- I’m starting to think the dividing line between Pixar and the other animation studios is not just the reliance on cultural references but also in how jokes are constructed. Pixar jokes always feel like they flow naturally from each character, whereas the jokes in movies like this one frequently feel like the writers come up with a bunch of jokes and then spend an afternoon sorting them into piles based on which character might say them. I think it’s a lack of cohesion I’m feeling; I don’t feel like I’m left with a resonant story if you remove all the jokes in this movie. Which is not to say it was not enjoyable — it was! — just not something I’m likely to watch repeatedly on DVD over the years.
- I liked how Gru and Vector were set up in opposition to each other through the design of their evil accessories and vehicles. There was a great retro 1960s hard plastic feel to Vector’s evil lair but at the same time all that shiny white made him very much a baddie for the iPod generation. Gru by contrast had an amazing 1950s Airstream-esque mode of transport and all these amazingly diabolical antique multi-purpose pieces. Loved all this stuff.
- “That book was accidentally destroyed maliciously.” HA.
- I NEED A BOX OF SHAME.
- The girls’ bomb beds were amazing.
- “IT’S SO FLUFFY I’M GONNA DIE.”
- Kyle the piranha dog was AMAZING. I loved his underbite.
- I loved that all the minions had names like Tim, Bob, Mark, Phil, Stuart, Dave, and Jerry.
- I liked the bit where the one minion cracked the other’s spine, shook him, and turned him into a giant glow stick.
- The boogie robots were kind of fun, if also stupid.
- The part where the minions lined up to get kissed by Gru was pretty adorable.
- I think this list of single and unrelated moments should indicate quite clearly that although it was amusing, there’s not a lot holding it together. I think I may have enjoyed it more than Toy Story 3, though, to be perfectly honest.
Despicable Me
You could do a lot worse at the theatre right now. That “worse” is called “The A-Team.”
IMDB Plot Synopsis A trio of orphan girls cause the normally deplorable Gru to rethink his plan to steal the moon.
I agree with every single thing you just said about that movie. You named all my favorite parts and I got to relive them for a second. People are so busy seeing Inception (while I’m busy avoiding hearing about it) they’re missing out on such a good time!
In many ways, I enjoyed it more than Toy Story 3, too… for instance, all the crying I didn’t have to do? I enjoyed the hell out of that.
This is true: sometimes I want to watch a kids movie that doesn’t plunge me into a deep depression afterwards.
Yes! That is exactly what I described to friends afterward as the best thing about the movie. Kids’ movies are always so intense, and it’s like, ‘OH MY GOD THE EVIL THING IS COMING AND IT’S GOING TO STOMP ON THE GOOD THING AND IT’S GOING TO DIE UNLESS THEY CAN RIG THE THING IN TIME! CAN THEY DO IT?!?’ and then they do it just in the nick of time and it’s really emotional. This was more like, ‘Oh crap, we just found out about a thing that’s going to ruin another thing. What are we gonna—oh, cool, no don’t worry about it, it’s fine now. Aaaah another thi—phew, glad we were able to get out of that one.’