Despicable Me (2010)
– Hardcore Disney snobs like myself often miss out on good animated films from
other studios simply as a matter of personal prejudice, and Despicable Me is certainly among those
nearly-missed opportunities. I say
“good” and not “great” not because Despicable
Me is a disappointment – it isn’t – but it never fully accesses the
transcendent quality of, say, an Up
or a Toy Story 3. Instead of striving for exceptionalism, Despicable Me is quite satisfied with
telling a rather familiar story; here, sinister supervillain Gru (Steve Carell)
finds his heart warming when he involves three adorable orphans in his scheme
to steal a shrink ray and, by extension, the moon. It is a story, as Beauty and the Beast would have it, as old as time, but the
filmmakers work to tell a solid rendition of that story. What they bring to the table – and what I say
is ultimately the film’s greatest success – is a cuteness factor that goes up
to eleven. It’s funny that Gru is
somewhat sidelined (at least, for this reviewer) in his own movie; I, and I
suspect other audience members as well, was more captivated by the pygmy-like
yellow jabbering Minions and their setpiece antics. The scene-stealer, though, is the youngest of
the orphans, Agnes (Elsie Fisher), who has a way with both youthful naïveté
(mistaking a Cheeto for a caterpillar) and boisterous overexaggeration (“It’s so fluffy, I’m gonna die!”). Perhaps the
reason these two contingents steal center stage is because the main antagonist,
voiced by Jason Segel, is neither interesting nor tolerable; consequently, we
want to see Gru succeed not on his merits, but rather so we can be shut of
Vector and his irksome antics.
Fortunately, the film compensates with an “aww”-inspiring supporting
cast.
Despicable Me 2
(2013) – As much as I liked the first film for what it was, I enjoyed the
sequel even more because it rectifies the first film’s major sin and continues
to spotlight Agnes and the Minions.
Carell is back as Gru, this time contracted by the Anti-Villain League
to find a villain who’s stolen a MacGuffin; Gru is partnered with an affable
newbie, Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), while beginning to suspect Mexican
restaurateur Eduardo Perez (Benjamin Bratt) of being the former villain El
Macho. By giving Gru a more compelling
plotline and a more engaging cast of immediately supporting characters, the
film gives Carell more interesting material, which subsequently sharpens his
game. Despicable Me 2, still directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud,
is acutely aware of what worked in the first film – namely, Agnes and the
Minions – and pulls off a remarkably difficult feat: it’s a sequel with restraint. Rather than pelt us with overdoses of
essentially the same jokes, Coffin & Renaud amplify without deafening. There are more Minions, yes, but they’re
still funny because of the non sequitur nature of their nattering and flair for
costuming (personal favorite: “French Maid Minion”). Ditto for Agnes, who’s still soul-crushingly
cute, but now for different reasons than before. All told, Despicable
Me 2 feels more organic, less storytelling-by-numbers than its predecessor,
which makes me optimistic about the two forthcoming entries in the
franchise. These aren’t genre-bending
films, nor are they tremendously innovative, but don’t mistake their
unsophistication for drivel. Despicable Me 2 is plenty of fun, with a
strong additive of cuteness – a solid middle-of-the-road animated film without
lofty ambitions but with instead a keen earnestness.
That does it for this week’s edition of “Monday at the Movies.” We’ll see you here next week for the Double-Oh-Seventh of the month!
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