DESPICABLE ME

Director: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud
Stars: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig
Year: 2010
Rating: PG

When we first meet Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) in the visually stunning animated feature Despicable Me, we understand right away that Gru is a pretty callous bad guy. Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Uncle Fester from "The Addams Family" television series, Gru is anything but lovable or altogether ooky; from making children cry to attempting to take over the world, Gru is a supervillain of the highest order.

Or, at least, he used to be. Gru's gotten older, and there is most definitely a crop of younger, even more evil supervillains coming up behind him, with bigger and more expensive plans to take over the world. SO expensive, in fact, that when Gru goes to the Bank of Evil to take out a loan for his latest, most evil plot of all - to shrink and steal the moon, holding it for ransom - he is turned down by the bank's president, who no longer is so sure of Gru's capabilities, and is instead forced to steal the shrink ray first, to prove he is still the baddest villain. The new villain on the block, a young impresario named Vector (voiced by Jason Segel), has recently stolen the great pyramid of Giza in Egypt, replacing it with an inflatable copy, and such daring, super-DUPER villainy has put Gru squarely into the #2 position of bad guys.

So Gru - along with the help of his elderly friend Dr Nefario (Russell Brand), and his many hundred of odd-looking, bright yellow minions, manages to steal the shrink ray ... only to have the machine, in turn, stolen from him by Vector, even as he escapes capture! Thwarted and determined to regain ground as #1 supervillain, a disgruntled Gru makes several attempts to break into Vector's compound - with hilarious results that prove, to a badly-bruised and beaten Gru, that Vector's fortress is impenetrable.

That is, until Gru witnesses three young orphan girls, out selling cookies to raise money for their orphanage, allowed in to the compound when Vector learns they have his favorite cookies. So Gru, being evil and uncaring, makes immediate plans to adopt the girls, plant robot cookies into their supply of treats, and use them to gain access to Vector's home and get the shrink ray machine back.

But what Gru doesn't count on is that raising three little girls can, in itself, be more work than the most evil of plots. What starts off as a nuisance and a chore, necessary to put his plans into action, instead starts to change the lives of Gru, the girls, and everyone around them. And even as Gru fights to get back his Most Evil Supervillain title, he also grows to learn a lot more about life, and love, and what's really important than he'd ever knew possible.

Yeah, you can sort of see where things are going in Despicable Me early on, but it takes nothing away from the joy in getting there. Carell, even with the harsh European accent, is perfect as Gru, turning from evil to empathetic in the course of the film, in scenes that go from hilarious to touching and everything in between. Visually the film is a treat for the eyes, the animation oddly quirky and perfect for the story. Happily, even all those yellow guys, Gru's minions, don't take over things like such supporting characters usually do in these films; instead, they remain wholly entertaining, surprisingly fresh and funny, and provide some great moments in the story without stealing them from other characters.

You won't find a lot of depth of story or character here, but on the other hand the silliness and slight story and appealing characters all come together to make Despicable Me a charming film worth seeing, even owning on DVD. It's feel-good animation that comes from the heart, and also provides some hearty laughs; who could ask for more? **** - Reel Awesome