by Tom Stewart

Created on: July 30, 2010

Despicable Me (2010)

Directors: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud

Starring: (voices) Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Julie Andrews

Rated: PG

This is a pleasant and clever animated film about a super 'bad' villain who accidentally becomes a super ‘dad’ villain. The story is about Gru, voiced by Steve Carell, who is one of the world’s most notorious super villains. But with age setting in he has found himself being outdone by a younger super villain named Vector, voiced by Jason Segel. In order to prove he is still the world's best super villain, Gru decides he is going to steal the ultimate prize – the moon. To do this he’ll first need to steal a special shrink ray gun. But the problem is Vector has already stolen the gun and has it stored away safely in his impenetrable fortress. So Gru decides to adopt three orphans to help him gain access to the fortress by selling Girl Scout Cookies to Vector.

It’s quite an original story and a breath of fresh air from the many predictable copy-cat animated movies lately. It’s also well-written with plenty of comedic scenes for the kids and a few for the adults. And like any good movie it has it’s highs and lows where you’ll be laughing one minute and holding back a tear the next. One of the highlights of the movie is the acting job by Steve Carell. Known for his role on the TV show ‘The Office’ and movies like ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’ and ‘Date Night’, Carell was starting to seem like a one-trick pony. But with the character Gru, he not only changes his voice , but he also changes his style of comedy. It may have only been a voice acting job but it definitely shows that he does have some range in his acting skills and is capable of portraying much more interesting characters. The movie is also full of many adorable characters from the three 'cute as a button orphans' Margo, Edith, and Agnes played by Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher, and the many 'Twinkie-like' minions that are sure to be one of the biggest collectible toys this year. The movie has a little something for everyone and is a great movie for the whole family. It’s easily one of the best animated movies to hit theaters in some years. And rumor has it that a sequel is already in the works, naturally.

 I give the movie 4 ½ out of 5 fluffy unicorns. "It’s so fluffy!"

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