Despicable Me

Rating: 4 shurikens

This is another fine animated feature from DreamWorks. Dreamworks is a company that has tried to match the success of Pixar, by using similar animation techniques and stories. Most of the time, they don't come close, other times they do really nice work. The animation is not the main selling point, although the computer-generated animation genre relies heavily on it. At the core of any good animated movie is a story.

Despicable Me is a great story, about an evil genius who tries to find a caper that will dwarf all others, and insure him infamy and approbation of the public, and the admiration of other super-villains. It is a superhero story without any superheroes. Steve Carrell does the voice of Gru, who is mean and obnoxious, as well as a gross polluter. He drives a huge, ugly vehicle powered by smoke-belching rocket engines, and lives in an ugly house.

when the Great Pyramid is stolen, he is jealous of the real thief, unknown to him. He decides to commit a crime that will make the theft of the pyramid look like small potatoes, but he needs a loan from the Bank of Evil. Unexpectedly, three orphans selling cookies enter his life, and he hatches a plan to use them to further his evil ambitions. The orphans are so cute that they melt his heart, and to tell any more would give away too much of the story.

Gru is helped by his little minions, who resemble cheese puffs. The come in a variety of shapes and talk in unintelligible squeaks. They do most of the work in a secret underground lair below Gru's home.

Despicable Me is an excellent movie. The characters are believable, and the human interactions are just plausible enough to draw you in to the story. The orphans are very cute and loveable. The minions offer a little bit of sidebar humor, and the other villain, Vector, is a good counterpoint to Gru. The story is well-told, even though the plot is predictable. After all, it is a cartoon, and is probably aimed at a younger audience. Even so, it is a very well-spent hour and a half.

I give this one four shurikens, for humor and action, and an interesting story.