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2010
had lots of great
animated features.
There were a few
clunkers to visit
theatres and home
video, and there
were some great
movies to come too.
There were three
movies that were
above the rest of
the films in a
crowded genre-
How
to Train Your Dragon,
Toy
Story 3,
and
Despicable Me.
All
three of these films
are great and each
has their own good
qualities, but
Despicable Me
is the most unique
animated feature to
come out in a few
years- not just
because of its
story, but because
of the style of its
animation.
Despicable Me
does have a very
evil undertone to
it... though it
can't be taken too
seriously. Most of
the characters in
the movie are the
evil mad genius
sector- basically
they live in a Dr.
Evil world with no
Austin Powers. Our
man character and
our hero in this
movie is Gru. He's
the world's #1
villain... until
somebody steels the
Pyriamid of Geeza
and knocks him off
of his perch. He
comes up with a
diabolical plan to
reclaim his #1 seed,
but he needs a
shrink ray to pull
it off. As it turns
out- the new #1,
Vector has
possession of it. He
can't penetrate
Vector's fortress
without doing some
serious planning
first... and as it
turns out he needs
three little girls
to sell some cookies
and be a distraction
so he can get the
shrink ray. He
adopts the girls to
pull of his plan,
but as it turns
out... being the
world's #1 evil
super-villain is
easier than raising
three kids, but not
as rewarding.
This
movie’s clear
strength is its
animation style. We
get lots of movies
in the 3D
animated/digital
animation genre and
there's never really
any heart or feeling
into the characters
when they're human.
They all look the
same. When you
compare the new
style of animation
to the old style of
animation... it's
clear to see that
the old method had a
lot of variety. With
Despicable Me
because they did
animation and the
film in a variety of
places with talent
from all over, we
get an animation
style that's
completely unique
and fun to look at.
Sometimes it seems
totally American and
sometimes the
characters have a
European style to
them, bottom line is
its diverse and to
use a cliché in a
great place- it
really is a breath
of fresh air to see
some variety in the
animated world.
The
story of
Despicable Me
can't be over-stated
either. The
core-idea behind the
movie is great even
if they didn't
exactly reach for
it. Having some
innocence in a world
full of evil
masterminds has been
attempted by
animated films
before, but it's
never been done as
good as
Despicable Me.
That's because the
vibe of the story
and the character
development are
really unmatched in
a family movie
without a sequel.
The minion
characters- how they
look, how they
sound- everything
about them is
awesome.
The
same thing can be
said for Gru, the
girls, and all of
the other
characters.
Despicable Me
is a Universal
release so it gets
the Universal
treatment on Blu-ray
with the standard
U-Control menu and
some loaded extra
features. While the
menu look of the Blu-ray
is getting a little
old, the extra
features that are
provided are always
stellar. Here you're
getting a
rocket-building
game. You're also
getting some good
looks at the making
of the movie
including the
international flavor
of the movie and the
voices behind the
characters. Most of
all, you're getting
three mini-movies
featuring the
minions that are all
funny and unique.
Just like the movie.
Despicable Me
is really a
can't-miss movie for
kids. It's got a lot
of heart to it, it's
unique and it's
hilarious. It does
everything really
well... it doesn't
try too hard to be
funny, and it
doesn't rush things
at the end of the
movie to make things
work. It just works-
it flows well, it's
funny, it's great to
look at and it's
easy to laugh at.
Despicable Me
is a great Blu-ray
and one I'd
recommend to kids 4
or 44.
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