My Favourite Movies: Despicable Me

For some reason I missed this at the movies and only picked it up by chance when it hit the cheap box at my local supermarket. I think that I may have picked up on the fact that it was made by the same producer of Ice Age (which I liked) so gave it a shot. Needless to say I found this to be one of the funniest films I’ve seen in years.

The story revolves around super-criminal Gru who finds himself being outclassed by rival (and much younger) super-criminal Vector. Determined to get back on top (and impress his hard to please mother) he determines on the crime of the century – to steal the Moon. In order to do that he first needs to steal a classified shrink ray which Vector takes from under his nose. After failing to gain entry into Vector’s hideout he decides to use the services of three orphan girls selling cookies door to door – but first he has to adopt them. For the first time in his life he has to relate to children and become a responsible adult – at least as responsible as he can be – whilst still fighting the bad fight and coming out on top in the criminal underworld. He still has a Moon to steal and, if he can make it in time, a children’s ballet recital to attend. Slowly, against his will and his better instincts he begins to love his little charges and eventually does everything in his power to save them from his arch enemy. Of course he can’t do this on his own. Luckily he has countless minions to help him in every way possible and sometimes, just sometimes, in useful ways too.

I think that Despicable Me will always be remembered for introducing the little yellow Minions to the world who, pretty universally, fell in love with the guys (at least I presume that they’re guys!). They have since become part of western culture and you see them just about everywhere and on everything from slippers, to cakes, to plush toys, to blimps. Just thinking about them makes me smile. Some of the things they did in both films (including the rather disappointing sequel) where frankly hilarious and reduced me to tears of laughter. They certainly stole every scene as far as I was concerned. Surprisingly for me I loved the kids in this film too – particularly little Agnes who only wanted a unicorn to call her own. You know a film works for me when I even like the children in it – OK they’re CGI but the point stands. As often with these films there’s a whole host of in-jokes, subtle detail and elements you’ll certainly miss if you watch the film just once. I think I’ve seen it maybe 4-5 times so far and, apart from still finding it both funny and touching, am still picking up on small things I missed before. That’s the beauty of so many of these films. They are packed with pop culture references and it’s almost part of the fun finding them and figuring them out.

If you haven’t seen this for whatever reason or if you haven’t seen it for a while (of course if you have young children you’ve probably already seen it several hundred times I’m guessing) then I heartedly recommend you giving the DVD or pay-by-view a spin. Switch your phone on to silent, grab something to eat and let your inner child out for 91 minutes. You’ll feel much better for it.