Viewed once in theaters in July 2010
Seeing a movie centered on a supervillain doesn't sound like the most amazing thing to do. We usually cringe at (or secretly love to hate) villains. I mean, come on, they're the bad guys! Doing bad things! They're supposed to lose; now you're telling me we're cheering for one?
Yeah, if he's weirdly shaped, has a Russian accent, is the leader of thousands of initially-annoying-eventually-hilarious minions, and has a soft spot for adorable little orphan girls. Honestly, as weird as it sounds, Gru (the world's #1 supervillain) is not such a bad guy after all. Even after he's destroyed children's dreams, shoved kids around, and blown up basically anything he doesn't like, we still wind up liking the guy. Maybe it's that grotesquely long nose...
For the first film from a fledgling animation studio, this movie is not that bad. Sure, it's lacking in the truly funny jokes and it doesn't quite have the heart or "awwww-factor" that Pixar has, but it's definitely entertaining to watch and has a great moral of "maybe it's not so bad to be a hero instead of a villain after all." But I'm not going to tell you the entire movie storyline, just that it's funny, original, and super family-oriented.
NEGATIVES:
>>Profanity isn't here except for a few immature statements, like 'Oh, poop!' or 'kick your butt.'
>>Violence is rather common--I mean, it's a cartoon, the main character is a bad guy, and he's fighting other bad guys to steal stuff. Thus, in very cartoony fashion, characters get smacked, thrown around, shoved off of planes, zapped with shrink rays, blown up with rockets (only showing smoke on the face), and punch each other. It's very much like watching an animated Three Stooges movie.
>> Not much spiritual content beyond the occasional allusion to something, including the three orphan girls praying before bedtime.
>> Alcohol is never used, and is only seen when a man is trying to protect a landmark "World's Largest Beer Can."
>> Sexual content is confined to potty humor and silly dancing. One character likes to dance, um, shall we say, a certain way...
On the whole, I liked this film. It was a bit forgettable and not really outstanding, especially in today's world of Pixar's groundbreaking technology and originality. I recommend it for families with small children, or for teenagers who have nothing better to do. :)
3 1/2 out of 6 stars.
So that everyone (including myself) may benefit from it, please feel free to leave your own personal opinion of this film.
Plugged In Movie Reviews
Internet Movie Database
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