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I wonder what it says about me that one of my templates for quality Fatherhood is a thieving evil genius with a heavy accent and the body shape of an appliance plug? Probably that I’m a bit of a sap: Despicable Me, the new animated movie from Chris Meledandri's Illumintation Entertainment, and featuring the voice talents of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, and Will Arnett, pulls on the heartstrings in a very calibrated manner, but the phenomenal character design and spot-on casting give it enough charm that only a cynical moviegoer would begrudge the film its quota of “Awwww…”
Despicable Me is about an underachieving supervillain named Gru, who is well past his villainous prime. When I say Gru is a “villain” though, I mean that in the same way that Noynoy Aquino is a politician - villainy is simply Gru’s vocation, what he does for a living, not some sort of statement as to his inner character. His personality is more that of a down-on-his-luck small businessman, trying to keep the company afloat as he deals with an unruly labor force - the adorable Minions - and a lab assistant who is both more intelligent and more over-the-hill than he is (Dr. Nefario, an almost unrecognizable Russell Brand). Galvanized by the sudden appearance on the scene of a new villainous prodigy, Gru hatches an ambitious plan to secure his place in the pantheon of great villains, but he quickly becomes sidetracked by a more chaotic force: three young girls: Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Eisie Fisher) who come to live with him.
Stripped of the supervillain trappings, the premise behind the film is an old one: hard hearted man whose life is altered by the love of an innocent. The plot takes the arc which you would more or less expect: disruption of routine, growing affection, unwise rejection, and final redemption, never really deviating the course (although one unresolved conflict does exist, should the producers decide to pursue a sequel). Yet even if you can telegraph almost every part of the ride, this doesn’t dilute from the joy of the journey.
Animation and design in Despicable Me is heavily stylized, the film’s artists taking great pains to externalize the personality of the characters by means of their physical appearance. As a result, while no one in Despicable Me is really more than meets the eye”, there is a unity to each character that is very appealing. Vector just screams of a kooky desperation, while Mr. Perkins the head of the Bank of Evil, exudes menace (and a boss-ness, because of the intentional resemblance to a certain famous comic strip character). The three children are perfect examples of this cohesion of character: Margo, is every bit the studious eldest child, Eisie the surly rebel, and as for Agnes... she’s designed to have your mind screaming “cute!” every time she appears on screen, or opens her mouth. (When watching the trailer, in the scene where she gets her “frowny face”, audiences have been known to cheer Gru’s reaction, even without context.)
Despicable Me Theatrical Offical Trailer #2 (XdarkcatX)
The triumph of the film’s character design, however, are the little Minions that are such an ubiquitous part of the film’s marketing campaign. Squat and yellow, looking for all the world like potatoes in overalls, the Minions are paradoxically both anonymous and filled with personality, stealing the scene whenever they show up, always giving the viewer something to laugh at even if they’re just in the background. Speaking an unintelligible language (which sounds like a tape run backwards at high speed) and enthusiastically violent, they’re Gru’s proxy children even before the three siblings arrive.
If the Minions are the source of much of the film’s humor, the heart of Despicable Me is indisputably Gru. Carrel’s voicework is in top form here, really capturing the tone of Gru’s moments of hapless frustration and confused affection. Gru is a protagonist which the audience can root for: watching Gru’s development over the course of the film is not a matter of seeing a bad man reform. Instead, we see a man exchange a role ill suited to him for one that he was born to play. It’s great watching him and the children find each other. That Gru would make an excellent father is hinted at early on in his treatment of the Minions, and the way he relates to the children by the end of the film could serve as a primer for Fatherhood. Amongst the lessons that could be learned: never break your promises, give your kids quality reading material (even if you have to make it yourself), don’t be afraid to show affection, and do let them fight their own battles - but always be ready to step in with a portable weapon of mass destruction.
I’ll admit it, I’ve always had a soft spot for evil geniuses, one that is probably shared by anyone who grew up more inclined towards academics than sports. With Megamind coming later in the year, it seems that 2010 is a milestone year for supervillains, but while the Will Ferrell film seems to be the type of satire geared more toward adults, Despicable Me is a true family film, and best viewed as such. While it doesn’t have the craft or polish of a Pixar film, it has almost as much charm, and will leave your heart feeling as fuzzy as an industrial size stuffed unicorn.
Despicable Me (finally) begins its run in Philippine theaters today, September 1, 2010.
Despicable Me's Gru. Image courtesy of Universal. For editorial purposes only.
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