Despicable Me

Starring the voices of Steve Carrell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, and Kristen Wiig.

Okay, when I went to see this, I only knew that Steve Carrell was the main guy. When I came home and saw that line-up, I was like DEAR JESUS no wonder this was such a great movie! With a cast like that, you know it has to be funny.

This was another movie that I wasn't sure about. I saw a strange little teaser several months ago, which raised my interest, but I actually had no idea whatsoever what it was about. Then I saw another trailer that gave me more of an idea, and I decided that I would probably like it but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't go. But like Knight and Day, I was pleasantly surprised when I went! I'm so glad I went to see it!

It opened with a scene of a bus full of American tourists bursting onto the scene of the Gaza pyramids. This scene is just rife with satirical commentary on Americans and tourists and everything. I mean, it's all very subtle so that a child wouldn't know the difference, but it's soo hilarious to an adult! Want a taste of the humor of this movie? Watch the preview. Why do I say this? Because as soon as I saw the fat tourist dad get out of the bus, followed by his fat child tugging on the leash that pulled his hippy (as in, hips) mother out of the bus, I had a huge burst of deja vu. At first I thought I had stumbled into the wrong movie, or they had blatantly stolen this scene from another movie that had already come out. I was soooo confused. About halfway through the scene, which I remembered line by line, I realized the preview that I had seen for this movie was actually just the first scene of the movie. So as I said, if you want a taste of the humor of this movie, and its satire, watch the preview and you will see what I mean. It's great!

What struck me most about this movie was just how much subtle satirical commentary was strewn throughout. Well, I can't really say it was all that subtle since I noticed it. But it's not flat-out, people aren't generally saying these things in dialogue. But there are so many layers to what's going on. Like when Gru (the main Evil Villain) enters the Bank of Evil ("formerly known as Lehman Bros"). I was like *JAW DROP* WHA??? lol Kids don't get that, but those sorts of things make a movie like this wildly entertaining for an adult.

And there was so much social commentary tucked into the bank's refusal to loan Gru money based on his age (lots of reference to age) and lack of potential (financial crisis, anyone?). It was just beyond crazy. I enjoyed the movie so much because it was so intelligent. More so than your average kids movie.

And yet so heartfelt! It also tugged all the right mommy heartstrings for me. Everyone knows I want kids, and badly. We're only waiting because of the Navy. So seeing this man's heart softened by 3 adorable little girls was just perfect for me. It was so sweet!!

His professor friend was also funny, and another target for age jokes. I kept trying to place his voice the whole time, but I NEVER suspected Russell Brand. My jaw dropped to the floor when I saw that. And I never tried to place Vector's voice, but again, I would NEVER have suspected Jason Segel. And if I hadn't known Steve Carrell was Gru, I never would have suspected that either! And Gru's mother was Julie Andrews! I just didn't know!! That's talent right there, when you can have a kids movie stuffed full of famous voices and no one knows who any of them are. Impressive.

Vector was hilarious! He was also a commentary on nepotism and geekiness. I'll be honest, when I first saw him, I actually thought they had put Bill Gates into the movie as a joke. And then he wasn't Bill Gates but another villain, and I wondered if it was a purposeful reference to his looks or if the geeky look just happens to resemble Bill Gates. But Vector was funny too.

Everybody was just great in this movie. It was so intelligent, and so funny, and so heartwarming. I really really enjoyed it.

And then there were Gru's minions! Sooo cute! They're just these little yellow guys with hardly any features but tons of personality. They were such a joy. I wished at the end that I'd gone to see it in 3D because you could really tell they were playing with the medium during the credits. I figured this was just another movie to hop on the 3D bandwagon, but it really would have been fun to watch in 3D. For me, it's generally only really worth it if you get to see some awesome flying sequences. I loved Avatar in 3D, and How to Train Your Dragon was so fun in 3D because of all the flying scenes. But I don't really remember much about the rest of the movie in 3D. Like Toy Story 3--I figured that would be a waste of money to see in 3D, and I think I was right (I wouldn't know, I didn't see it in 3D). But this had several great flying scenes and I have a feeling all the little minions would have made for some fun 3D antics. Aww, plus storytime would have probably been really fun too!! Aww. So I guess, if you go see it, you should consider seeing it in 3D to enhance your experience. But it's still great in 2D too!

Overall, this was a great film. I saw it within 3 days of Knight and Day (I finally got back in the mood for movies) and I just couldn't believe that I saw two amazing films in one weekend. I would highly recommend both of them. If it were a choice between the two, I would base it on your mood. If you want a fast-paced, extremely fun and engrossing action romance, go see Knight and Day. If you're in the mood for a fun, heartwarming and very funny animated movie, go see Despicable Me. If you're not sure, go see them both! They're both highly worth watching! I give this my full recommendation, 5 unicorns!

RATING (out of 5 rainbows and ponies): 5 unicorns
CONCLUSION: warm fuzzy happy ending