DESPICABLE ME

Gru (Steve Carell) is a super villain whose greatest claim to fame is stealing the Time Square Jumbo-Tron and the statue of Liberty or rather the Vegas replica. However Gru finds himself overshadowed by rival upstart Vector (Jason Segel) who manages to steal not only the great pyramids of Giza but the headlines. And so, desperate to beat Vector, and make his aloof mother proud (an under used Julie Andrews), Gru decides to steal the impossible…The Moon!

Trouble is Gru needs some money to complete his plan, and the Evil Bank (what bank isn’t?) won’t lend it to him until he obtains the shrink ray he needs to make the moon transportable; unfortunately Vector has that too. Enter the impossibly cute Margo, Edith and Agnes (Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher), 3 little girls searching for a family. Gru realises that the girls would be perfect for his plan and adopts them with the intention of ditching them once he has his shrink ray; but that is only if they don’t melt his icy villain heart first.

Despicable Me is bright cartoony fun, nothing more, nothing less. Gru might be a villain but being voiced by nice guy Carell makes us root for him and he is at his most loveable interacting with the young girls as a reluctant parent. Vector is an amusing foil and his rivalry with Gru has a lot in common with classic Looney Tunes Coyote and Roadrunner. Similarly Gru’s army of diminutive yellow minions provide great slapstick fun and laughs; but disappointingly the movie’s biggest laughs are in the trailer. In the ranks of animated films Despicable Me never reaches the height of Pixar, but it does offer an enjoyable time for the whole family.

3 of 5 Stars