Movies: Despicable Me

I had hopes for this movie going into the theater. The concept? Good. The design? Great. The execution? Eh, so-so. This movie, by definition an animated kids movie, had trouble navigating the kid-friendly, adult-entertaining divide. Films by rivals Dreamworks and Pixar often have little trouble balancing the comedic with the dramatic, offering movies that appeal to children and adults simultaneously. Despicable Me, however, falls a bit short.

The story follows Gru (voiced perfectly by Steve Carrel), a supervillain looking to pull off the greatest crime of all time. His plans quickly go askew however, when he becomes the guardian of three orphan girls. Russian supervillain meets three feisty kids. Shenanigans ensue.

The film floats along buoyed by the charm and likeability of the three orphan girls; Margo, Edith, and Agnes. However, despite a couple of cutesy, warm & fuzzy moments, this film lacks a lot of real feeling.

Pacing and development are lacking in this movie, so that the dramatic moments and emotional turning points really lack the pathos to create a moving experience. It doesn't help that this isn't the funniest movie ever. The humor relies mostly on physical comedy, much of which was already seen in the film's numerous promo trailers. Gru's pint-sized, jibberish-speaking minions, when not on the receiving end of slapstick violence, tend to be slightly annoying.

However, there are a few good laughs and, overall, the viewer is left satisfied by the movie if not completely filled. The animation in this film is a definite treat for the eyes. Also, Steve Carell and Russel Brand prove themselves to be excellent voice actors. Throughout the entire movie I didn't even know which character was voiced by Brand.