Retro Review: Despicable Me

What happened to the good old days when animated movies used to be mindless forms of entertainment? Maybe it's not the movies. Maybe it's me. As I've gotten older, I'm noticing these beautifully-rendered movies are coming equipped with some great messages, messages that pack a powerful punch. Despicable Me is no exception to that rule as it enforces the power of love and makes us question the importance of what we truly value in our lives.

I know, we're talking about a kids movie here, not an Oscar-nominee. Kids movies are supposed to be filled with highly-imaginative characters and insane fun. This movie not only harbors both, but doesn't ruin the aforementioned message in the process. After a short, fun scene in Egypt, you're quickly introduced to Gru, powerful supervillain bent on performing the greatest heist of all time. It doesn't take long to realize how big of a bad guy he really is. He's a jerk, but he's a fun kind of jerk a la the first Iron Man. He's aided in his conquests by the old and clever Dr. Nefario, but primarily by his little minions. There's so much going on with the minions even when there's only a handful on screen at a time. I've watched this movie multiple times now and still manage to find new things happening in the background that freshly entertain me. Despite their hilarious heroics, little Agnes steals the show. 

Agnes is one of three sisters who live in what appears to be an orphanage. Not giving away too much, Gru decides to adopt them in his efforts to complete his grand heist. Seeing the interactions between a hermit and three vibrants kids had me cracking up and anxious to see what kind of craziness would ensue next. Agnes is the type of you kid you always want around because they're so cute, but you have to watch with three eyes because they're so unpredictable. 

It's the story of two worlds when it comes to animated movies. Because you have artists capturing the perfect shots at the perfect time, it should be easy to do an animated movie well. Unfortunately, there are some cases where these movies focus too much on trying to get a little kid to laugh and not so much on quality which would actually appease an entire audience, old and young. Despicable Me never falls victim to that mistake. In fact, it goes in quite the opposite direction doing almost everything right. It's the kind of movie I'll be watching for years to come still loving it like it was the first time. I give it a 98.