Everything you want in animation

Rating: 8/10 (27 July 2015)

This film was the beginning to the super successful "Despicable Me" franchise. A second film followed three years later and right now we are experiencing the success of a prequel movie about the Minions. These Minions are probably the most famous aspect of the films so far, but I would not say they are the best really. It's just a perfect example of how to write animated characters. Really everybody from this film from five years ago is somewhat memorable: Gru, the Minions, the three girls, Vector, Vector's dad, the orphanage lady... And all these deliver in different areas. Gru carries the film, adds his own brand of humor, but also makes an impact in terms of drama as his transformation is the core of the film. Of course you could say that it was entirely predictable, but I did not feel that this takes away anything from the story or film in general. The three girls add some nice heart and emotions, but also lots of fun, especially in their interactions with the Minions. These Minions are the comedic soul of this film as all their scenes are really truly funny. Initially, I had a bit of a problem with the nerdy antagonist as he wasn't just convincing enough as the main villain, but looking at how this film is really about Gru becoming who he is at the end of the film and not about good defeats evil, it is fine the way it is. I guess that is also why we did not hear about Vector's dead at the end again, which is also okay, although I believe he is also interesting enough to carry his own film as the main antagonist.
"Despicable Me" runs for roughly 90 minutes and mostly works because of the smart writing. I won't give specific scenes, but there are really a lot of funny moments from start to finish (just one: when the Minions ask for kisses too, this one also helps that the film does not seem to take itself too seriously). In terms of emotion, there are of course the scenes when Gru is in the room of the three girls and reads them a night time story, the unicorn references (especially the one at the amusement park) or when Gru sees his real priorities and he is in space and rushes back to Earth to see the girls' play. Will he get there on time? This movie is the beginning of a real success story for everybody involved with this project. Coffin and Renaud were fairly unknown before they made this (apart from an Oscar nomination in the Animated Short category), but it shows that one great idea can instantly give you a career and you can build on this idea for many years to come. And that's what they did. The cast was obviously not unknown at all. Steve Carell, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig and the rest all had good careers in 2010 already, but this movie is nonetheless a worthy addition to their careers. I think this is truly a delightful watch, also for very young audiences, mostly thanks to the Minions. And you will find the usual approach of not becoming too serious if you take a look at characters swearing in here or how they bring back all the characters who seem to have disappeared. One minion defies gravity and flies up to the skies, but he is not dead. He is on the moon now still enjoying himself. And finally, the music is pretty good too. I especially enjoyed the song "Despicable Me", but this film also has some good music which already existed long before 2010. Certainly among the best animated films in recent history, I very much recommend "Despicable Me".