Without further ado, I would like to present to you my first guest review! *(with minor editorial changes made by me...Juan likes to tell me how he has impressed even military aptitude test proctors with his brilliance, but his spelling is atrocious)
Being evil doesn’t always mean being bad…Does it?
Rated: PG for rude humor and mild action.
For ages 8 and up.
Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) is your atypical super-villain with an odd Russian accent. He lives in a dreary looking house that sticks out like a sore thumb in a small American neighborhood with a secret lair that is full of Oompa Loompa-looking minions that each have a very distinct personality. Gru's number one ambition in life is to be known as the greatest super-villain in all the world. There is just one problem…the biggest heist the world has ever seen was not done by him, but by a younger, more cunning villain by the name of Vector (voiced by the hilarious Jason Segel). Gru continues to look for help in his biggest scheme of all, stealing the moon! His evil plot comes complete with an Igor like assistant who creates very unique and sometimes strange weapons, and a plan to steal a shrink-ray, adopt three orphan girls that will challenge him in every way, and the use of robot cookies to once again prove to everyone that he is the number one villain of all time. What he doesn’t realize is that somewhere deep within himself, his Grinch-like heart is about to grow three sizes bigger than before.
Even with the predictable set up, Despicable Me still made me laugh, even at times that I didn’t want to. It uses a wrong vs. right atmosphere to teach a lesson, but strangely uses the wrong side of that equation to bring it on home. With a bit of mild humor and a ray-gun blast or two of violence, this family friendly movie allows laughs for the young and old.
Carell does a wonderful job voicing Gru and his hilarious “glasses wearing” helpers steal every scene even though you can’t understand a word they are saying. The rest of the voice cast is filled out by Nickelodeons “iCarley” Miranda Cosgrove as the oldest of the orphans, Kristen Wiig as the eccentric “mom- like” figure that is in charge of the “Home for Girls” orphanage, and the wonderfully talented and always surprisingly funny Julie Andrews as Gru’s un-accepting mother.
If you are looking for a fun movie that doesn’t make you think all that much, this is the movie for you. It is 95 minutes of mindless entertainment that has a feel good ending. I will be honest, I am not going to run off to the theaters to see it again, but I might take a gander at it when it comes out in a few months on DVD.
*The credits at the end of the movie are worth a second look for sure. Make sure you stay until the very end!
Juan's rating for this movie:
If you are interested in guest reviewing on my blog (for anything children/YA friendly), feel free to go here and contact me!
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