Loved the Touching Parts More

Rating: 7/10 (10 September 2010)

I watched the 2D version of "Despicable Me" with my kids this afternoon. The trailers were not really very good or enticing for me to be excited about it. It was honestly quite a mixed bag for me.
The story involved a super villain named Gru whose status was threatened by a nerdy upstart named Vector, who upped the evil ante by stealing the Great Pyramid of Egypt. (Is it my imagination or is Vector a dig at Bill Gates?) Anyway, to top that heist, Gru plots on stealing the Moon itself. To do that, Gru saw the need to adopt three orphan girls, named Margo, Edith and Agnes, in order to infiltrate Vector's lair. Initially, harsh and compassion-less towards the children, Gru eventually warms up and ends up actually caring for the kids. But can his love for the kids triumph over his obsession to be the top villain in the world?
The initial scenes building up the story was too slow for me. In fact my wife and I both confessed to have dozed off in these parts. However, for me the fun and action begins when Gru went to adopt the girls. I liked the movie the most when it showed heart, and the developing love and sense of fatherhood of Gru towards the kids. Those two bedtime story reading scenes were the highlights of the whole film for me. The whole rivalry thing with Vector was not too good for me, mostly owing to the "blah" way Vector was rendered and written.
The comedy could be too rude (like how Gru acted during his interview with Ms. Hattie of the orphanage), or even gruesome (like red stuff coming out of a spiked box when a girl gets caught inside). However, when the movie tones down its hyperactivity and cranks up the human drama, I can't help but be very much touched by these scenes. Gru's scenes with Little Agnes (who positively loved fluffy unicorns!) were all executed to tear-jerking perfection.
The voice acting by Steve Carrell was also instrumental for us to actually root for Gru despite his initial villainy. I was very surprised to see at the end that it was no less than Ms. Julie Andrews who voiced the funny character of Gru's mother. The voices of the three girls, especially the very cute Agnes, were very well rendered. The yellow blob-like Minions of Gru were also portrayed very cutely (but what are they, really?).
Compared to the excellent animated films so far seen this year, which included "Toy Story 3" and "How to Train Your Dragon," "Despicable Me" falls behind in my opinion. The start may be quite annoying and uninteresting, however investing more time to watch will make this rather brash comedy prove to be a most heart-warming adventure instead.