Movie Review: The outrageously visual 'Despicable Me' delivers much fun and heart

Despicable Me (PG)  Dir: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud

This movie is currently playing in theaters all over Orange County.

In the new CG animation, Despicable Me, a new villain has stolen the Great Pyramid of Giza. Not to be outdone, Gru (Steve Carell), a longtime villain, hoping to uphold his own villainous reputation, plans an even bigger heist—to steal the Earth’s moon (with help of a Shrink Ray). In order to do so, he adopts three orphan girls, Margo Edith, and Agnes, to get them to steal the technology from a rival villain, Vector (Jason Segal). However, Gru and the kids start to develop a bond of sorts, which makes him rethink his plans.

When I saw this film, it was in 2-D, not the 3-D stereoscopic format, so I will not be able to comment on that particular format. The fluid animation in this film is truly something amazing. This film pretty much proves you can recreate in CG anything a 2-D cartoon is capable of creating (except maybe sketchy lines). The various odd, exaggerated characters with stylized pointy noses, bulging eyes, and expressive mouths that inhabit this zany film are something straight out of TV cartoons-- they all flow, stretch, and exaggerate, all so very organically and naturally. Gone are the stiff-feeling 3-D stuff of yesteryear. The physically impossible feels physically possible because it's so solid-looking.  I miss traditional 2-D animation already.

I found this film pleasantly charming, cute, diabolically clever, and heartwarming. Admittedly, it is more joke-heavy than plot-heavy. One can easily guess where the story is going and while there are occasional revelations about the characters' past, it doesn’t diverge much from the conventional plot.  Still, the film’s biggest strengths are the outrageous sight gags and the main character, wonderfully voice-acted by Steve Carell. For those who find visually zany gags boring or prefer serious films may find it too goofy for their taste.  Still, many adults will find many things to relate to Gru, and kids will relate to the children in the film. 

Even with his (Eastern European?) accent, Steve Carell’s playful humor shines through in the “despicable” character of Gru. The character never feels stiff nor less than engaging (unlike the recent Shrek Forever After).  Gru may be mean-spirited, but in a charming way. Jason Segel has a great time as Vector, the young, geeky, diabolic rival villain who likes to don  warm-up suits, whose every body movement is expressively animated and exaggerated.  Much of the “cute” elements come from the three orphan girls (Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher) who truly act like how real little girls act with great subtleties in expressions and randomness. The relationship between Gru and the kids never feels cheesy or manufactured, even if you knew it was coming.

I loved the look and design. All the characters, the objects, places, and vehicles in this film feel expressively bold and original. Wacky cartoon physics feel effortlessly and seamlessly applied. I loved the attention to detail in this film. The character expressions are wonderful.  It is Pixar-level of detail, which is a huge compliment. The film also doesn’t rely too heavily on current pop-culture references, which is a big plus.

For a film about a villain, it was strange not to see any “heroes."  Still, I suppose that could have made the film too complex (that’d be something Pixar would do) and would have interfered with Gru’s eventual change of heart in the story.  Perhaps they’ll explore the idea in the sequel. We the audience love Gru because we know that deep inside he’s not really evil—he’s misunderstood and probably can be rehabilitated after some therapy.

As mentioned, the one complaint, if I were to make one, would be the simplicity of the plot, and this is only if I were to compare the film to Pixar’s stories (which is an unfair comparison because the film's main focus is different).  Despicable Me’s story, in its barest form, could possibly fit into a 30 minute episode.  However, everything else in this film more than makes up for it.  Sure, it's not as thematically deep or complex as Pixar's work, as I tend to walk away from a Pixar film with always something to think about.  While Despicable Me may be more joke-driven, have more slapstick, sight gags, and more interested in “fun,” with its first rate animation, its crazy humor, its technical achievements, and heartwarming characters, it stands boldly on its own and rivals some of the great CG animations already showcased this year, very closely right up there with Toy Story 3 and How To Train Your Dragon .

*** out of **** stars