"Despicable Me" juxtapose to "Toy Story 3"

Rating: 6/10 (15 July 2010)

"Despicable Me" is centered around main character Gru voiced by a foreign sounding Steve Carell. Gru's main intention or only intention in life shall I say is to become the world's most renowned super-villain. His plan to achieve this status? Pull off the most insane heist known to man of course, steal the moon. But being the slouch Gru is, Gru must defeat his arch enemy Vector voiced by an underwhelming Jason Segal. Seeking help for his heist, Gru decides that adopting three orphan girls will be the missing ingredient to his heist. Will Gru pursue his evil plan, or will he eventually have a change of heart for the three little orphan girls?
Of course being an animated film, characters need a voice to give them soul, right? Of course they do, let's not be silly! Steve Carell voicing the lead character Gru is probably the only thing this film has going for it. His accent is so goofy that you just buy it and roll with it. His delivery as always is spot on, making even the weakest of jokes seem funny. So in summary Steve Carell does exceptional work here. I wish I could compliment the rest of the cast here which is a disappointment considering the film has such an expansive cast of comedians. As I said earlier, Jason Segal as Gru's enemy Vector is extremely underwhelming. His voice is both annoying and conventional almost seeming like a knock off of Mandark on "Dexter's Laboratory". Also the fact that majority of the potty jokes were handed to Segal doesn't help either. Danny Mcbride voices Gru's neighbor, a character that has no impact whatsoever to the major story line. Such talent should have not been wasted on such a minor position. "Get Him to the Greek's" Russell Brand probably does the most tolerable work next to Steve Carrell as Dr. Nefario, Gru's right hand man. But even this performance isn't a standout.
Perhaps what made the voice acting disappointing to me were the lines the actors had to read. Majority of the dialogue here resorts to toilet humor. It would have been okay if only some 5% of the jokes stooped down to this just to please the kids but when a whole movie's gags are based around this it becomes incomprehensibly annoying. Doing this really creates a barrier for likable character development. Sure the film is a cartoon, thus creating a world and characters larger than life but with clever writing even a rock can become a character in which you connect with.
So maybe I was a bit spoiled with the animated masterpiece "Toy Story 3" that came out last month but seeing "Despicable Me" helped me realize something. It helped me realize why Pixar's movies work so well and other animated movies fall short of their glory. It's because above all else, story comes first. Not the voice talent, not the jokes, not the slapstick, but the main ingredient that makes any film in general enjoyable: the story. Pixar makes sure that everything is serviced to the story and not by it's minor counterparts. Contrary to "Despicable Me", it relies on it's gags and it's star talent. This is something if any film in general relies on it fails. May lessons be learned.