Voice Cast: Steve Carrell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Elsie Fisher,Julie Andrews
Direction: Chris Renaud & Pierre Coffin
Genre: Animation/Comedy
Duration: 95 Mins
IMDB Rating : 7.8/10

Indiatimes Review

Aptly titled, ‘Despicable Me’ is one of the cutest animation films I’ve seen in a long time. The characters are extremely lovable... lovable enough to melt any cynic’s stony heart which dismisses an animation film as a ‘kiddie’ film even before watching it. Though predominantly catering to kids, the story by no means is written solely for the under 15 age group and there lies its beauty. Even grown ups can identify with the film’s lead character Gru who isn’t as obnoxious as he would want others to believe so.

Hunched, bald and ugly Gru (Steve Carrell) is a super villain who aspires to be the best in the business. He thus plans to accomplish an impossible task with the help of his minions and friend cum in-house scientist Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) which will establish him as the greatest of all villains.

Gru plans to steal the moon! Gru thus approaches the ‘bank of evil’ to finance his over-the-top (literally) plan which they refuse as they give preference to financing a young egomaniacal villain called Vector instead. Gru however doesn’t get bogged down and decides to go ahead with his plan with the help of 3 orphan girls. Gru fakes his affection for the three initially to get his work done but how ends up becoming a doting dad of the three eventually forms the story.

In the first scene, you see Gru walking in style as if he owns the world. A crying kid grabs his attention. He makes a balloon animal for the kid only to burst it himself! The weirdness of Gru’s character evokes maximum laughter. The flashback scenes which show a baby Gru interacting with his uninspiring mother are simply hilarious.

Gru’s tiff with a much younger Vector, their different lifestyles, way of thinking and even houses beautifully showcase the generation gap and how the youth today treats their elders.

How the arrival of those 3 girls changes Gru’s life forever makes the film truly heart-warming and adorable.

Despicable Me is not just a humorous film as we would like to believe. The laughs are there but it’s the emotional genuineness that makes the film special.

The film is way better than Shrek Forever After and even Toy Story 3 in terms of its engaging quality.

Steve Carrell as Gru is perfect. The actor lends his weird humour to the character. Russell Brand is the only British actor who lends his voice for Dr Nefario and does it well. Amongst the three girls, youngest Agnes who loves unicorns and her daddy is the cutest. You will go ‘awww’ every time she appears onscreen!

Despicable Me is hilarious yet heart warming. This espionage parody will leave you with a smile much after the film is over...

Rating : 4