Despicable Me (film series)

DESPICABLE ME (PG)

D: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud

Universal/Illumination (Chris Meledandri, John Cohen & Janet Healy)

USA 🇺🇸 2010

95 mins

Animated

W: Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio

Mus: Heitor Pereira; Pharrell Williams

voices of: Steve Carell (Gru), Jason Segel (Vector), Russell Brand (Dr. Nefario), Kristin Wiig (Miss Hattie), Miranda Cosgrove (Margo), Dana Gaier (Edith), Elsie Fisher (Agnes)

While not as polished as Pixar animated movies, this is still decent entertainment for the family, with a good story about a super villain, Gru, and his 'minions' who hatch a nefarious plan to steal the moon.

To help Gru's plans to come into fruition, he must adopt three orphans girls, who at first are simply part of his evil plans but after a while he develops a paternal instinct and begins to start caring for them.

It's all quite cutesy & sweet, but there are good moments of humour, most of which comes from the idiotic minions.

I compared this to Pixar's The Incredibles, though as I said above, the animation isn't quite as meticulous as Pixar's work, although it will be just as appealing to youngsters.

7/10

When the world needed a hero, they called a villain

DESPICABLE ME 2 (PG)

D: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud

Universal/Illumination (Chris Meledandri & Janet Healy)

USA 🇺🇸 2013

98 mins

Animated

W: Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio

Mus: Heitor Pereira; Pharrell Williams

voices of: Steve Carell (Gru), Kristin Wiig (Lucy Wilde), Benjamin Bratt (El Macho), Miranda Cosgrove (Margo), Elsie Fisher (Agnes), Dana Gaier (Edith), Russell Brand (Dr. Nefario)

The overall cuteness of the first movie has gone but this sequel is every bit as entertaining.

Gru has shed his bad guy persona in order to be the father of the three orphan girls from the first movie but he still has a huge entourage of minions.

Meanwhile, an unknown villain is plotting a nefarious plan so Gru is hired by a secret organisation to 'think like a villain' in order to catch their man at large.

The animation is very well done and this is entertaining for both kids and adults, with some more fun, toe-tapping songs by Pharrell Williams and a good range of voice talent, including Kristen Wiig as Gru's partner/love interest.

The ending had me wondering if there's any more scope for a planned third movie. Personally, I think this franchise should be left alone now, although it's no surprise that the minions got their own spin-off film.

6/10

MINIONS (PG)

D: Pierre Coffin & Kyle Balda

Universal/Illumination (Chris Meledandri & Janet Healy)

US 2015

91 mins

Animated

W: Brian Lynch

Mus: Heitor Pereira

voices of: Pierre Coffin (Kevin / Stuart / Bob / The Minions), Sandra Bullock (Scarlet Overkill), Michael Keaton (Walter Nelson), Alison Janney (Madge Nelson), Steve Coogan (Professor Flux)

The huge success of the Despicable Me films made it inevitable that the minion characters from them would receive their own spin-off, and the resulting film had its own huge success.

The story explains the origins of the minion species, existing to serve only the worst of the worst throughout the history of the world. Set in the 1960's, three minions, Kevin, Stuart and Bob, are hired by an evil villainess who needs them for a plot to infiltrate and overthrow the Royal Family of England.

The animation is superb, but the humour isn't really on point, mostly because the dialogue is nonsensical mumblings of the strange little creatures. Fans of the Despicable Me films and young children won't be disappointed, but the movie isn't quite the little treat it potentially could have been.

6/10

DESPICABLE ME 3 (PG)

D: Pierre Coffin & Kyle Balda

Universal / Illumination (Chris Melidandri & Janet Healy)

US 🇺🇸 2017

90 mins

Animated

W: Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio

Mus: Heitor Pereira; Pharrell Williams

Voices of: Steve Carell (Gru / Dru), Kristen Wiig (Lucy Wilde), Trey Parker (Balthazar Bratt), Pierre Coffin (various minions), Miranda Cosgrove (Margo)

With the first two Despicable Me films and the Minions spin-off proving incredibly lucrative for the studios involved, it was inevitable that a third Despicable Me film would arise.

This time, former villain Gru unites with a long-lost brother to take on a former child star who has adopted a villainous persona and has stolen a valuable diamond. There’s a little more emphasis on the minions this time, even tying into the studio’s Sing series for no apparently reason.

For fans of the previous films and kids under 10, this should have enough to provide entertainment throughout the running time, but for everyone else it will feel like flogging a dead horse at this point.

5/10