Despicable Me

Despicable Me – Evil genius, Gru, finds out that a new, young maverick named Vector has pulled off ‘the Crime of the Century’. Bitterly disappointed that someone is stealing his infamous notoriety, Gru hatches an even more dastardly plan of his own. He adopts 3 orphans because he sees an opportunity to use them for his own ends, but despite himself it isn’t long before he begins to care for them and he must make a decision about what is more important, his girls or his reputation…

Despicable Me (2010) – Director: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29323367

Rating: U

Running Length: 95 mins

Starring: Steve Carell, Russell Brand, Jason Segel

Genre: Animated, Crime, Comedy

REVIEW: ‘DESPICABLE ME’

With animation powerhouses Pixar and DreamWorks saturating the market, lesser known animation studios often struggle to stand out from the crowd, regularly using unoriginal ideas and poor visuals. Fortunately, Illumination Entertainment exploded onto the scene with the highly original ‘Despicable Me’, introducing the world to supervillain, Gru, his bizarre and manic minions and the three orphan girls who become his whole world.

Superhero movies have become the go-to for entertaining kids so turning this trope on its head to focus solely on supervillains, without apology or even a mention of a hero to save the day, makes Gru rely on his conscience to do the right thing despite having a lifetime of doing exactly the opposite.

His now-ever-popular Minions steal the show with their daft slapstick, incoherent language and desperate need to impress Gru at every turn. Gru himself, as the comical straight man is incredibly enjoyable to watch, especially his almost-constant state of annoyance at the ineptitude of those around him. The plot is a little dull and predictable so adult viewers may not be quite so impressed but the ups and downs of the story, the high-tech gadgets in Gru’s gothic house of villainy and the silliness of the comedy will be enough to keep kids on the edges of their seats and repeating the minion’s nonsensical words for the foreseeable future!

CONTENT: IS ‘DESPICABLE ME’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The girls, Margo, Edith and Agnes are orphans and desperately want to be adopted. The youngest, Agnes, prays for a new mom and dad who are nice; however the woman who runs the orphanage is mean, saying things like ‘You’re never gonna get adopted, Edith, you know that, don’t you?’ and Edith dejectedly replies ‘I know’. She also puts children in the ‘box of shame’ which is a cardboard box turned upside down and they can only see out of a small hole. However, the children who are seen in it are never distressed, instead they at resigned and it seems to be a regular, arbitrary occurrence.

Most of the violence is slapstick in nature although as it is comedic, it could be imitable, especially for younger kids. One minion hits another over the head with a hammer, it cries out in pain but suffers no other ill effects.

When at Gru’s house, Edith finds an iron maiden (a torture device which comprises of a man-sized coffin with large spikes inside). She enters it and before anyone can stop it, the doors close on her and a deep red liquid seeps out from underneath. The others gasp in horror, however the door opens and Edith is fine.

A minion is shot with an anti-gravity ray and flies out of an open window, crying out in surprise. It is seen at various times throughout the movie and although it is not distressed, it never returns home.

The finale of the movie is quite intense with two planes being connected by a wire and Gru and the girls having to jump from one to another. One of the girls is trapped on one plane then falls from it and it appears that she could be killed, however all is not lost.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘DESPICABLE ME’ FOR KIDS?

‘Despicable Me’ is a unique tale of supervillainy, chock full of silliness and characters that kids never cease to tire of and, despite some darker moments than a lot of kids may be used to, we feel this movie is appropriate for all ages.

Violence: 1/5 (mostly slapstick in nature)
Emotional Distress: 1/5 (the girls’ situation as orphans could be upsetting for some kids although there is no mention of their biological parents or why they are no longer around)
Fear Factor: 1/5 (Vector is a little scary and has no issue with putting others in extreme danger, Gru is often indifferent to others but stops short of harming anyone)
Sexual Content: 0/5
Bad Language: 0/5
Dialogue: 1/5 (the woman who runs the orphanage and Gru often say mean things to the girls)
Other Notes: Deals with themes of villainy, orphans, reputation, protecting the vulnerable, love, crime, hero-worship and family.

Words by Laura Record

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