Despicable Me

RATING: A-

Early on in the 2010's, there was a sudden rush of animated movies about guys who start out as "villains" but end up being redeemed by the end (this, Megamind, Wreck-It Ralph). Two of them even happened in one year! And despite how much they were using this storytelling device, all of these movies actually turned out pretty good. While most will agree that Wreck-It Ralph is the best of the bunch, Despicable Me is the most famous one (or infamous, depending upon how much you hate the Minions by now) and is the only one of the bunch to have spawned its own franchise. And this was from an animation studio (Illumination Entertainment) making their first go at it. 

This particular bad-eventually-turned-good-guy is Gru (Steve Carell), a villain whose goal in life was to be the most well-known of the villains. And for a while, he actually was--at least in the actual villain community, anyway. (No one in actual society seems to know anything about who these villains are or where they live--despite the fact that they're pretty conspicuous.) But he gets upstaged by a newcomer and now has to put himself back on top. So he tries to pull off the ultimate heist: steal the moon. 

No seriously, steal the moon. It's at this point where I should probably mention that, unlike other modern animated films of its caliber, this one is a lot more Looney Tunes-esque not only in humor style but also in that it doesn't pay much mind to silly things like science or physics--or even logic in general, at times. (Namely at how despite villains, their villainy *and* their bases being pretty obvious and out in the open, law enforcement never does *anything* at all in this movie.) 

Anyways, things get only crazier for Gru when three young orphaned girls--Margo, Edith, and Agnes--end up in his life. (How exactly, I will refrain from saying.) And honestly, you can probably more or less predict what happens from there. Probably one of the biggest flaws about this movie, as a matter of fact, is how predictable it is. However, I guess that just makes it more impressive that the final product is as good as it is. 

There's a lot of good things to say about this movie. Though Gru is a jerk to start off, it helps that Steve Carell gives a hilarious vocal performance. But Gru himself has decent character development throughout as well. The girls themselves manage to be likable/charming enough. As for the Minions? Well, they're still quite hilarious in their first go-around--we're not given overdoses of them here. They're great comic relief, but there's plenty of comedy to go around in general. There's plenty of memorable moments in general--whether it's the iconic "It's so fluffy" scene, the attempted infiltration of a fortress that results in much pain for Gru, or the surprisingly heartwarming ending. (Too bad they put in a ridiculous dance number right after that.) 

Of course, it's not without flaws. The above mentioned dance number ending is stupid. The opening scene itself (with the great pyramid) is pretty doggone forgettable. There are a few humor attempts here and there that don't work as well as others. Also, a glaring flaw is the actual villain. Yes, there is an actual villain besides Gru--and it's Vector. Who's basically a bratty teenager/young adult. And who does actually nothing really that villainous (besides his early offscreen heist) or even interesting until the climactic act. Yup, he's a pretty lame villain. Heck, the girls' former orphanage supervisor is a bigger villain than he is! 

Even with someone below average in the antagonist category, Despicable Me still manages to do what Marvel Studios has done a few times--still make a pretty good movie. Whatever one may think of what this franchise has become, this first one is still genuinely fun and it actually has some charm and heart to it. While it may not be as great as Wreck-It Ralph--or as unique as Megamind--it's still a pretty good movie in its own right.