A rare demonstration of “the competition closing the gap on Pixar.” I think the last one I saw that deserved this title was Over the Hedge which also had Steve Carel. The latter’s success owes more to its source material, a daily newspaper strip which is rare these days. I have watched others: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (wasn’t worth the electrons to write about), Robots (so so), Astroboy (another demo of Nic Cage needing the money) and The Ant Bully (small wonder it torpedoed the studio behind Jimmy Neutron).
I like the premise: Gru is a Bond-like villain trying to make a big score (stealing the Moon) for the international attention, fame and whatever else motivates these types. He’s a cross between Blofeld and Wile E Coyote. The three little girls who bring out the best in him were meant to be a diversion for stealing a Chinese shrink ray. It’s a more original story regarding its means on how the relationship develops because the outcome is a given; Despicable‘s main audience is children because Pixar’s rivals haven’t found out how to attract adults beyond this cynical motivation. It is amusing to see Gru embracing his newfound parental role, especially during the ending sequence with a well-known Bee Gees tune.
Therefore Despicable earns my personal endorsement as an animation buff so check it out if you haven’t seen this. We wanted to catch it in theaters last Summer but other more pressing or entertaining options came up, namely our 2010 trip to Vegas. Do I regret missing it, say with the Alamo Drafthouse treatment? Maybe. I’m not sure what could be added to the experience…clips from The Office seems weak, iCarly isn’t much better. With Pixar, you can show all the shorts and historical cartoons the famous studio did before it became Disney’s savior. At least Despicable will age well and be enjoyable in years to come since its jokes aren’t locked to a specific point in time as say the whole Shrek franchise.