Despicable Me
Dir: Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
Starring: (voices of) Steve Carell, Russell Brand, Jason Segel, Julie Andrews
Produced by Illumination Entertainment, a new company headed by Chris Meledandri, the guy behind the Ice Age movies from Fox Studios, Despicable Me is a fun romp which combines elements of Mad Magazine’s Spy v. Spy and Pixar’s The Incredibles with the mock-ghoulish zaniness of The Addams Family, as two fiendish (fiendish, I tell you) super-villains try and outdo each other in terms of villainy (who can steal the Great Pyramid at Giza or who – gasp! – can steal the moon first?) and world domination.Gru (Steve Carell) is the Despicable Me of the movie’s title and with the help of his British evil scientist accomplice Dr. Nefarious (an unrecognisable Russell Brand) and his army of little yellow creatures called (what else) minions plans to wrest the title of the world’s greatest super-villain back from nastily nerdish Vector (Jason Segel). But to succeed in his plans he needs the help of three little orphaned girls.
Will the little girls be able to turn Gru away from the path of villainy? No prizes for guessing – especially as it turns out that Gru has always had mommy (Julie Andrews) issues. Despicable Me isn’t quite at the level of Pixar productions in their ability to engage the adults as well delight the kiddies but it is fun nevertheless, the animation has zip and inventiveness and there are even a few heart-warming moments.
Cut to chase: Zippy and zany. Worth a look.
