Despicable Me

I was a little bit worried about Despicable Me. The crowning glory of all family films – Toy Story – has only just left the building. The book was finally closed on Shrek’s fairytale. The king of computer animation, Disney’s Pixar, is basking in the glory of a flush of beautiful and critically acclaimed animations – and they keep getting better with every new idea. How can a new animation film hope to stand beside such competition? Not only that, but I found out Russell Brand is one of the leading characters. I have a very particular aversion to Brand in any form; non-representative animation included.
I can safely say, with doubts banished to the far corners, Despicable Me is one of the funniest, light-hearted, and clever films I will see this year.
Steve Carell stars as the twisted, polo-neck wearing Gru: a villain whose lack of success has confined him to the horrors of suburbia. Always trying to cement himself as the Greatest Villain of All Time, Gru is horrified when a complete unknown manages to steal the Great Pyramid. In order to win back his reputation, Gru comes up with the ultimate heist: stealing the moon. However, in order to fulfil his dream, Gru must first do battle with his nemesis – the super-nerd Vector. Gru hatches a plan to adopt three orphaned girls to deploy their cookie-selling skills and get him past Vector – but when he starts to form a bond with them, he realises that being the Bad Guy isn’t what’s really important in life.
At times hilarious and at others heart wrenching, Despicable Me guarantees to entertain you. It may even appeal to The Youth – it’s sound-tracked by Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D fame. One of the best comic aspects of the film for me was the fabulously awful adoption homeowner Miss Hattie: a Sarah Palinesque, twin-set wearing, evil Stepmother. Played by Saturday Night Live performer Kristen Wiig, her sickly sweet voice and pervasive hostility was as hilarious as it was terrifying. The audience is almost relieved that Gru, a nefarious criminal, takes the poor little girls away from her harpy-like clutches.
And that is the real beauty of this film: it is one of the very few portrayals of a single father, nay, an unmarried single father, that is actually positive. It is not fashionable to show a single man as a loving parent-figure, particularly for three cute schoolgirls. It brought something refreshingly original to the much-exploited plot of ‘Criminal Fights Criminal (Except One is the Nice Really)’.
Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, Despicable Me is a highly enjoyable film that does not resort to toilet humour to make little children laugh and leave adults bored out their minds. I even thought Russell Brand was, I admit, funny: a real triumph for any film. And as with all vaguely successful films these days, I cannot wait for the sequel.