but beyond that they remain entirely in a support role and provide most of the movie's gags.

That's what this movie is for the most part. It's a gag movie, and a good one. The dialogue is snappy. The minions are fun to watch. No explanation is given for their existence. Perhaps one of the future installments in this franchise provides one. Despicable Me is a solid attempt by directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin to raise Universal's profile in the production of animation. Its history with animation has been inconsistent, with the studio releasing high-profile movies (the Spielberg-produced An American Tale) along with plenty of lesser-known titles. Gru and his crew are entertaining enough to get the ball rolling.

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