Throwback Thursday Review: 'Despicable Me 2'

Sorry for the delay but I put this review on the back burner in order to publish my early thoughts on Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, this week I'm reviewing Despicable Me 2 to coincide with the release of Despicable Me 3. Next week I'll be finishing out my Spider-Man reviews with a Throwback Thursday Review of The Amazing Spider-Man and Recollection Reflection Review of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Reviews that will appear throughout July include Throwback Thursday Reviews for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Inception, and Shaun of the Dead, a Triple-R Review over Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and reviews of new releases War for the Planet of the Apes, Dunkirk, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, The Emoji Movie, and Atomic Blonde.

'Despicable Me 2' Review

Nominated For: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song "Happy" (written by Pharrell Williams).

In Despicable Me 2, Gru has grown accustomed to his transition from dishonorable baddie to adoptive dad when he's approached by the Anti-Villain League to help bring down a mysterious, malevolent force. Gru then teams up with adept agent Lucy Wilde to go undercover and ascertain the identity of the heinous wrongdoer behind it all.

Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud reprise their respective roles as co-directors of the sequel, which is also penned by returning writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Paul and Daurio escalate their parody to the realm of secret spies and dating in addition to furthering their entertaining examination of parenting. The duo ensure the script feels familiar to the first with habitual heart and humor that made the precursor successful in the first place. 

The comedy's certainly catered towards children as the Minions are bestowed a raised profile before their Minions movie. If you're entertained by these yellow creatures, then you'll get your fill of their shenanigans and they do actually have a more poignant purpose this time around. Elsewhere, the animation's an improvement over the original due to a bigger budget and progression of technology but Illumination's renderings don't compare to Disney or Pixar's masterful work. The storytelling's substandard with accustomed aspects all around the animated field but there's enough sentiment for Despicable Me 2 to coast off.

Steve Carell lends an outrageous, over-the-top goofiness and a does of sentiment to Gru that sticks the landing while Kristen Wiig joins the fun as the loopy Lucy Wilde. Her dynamic opposite Carell remains one of Despicable Me 2's prime points as the two extrapolate an oddly entertaining pairing.

Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher all reprise their roles as Margo, Edith, and Agnes embodying the endearing attitudes that made them memorable in the first place. The sisters consistently and convincingly portray the encapsulating attributes of children that in-turn enables the sentiment of the story. 

Meanwhile, Benjamin Bratt hams it up as the insanely masculine El Macho but doesn't bring much to the character aside from an eccentric personality. Russell Brand's elderly Dr. Nefario also isn't ingrained too deeply in the script but has a few memorable moments to shine.

 

In summary, Despicable Me 2 is almost equally endearing as Despicable Me but it never quite reaches the endearing elements of the original. The story's sweet, the characters are charming, and the jokes land but there's not really a purpose to the madness other than furthering the franchise.

Film Assessment: B-

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Despicable Me'

Sorry for the string of delayed Throwback Thursday Reviews these past few weeks but I went to an advanced screening of Baywatch on Thursday and Comicpalooza Friday through Sunday. This Throwback Thursday may seem random but I didn't have another open slot to review Despicable Me before Despicable Me 3's release. I should have several reviews coming this week as I traverse further into the Alien Anthology leading up to Alien: Covenant this weekend, It's looking as though I'll have one Alien Anthology review a day this week. If you missed my review of Alien, you can find it at that corresponding blue hyperlink, and the next Throwback Thursday will be Prometheus to further tie-in to the release of Alien Covenant. Other reviews you can anticipate this May include Throwback Thursday Reviews over Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and new reviews like Alien: Covenant, Baywatch, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

'Despicable Me' Review

Despicable Me follows the exploits of vile villain Gru, who vows to steal the moon so he can be the greatest villain that ever lived. There's just one caveat, the adoption of three young orphan girls becomes embroiled in his scheme and he soon discovers his heart of gold. Despicable Me wasn't particularly groundbreaking for the animation genre, but it's a charming animated feature that has a nice dosage of sentimental satire.

Despicable Me was co-directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud with a script penned by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, and Sergio Pablos. The screenwriting team properly parody villainy and parenthood while the duo's direction helps to maintain an emotional element and sense of humor. One thing that I feel has become a source of contention for this franchise are the minions but quite frankly, the minions are a stroke of creative genius.

For starters, they fit into the narrative naturally considering most baddies have their own crew of cronies. Then there's the fact they appeal to children based on appearance alone and are semi-effective immature comedic relief. Even when they're annoying, it's easy to see why they're around because it's simply the ideal marketing ploy. The animation in Despicable Me isn't particularly pretty and looks rather substandard, but that's usually the case for Illumination Entertainment animated efforts.

Elsewhere, Despicable Me bolsters a fun soundtrack and an impressive comedic voice cast. Steve Carell doesn't just provide a goofy, over-the-top demeanor to Gru, but instills an underlying humanity to the vulnerable villain. The film really hits this home with Gru's backstory and the inclusion of Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher as subsequent adorable adoptees Margo, Edith, and Agnes. Each of the girl's really bring a sense of realism to the project, as I have three sisters and am constantly reminded of them every-time I watch Despicable Me. The respective portrayals feel incredibly authentic because I've witnessed those traits in my own siblings from time-to-time and the screenplay captures the family dynamic and childlike wonder beautifully.

Meanwhile, Jason Segel plays the obnoxiously dweebish Vector, an ideal foil to Gru as a nerdy millennial Bond villain in contrast to Gru's evil antiquated ways. Vector's name in-of-itself is symbolic because a vector is a quantity with both magnitude and direction. He's a powerful force aware of his orientation. Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, directors Renaud and Coffin, and Jermaine Clement lend their voices to fill the supporting ensemble of eccentric characters encompassing the aged Dr. Nefario, Gru's apathetic mother, foreboding financier Mr. Perkins, gruesome girls orphanage head Miss Hattie, and a whole host of minions respectively.

While Despicable Me doesn't quite reach the heights of other triumphant animated features, it sustains a sense of fun and heart well throughout its ninety minute runtime. Despicable Me is an entertaining animated enterprise worth exploring for the laughs and tenderhearted message at its core.

Film Assessment: B

'Trolls' Review

Nominated For: Best Original Song "Can't Stop The Feeling" (written by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin, and Shellback).

In the world of Trolls, the trolls are the happiest beings alive and the Bergens are vile ogre-like creatures that have no positive outlook on life, except the joy from consuming a troll. When the Bergens invade Troll Village and kidnap many of its inhabitants for Trollstice, the Bergen holiday in which trolls are eaten, the troll princess Poppy must set out with the pessimistic troll Branch to rescue their friends.

Trolls is the latest animated film from Dreamworks Animation that's based on the troll dolls that have surged in popularity a few times since the 1960's, their attempt at a toy-turned successful animated film like The LEGO Movie. Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell co-direct Trolls and with the collaboration of their animators are able to create a vibrant fantasy world for the trolls to sing, dance, and hug in.

The soundtrack adds lots of fun to the flick, with a nice combination of covers on well known hits and some catchy original pop music, standing in to express the various messages about what it means to find happiness. The most interesting sequences in the film were in fact the song and dance numbers, that effectively use the eye-popping animation to convey some truly great visual storytelling. Trolls also features a celebrity ensemble voice cast with the likes of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Christine Baranski, Russell Brand, Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Jeffrey Tambor, and even The Big Bang Theory's Kunal Nayyar. 

Kendrick brings spunk to Princess Poppy and Timberlake plays up Branch's cynical nature, making for an interesting and humorous pairing onscreen. The voice cast as a whole do well in their respective roles but unfortunately many of the characters are anything beyond one-dimensional sketches of caricaturization as opposed to fully fleshed out characters. 

Trolls' major issue is it's lack of depth, character growth, and basic storytelling. The screenplay from Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger serves as a means of jumping from one set piece to the next, often using the songs as quick distraction. Aibel and Berger manage to write some funny jokes and positive messages for the feature but the film simply has a sporadic short attention span.

Trolls is suitable family entertainment that provides enough flashy colors and catchy pop music to enthrall children but has such little substance that adults won't be able to tolerate repeat viewing.

Film Assessment: C