It seems that every year the quality of animated films because a much wider margin. Each year we get better and better animated films, and more of them, but because they make so much money, we also get worse and worse movies (often ones that exploit the ticket prices of 3D for an even easier buck). Back in the 1990s almost all the animated films were great (with a boom in computer animation), and of course before then we have a handful of Disney classics that will never go out of style. But in 2008, while we got ‘WALL-E’, which is one of the great films of the last decade, we also ‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’, ‘Bolt’, and ‘Kung Fu Panda’. None of the last three are abysmal, but they do nothing to push the envelope or challenge one’s intellect.
Now, to my point, is we have ‘Despicable Me‘, which is an interesting hybrid. Upon examination, the protagonist, Gru, follows a fairly standard character arc, one that is a staple of films made for children, but ‘Despicable Me’ pulls off something that has rarely been done outside of Disney/Pixar and Miyazaki films–it is easily accessible for children while having a great many moments that only adults will pick up on.
What makes ‘Despicable Me’ different is that Gru (voiced with a perfectly sinister accent by Steve Carell) is kind of a prick. Hundreds of stories have been told with unlikeable main characters, but have any animated films (I can only think of the South Park movie off the top of my head–if you have any, feel free to comment)? But as the trailer says, “Just because he’s a badguy doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy.” Many of the film’s best jokes come from Gru, as expected. One of my favorites is when Agnes, the youngest girl he adopts, says she won’t be able to sleep unless he reads her a bedtime story, and he responds that “It is going to be a very long night for you.” Also, if you know a minor bit of Spanish, then there’s a nice little treat for you, which would be ruined if the punch line as given away in the film itself, but wisely, you just need to figure it out. All the best jokes are when you must infer the punchline.
The film works because Gru is surrounded by his complete opposites: three adorable (well, two adorable and one annoying [the middle child is pretty worthless]) children and a bevy of minions. The minions check the box for slapstick humor and are, surprisingly, not disposable, as they all stay in the forefront of the film and get full value for their quirks. Also, the minions, along with Gru’s dog, have standard names, such as Kyle, Bob, Tim, and Phil, and it proves that an unexpected non-joke is funnier than an expected (potentially bad) pun.
My one gripe with the film is that Vector, the villain, is a flop. He could have been worse, but overall his role could have been filled in any number of more useful ways. For example, I groaned when Gru was trying to infiltrate Vector’s house/fortress the first time (before his cookie plot). Seeing animated characters pulverized is even less amusing than seeing real characters pulverized, and neither has been done in a fresh way in a long time. However, the chase scene in the sky between Vector and Gru is entertaining, and what seems like a throw-away gag (Vector’s piranha gun, and later his squid gun) emerges into an interestingly useful device later, so there are Vector himself does have some redeeming characteristics.
The animation itself is sufficient. It is enough to carry the film’s great comedy and good writing. I did not see the film in 3D, and despite an end-credits sequence where it is clearly tailored to 3D viewings, it was highly enjoyable.
The truth is that ‘Despicable Me’ is a welcome addition to a so-far weak year in movies and is plenty worth the viewings.
