Muffin Minions

Okay, so a few weeks ago I talked about Pixar's supremacy in the realm of modern animation in the movie industry. During this I had a quick, less-than-loving comment referring to Shrek, another animated movie series which finally (thank the gingerbread man) has ended. Shrek, along with other (better movies) such as Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon, have all been produced by DreamWorks Animation. DreamWorks is essentially Pixar's younger, less attractive brother. While they have had their share of witty, fun-loving films, they've always seemed to be trailing behind the masterful, moving story telling Pixar seems able to slip seamlessly into their movies; like a chocolate laxative into a batch of brownie batter. So DreamWorks has always been the one who gets the brief spotlight whilst their bowels are opened in the middle of the party; but now, while they sit on the toilet, they finally get a laugh as they watch Pixar walk under the bucket of iced pickle-juice they set on top of the door frame.

That wonderful bucket of formaldehyde is Despicable Me. Now, given DW's past exploits, I expected I would have seen the greatest moments this movie had to offer within the previews. I was happily mistaken. While some of the funniest moments were encapsulated by the trailers, I was also pleasantly surprised with several unexpected laughs.

Now, I should make a quick note before continuing: DreamWorks only had a small part in the making of this film, Universal and the creator's of Ice Age were the main brains of the operation; but I still have to give DW props for supporting them. Now, continuing on.

The plot was also deeper and generally better than expected. While I wouldn't say it "tugged at the heart-strings" (which, by the way, makes me wonder what people mean by that phrase. What are "heart-strings"? Why would we want something tugging at them? It sounds painful and potentially fatal if you ask me.), it did add a level of depth and compassion to the main character Gru. I think this is where the movie truly triumphs, as it does an incredible job of the somewhat bland and standard "bad guy to good guy" theme. There are parts where you truly feel sorry for Gru, and others where you're happy for him. Now, for those of you wondering where those "unexpected laughs" were that I mentioned earlier; well, you can wrap duct tape around your vocal cords and wait a sentence or so.

While Gru and the three orphan girls remain the main focus, about 80% of the comic relief comes from the Minions (those little yellow dudes in the movie poster above). These guys are hilarious. They're quirky, rowdy, dispensable, fun-loving, and speak a great form of gibberish (somewhere between the Sims and Mario). Funnily enough, my favorite thing about them was the fact that they each had bland, individual names (Tim, Bob, Mark, Phil etc.). Almost all the movie's laughs involve their yellow antics in some fashion, and I think DreamWorks could easily make a short film dedicated to them; and I would make sure to see it.

The other factor that truly makes Despicable Me great is the art design. Everything has that Ice Age / DreamWorks feel, but seems more polished and refined. What truly got me, aside from the originality of characters such as Gru, Vector and the Minions, was the environment design. I found myself somewhat awestruck by the rocket launch sequence, but then again, I'm a sucker for any and all things outer-space.

Despicable Me is a fantastic film chalk-full of lovable characters, great humor, and satisfying story-telling that sums up to one worthwhile film I would highly suggest going to see...if for nothing else other than the cookie-army-robots...that's right, cookie-army-robots! I can't even make up something that outlandish.

Score one for DreamWorks (and Universal as well as Illumination Entertainment).

> EpicError