Congrats to DM for doing so well on its opening weekend (and not really having any preceding films to hype it up!). I’ll be seeing it in an hour or so, and then I’ll review it. I am not thrilled at hearing there’s a lot of crude jokes, however. Out of all the greatest animated films ever made, the only exception to my no-fart-or-burp-or-any-kind-of-flatulence-humor rule is the pelican who appeared to fart next to his buddy while sitting on the ocean’s surface in Finding Nemo. That got a laugh out of me. But everything else? NEIN!
^ Totally seconded. I can’t stand bodily functions used as humor props. (woo, that sounded so professional.)
Well, except for… I did lol massively during the Great Mighty Poo boss fight in Conker’s Bad Fur Day. /gets banned for mentioning that game too much
I’m still mildly interested…
I have no choice but to see it in 3D, that’s the only way it’s showing it at my theater.
Maybe i’ll see, I dont’ know. If I think about it. I just really like Steve Carrell. Did he do a good job?
Steve Carell did do quite a good job, but it probably would have been a smarter choice to just get an actor that naturally has Gru’s accent, instead of hiring an A-list celebrity to fake the voice. Still he did a good job.
Just saw it, and while it’s not gonna win any awards, it was a fun movie, better than expected.
As a lot of people have been saying the story is the weakest point of the film. It felt like a mishmosh of a lot of ideas. The stakes never felt very high. I wasn’t a fan of the whole little girls plotline, so it didn’t turn out completely satisfying. There were also a few unnecessary scenes that felt pretty pointless (the scene in the super-store being the most notable) and a lot of the plot ideas didn’t have a significant payoff after their introduction. And, my biggest issue, it ended with the dreaded [spoil]dance scene[/spoil]. However, I thought that all of the Spy vs. Spy elements and themes were great.
The writing and humor were better than expected. I chilled a couple of times and the little girls were funny to me rather than annoying as I expected from the trailers. Gru has lots of nice moments and one liners. However, there was a little too much unnecessary bodily humor that could’ve been toned down a bit, especially in [spoil]Vector’s reaction to his comeuppance. I mean, really…[/spoil]
The voice acting and animation had both strong and weak points. Steve did a good job as Gru and most of the other characters had fairly undistracting voices. I was mainly paying attention to the animation, though. There were some really nice acting moments, especially with the minions. However, a few scenes felt a little rushed. There was one scene [spoil]with Gru explaining he knows his ABCs[/spoil] that stuck out to me a really awkward. This wasn’t the only moment where I felt that they just rushed the animation and it looks a little robotic. However. The quality animation that does exist is really nicely done.
I really enjoyed the design aspects of the movie, for the most part. The lighting really stuck out to me. There’s a lot of really nicely lit scenes which compliment the mood. I also liked most of the sets, especially with Vector and Gru’s fortresses. Lots of nicely staged shots and some good camera angles as well that make nice use of 3D. The character designs, however, weren’t so good. I did like Gru’s design, but the rest were either uninspired or unoriginal. The bank guy was pretty much Dilbert’s boss. Gru’s mom reminded me of the old lady from Hoodwinked. The minions just felt a bit lazily designed. As a whole, though, it’s a fun movie to look at.
Finally, I thought the soundtrack was excellent. There were a bunch of great cues, a nice spy style mood, and the songs with lyrics never felt out of place. Not much else to say there.
Overall, it’s a fun movie. Not perfect, but a good time at the movies especially since this summer is a little lacking in quality movies. I’d give it around a 3.5/5.
I said I’d post a review after watching it, but I have a feeling I should let this one settle in before forming a solid opinion on it. That said, here’s a basic list of pros and cons (inspired, yeah?):
YAY!
- Gru being a villain is a nice twist.
- There are two or three nice character designs in there.
- I laughed a few times.
- Agnes and the minions sort of stole the show. In a good way.
- It’s great for something from a studio we’re not used to seeing nowadays. Perhaps Universal will be a new (or returning, rather) contender in the world of mainstream American animation.
- Some thought it was predictable, but I liked the flashback scenes with Gru and his disapproving mother. It’s something a lot of children face, so I think it’s perfectly relevant with the way his character developed.
NAY!
- The crude humor wasn’t quite as bad as I expected, but there are enough moments to induce eye-rolling.
- Music. I accept the spy theme and all that, but the actual pop songs I could do without.
- Predictable storyline (like I said, the villain twist is nice, but otherwise? It’s the usual stuff).
Here is the website to the animation studio that made this film, Illumination Entertainment: illuminationentertainment.com/
Obviously it’s not called Universal Studios Animation like i thought it was, but is distributed by Universal, like Disney and Pixar.
I was about to post something like this, although, it was a question as who did the movie. I did notice that it was made in France, but I haven’t had time to search the studio.
Telepathic powers, ftw!
A friend of mine invited me to see the movie on Thursday. So me, her, her little sister, and my little sister are all going to see it. Imagine it, 4 teenagers going to see Despicable Me! Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing this movie, I guess I’ll have to live with the toilet humor.
ellie-jessie, the humor isn’t as bad as you think, and as it’s appeared on this thread. I went in thinking the same thing you just posted, having to live with it, but in all honesty, it’s a pleasant movie. Don’t go into the theater being critcal – relax, and enjoy it, it’s a fun movie.
Apparently there’s already talk of a sequel.
I think this is just too much. There’s not a whole lot of places you can go with how the movie ended. And I especially wouldn’t want it to be about the minions. I’m not a huge fan of them.
I have to agree with other reviewers about the film being forgettable. It’s only been 2 days and I’m not compelled to write a fleshed-out review of it. Still a solid movie, though.
I’m not a huge fan of Steve Carell, but Gru looks like an AWESOME character. The coolest supervillian in a movie besides Syndrome . 
No, I really think it’s going to be that great, I’m not kidding. 
Don’t think I ccan afford it , but I will most likely rent in from a Redbox machine when it comes out on DVD.
I hear that Gru is the best character.
A sequal? Has the movie even been released for more than a week? That’s just crazy.
I’m going to see this film this Friday with some of my good friends, I’m really excited! Right now, I’m trying to do my best to not read anything about, because I absolutely hate spoiling myself, and I avoid doing it at all costs.
I thought the premise, look and voice casting was right on target for this film, which delivers on most of its promises of crazy fun. Gru is a ‘villain’ pulling off incredible capers with the help of his sidekicks the Q-like Dr. Nefario, and the little yellow minions. From the very first frame, the movie is a gag reel of spy vs. spy rivalry, and on that level it succeeds fairly well.
The orphans are cute, too, and add a certain winsome fun to the whole plot, and they certainly succeeded as characters and the way they Gru warms to them. It’s very predictable, but pretty well done.
What the movie lacked for me was smooth pacing, and the minions, while they were cute and in some ways vital to the story, somewhat broke up the continuity. It was somewhat like having a funny commercial come on in the middle of a show, so that it slowed down the pacing in places. The visuals are inventive and satisfying, and the 3-D has some good moments. The animation captures some of Steve Carell’s facial impression that he uses in live action, and that was a big startling to see on a cartoony character.
Despicable Me has some decent attempts at investing the characters with some emotion, even if it’s at predictable turns in the story.
I think for me, the film also fell victim to ‘telling the story too much with the trailers’, so some of the better scenes lacked the ‘laugh-out-loud’ impact they might have had. However, overall, an enjoyable film from Universal.
I loved the movie. Every movie doesn’t have to be on Pixar’s level in order for me to enjoy it. But I don’t want it to go into Shrek teritory when it comes to the humor. I think the movie was funnier than Toy Story 3. Toy Story 3 was an awesome movie, but I had this meloncholy feeling about 10 minutes after Toy Story 3 started and it didn’t let up at all throughout the whole thing. Even during the more humorous parts. The only bad things I could say about the movie is that I found Vector (who sounded NOTHING like Jason Segal! I forgot he did the voice) a little obnoxious and annoying towards the end. I think it had to do with him using his laugh a little to much. Agnus was the most adorable thing I’ve seen in a movie since Walle. The movie had a suprising amount of heart. I think that the girls and their situation Miss Hattie could have been reworked to give the movie some serious heart moments. But their situation with her was still enjoyable. I loved the music! I haven’t liked anything Pharrell has done in years, but I loved the music he provided for the movie. Especially when they were at the amusement park. The rollercoaster scene was a lot of fun. I’m probably in the minority (when it comes to adults) when I say that I love 3D! And I loved the 3D in this movie. It made the movie a lot of fun! I’m glad I didn’t decide to go with my first instinct and see it in 2D. And I loved the thing during the credits with the minions and the 3D. I love Pixar’s subtle use to 3D for the depth it provides, but I also love when things pop out. As long as the 3D is well done and not added on towards the end of a film being made, just to cash in on it’s popularity, I’m fine with it. I’ve been reading about Illumination since I’ve seen this movie, and I can’t wait to see what else they have in store for us.
I hate spoiling movies for myself as well…sadly, I do it time and time again, I just can’t seem to stop! I’ll ask a friend to tell me the entire plot of a movie, including the ending, thinking that I’ll never get a chance to see it anyway. Or if there’s a book that I’m interested in, I’ll look it up on wikipedia, believeing that I’d never have the time to read it. Invariably, I always watch/read the movie/book a few months later, and don’t enjoy it as much because I spoiled it for myself…I even did it with Toy Story 3, although that was purely accidental. Luckily, I didn’t spoil this movie for myself (not yet anyway), so hopefully I’ll be able to enjoy it fully when I see it this weekend
I saw it tonight.
I thought it was a really cute movie, a really good movie for kids. The little girl with the black hair was the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. The minions were kind of weird. I really liked Steve Carell, and I liked the character design. I laughed at some parts, other parts I was like “What the heck???”. I LOVED the scene where [spoil] Gru is reading the kitten bedtime story to the girls “Wow, this is garbage!” 
[/spoil]
Oo, I also like [spoil]how instead of having a Blu-Ray machine, he has a Gru-Ray![/spoil]
Anyway, it was an alright movie, I’d give it 2 1/2 Stars. But I agree with Bryko614, I don’t see how they can make a sequal out of it.