Despicable Me

I have returned, and I bring with me a film review! I've been excited to see 'Despicable Me' for a while, and I went to see it a few days ago. Armed with popcorn and candy I went in with nervous expectation - I was hoping it would be good, it looked just so cute; and I wasn't disappointed, thank goodness.
Here's my review:

Despicable Me

Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher

If you’re looking for a sweet family movie with plenty of laughs for both kids and grown-ups, then you’ll definitely enjoy ‘Despicable Me’.
The movie starts off intriguingly, with super villain Gru (Steve Carell with an accent) going about his daily routine in his typical evil way; he blasts coffee shop customers with his freeze ray to get to the front of the line and heads home in his monstrous and obviously ‘home-made’ vehicle. After having a nice chat with the neighbor about his lawn-soiling dog Gru heads inside his lovely abode, which also houses his lab. Inside this lab we get our first look at Gru’s little yellow minions, which are the main source of the film’s slapstick comedy, and the evil scientist Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), whom Gru informs of his plan to steal the moon and become the world’s #1 villain. Unfortunately his plans are thwarted when the bank refuses to give him a loan, and a new villain on the scene, Vector (Jason Segel), is anticipating and spoiling his every move. Super-genius Gru then gets a super-genius idea and adopts three girls, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher) to unwittingly help carry out his sinister plot. Unfortunately poor Gru didn’t count on the bond that would form between them, throwing another monkey wrench into the mix.
By no means is ‘Despicable Me’ groundbreaking, awe-inspiring, or completely perfect; but the creators were able to take something flat and make it into something heartwarming and memorable. The characters especially were well-done, and served as a perfect base for the film. Gru was not overly outrageous or ridiculous, and he was surprisingly relatable and entertaining; his flashbacks to his childhood dream of getting to the moon and his mother’s (Julie Andrews) constant indifference were also not overdone or misplaced, and provided an appropriately short and light back story. The girls were just cute and spirited enough without being annoying in either sense, and were the perfect foil for the crusty Gru. They pulled on heartstrings and mustered laughs without it feeling contrived or overdone. The weakest link in the character chain was super villain rival Vector. Providing mild laughs, the villain with a strange obsession with sea creatures had no back story for attachment, and just didn’t have enough personality to keep up.
‘Despicable Me’ is an excellent and entertaining blend; it was able to take old yawn-worthy jokes and slapstick and somehow make them funny again (with a little help from the minions), and it is endearing enough that you actually care to see a warm and fuzzy ending for the characters, who really aren’t so despicable.