DESPICABLE ME the new animated film from Universal Pictures is soon to be a hit . . . that's right I'm calling it early. Earlier in the week I received a phone call from Universal Pictures asking me if I wanted two tickets to the sneak preview showing of the film . . . I quickly said yes. Well somehow they got my information through my webcomic Strange City Heroes and they sent me 20 tickets to get two people in to the preview. Sadly I did not get the tickets until 6:30 P.M. yesterday and the movie was at 10:00 A.M. this morning. I was able to give away a few at the theatre and one family gave up going to see Marmaduke in favor of free tickets to Despicable Me.
I had wanted to see this movie since I first saw the trailer for it because it just looked really funny and I'm a fan of animated movies. I didn't really know what to expect this movie to be but I am more than happy in what I found out.
This movie is based around the world's Super Villains and how extreme a heist they can pull off (I won't tell you what the big heist is though). There are wonderful inventions, lots of ray guns there are shrink rays, ice rays and uhhhhhh squid guns and land and flying machines that take imagination and turn it up to 11.
The main characters are Gru (Steve Carell), Vector (Jason Segal), Dr. Nefario (Russel Brand), Miss Hattie (Kristen Wiig) and three wonderful orphan girls Margo, Edith, and Agnes (Miranda Cosgrove, Elise Fisher, & Dana Gaier).
The plot takes Gru who is the world's greatest villain to a point where he has been bested by a newer younger villain who has stolen the Great Pyramids of Egypt and forces him to think of the biggest heist he can imagine and for this he will need a shrink ray and funding from the bank (banks loan to evil super villains you know.) Insert three little girls (If I ever have kids I want little girls) who steal the show and just might make evil a little less evil.
You will leave this movie knowing you saw a funny movie, a movie with a heart, I superhero errr super villain adventure that ranks up there with some of the best, and something both kids and adults will enjoy . . . I know because there were as many laughs by children as adults in the theatre and the children seemed genuinely interested in the movie from start to finish.
Despicable Me was my first modern full length 3D movie and I was impressed how much 3D seems to have changed. There were times when things looked a little blurry but things were moving and I can live with that because it wasn't much. The 3D effects were there but not overly in your face and at the end as the credits start to roll there is some fun had with the 3D that you will get a few more good laughs out of.
Oh you are wondering well what about those yellow guys . . . well those guys are awesome and very funny. The yellow guys work in a secret lab beneath the home of Gru as his minions and they do all the dirty work in making super villain-ing a science. You will love these guys and probably wish you had a few around the house to aid you in your own super villain escapades.
Don't miss this one, take your kids to see it, take your wife or husband, take a friend, take grandma you will have fun, you will see a sweet story unfold and most of all you will laugh. 5 Stars!
- Kevin P. Johnson
Copyright © 2010 Kevin P. Johnson
Image is copyright © 2010 Universal Pictures and is used as Fair Use Review image only. Image will be removed upon the request of Universal Pictures. 
