Despicable Me (2010)

"Despicable Me" was a pleasant surprise. In an age where another computer animated movie is just another computer animated movie, a film such as this, that can provide a nice equilibrium between laughter and family values is a treat to both adults and children. Pixar has released its animated movie for the year (Toy Story 3). Disney and Dreamworks will make Christmas releases of "Tangled" and "Megamind" respectively. This time, Universal Studios also joined the market, teaming producers and technicians of "Ice Age" and "Horton Hears a Who!" experience. "Despicable Me" tells the story of Gru, voiced by Steve Carell (with the strangest accent ever, a mixture of Russian with Scottish with German...), who is you average everyday villain. In his lair he counts with the assistance of a mad scientist and incredibly funny little yellow guys, his minions, who allow for many moments of visual humor. Gru is old, and never did a really big score, and the "evil bank" rejects him a final loan for his masterplan: steal the Moon, and favor instead a hot young villain: Vector (voiced by Jason Segel). Gru tries, with no avail, to get inside Vector's lair, and when he sees that three little orphans (all of them adorable and oh so cute) who sell cookies can easily go in (Vector is obsessed by cookies) he decides to adopt them in order to have access to Vector's home, and so steal a shrinking gun that will allow him to steal the moon. Off course that he will gradually have to choose between his growing love for the girls and his dreams of world domination... "Despicable Me" perhaps only once made me laugh my head off, but in every single scene made me laugh and smile, even if just a little. The humor is 90% visual, and the images are full of exquisite details. The moral of the story is given with simplicity, without usual Hollywood clichés, and with some ingenious circumstances (thumbs up for the bedtime stories!). Also, there is a nice little humor for adults (the metaphor of bank loans, etc, in these times of world crisis). The only thing they forgot is that if you shrink the moon, and shift it in space, all earth will be severely affected... but I guess children will not know that, and so nobody cares. The first half of the movie, Gru forming his plan, is one funny sequence after another. The second half, his trip to the moon, and the fight with Vector, gives a little more action but lesser laughs, so the movie slows down a little. But in the end it is heartfelt and a treat to the family. Recommend vividly. Not a masterpiece, but high quality family animation. The voice talents nail it every time (Kristen Wiig the best). And stay in for the end credits. There the 3D is really fully maximized, and is amazing, unlike during the actual movie, which basically passes unnoticed, as is starting to be a custom nowadays... Why pay more if the movies are not made to be truly 3D experiences? Anyway, "Despicable Me" is a good movie to take your children to, and for yourself to laugh a long while, after a hard day's work. And I can't take out of my head those dumb adorable yellow creatures. What great characters!