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Title: Despicable Me (2010)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Steve Carell | ... | Gru (voice) | |
| Jason Segel | ... | Vector (voice) | |
| Russell Brand | ... | Dr. Nefario (voice) | |
| Julie Andrews | ... | Gru's Mom (voice) | |
| Will Arnett | ... | Mr. Perkins (voice) | |
| Kristen Wiig | ... | Miss Hattie (voice) | |
| Miranda Cosgrove | ... | Margo (voice) | |
| Dana Gaier | ... | Edith (voice) | |
| Elsie Fisher | ... | Agnes (voice) | |
| Pierre Coffin | ... | Tim the Minion / Bob the Minion / Mark the Minion / Phil the Minion / Stuart the Minion (voice) | |
| Chris Renaud | ... | Dave the Minion (voice) | |
| Jemaine Clement | ... | Jerry the Minion (voice) | |
| Jack McBrayer | ... | Carnival Barker / Tourist Dad (voice) | |
| Danny McBride | ... | Fred McDade (voice) | |
| Mindy Kaling | ... | Tourist Mom (voice) | |
In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this house is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon. Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad. The world's greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher). Written by Universal Pictures
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First of all, I am real, not one of those big studios planted minions that come to IMDb to talk wonders about their new releases. You can check my history to prove that.
Second of all, to make your time worth, let me tell you what kind of movies I like and/or dislike (you know, to see if my taste is compatible with yours).
Taking into account only what would be considered "family friendly movies", Pixar cannot be topped. From Pixar I believe that "The Incredibles" is its under appreciated best product, although I have a soft spot for "Finding Nemo" and "Up" (hey, I agree, "Toy Story" and "Monsters Inc." are awesome!). Their worst effort is without a doubt "Cars" (I almost don't even like it), but even that is above a lot of other crap from other studios.
I like the first "Shrek", "Kung-Fu Panda"; found "9" and "Coraline" a little bit boring (but interesting, both!), and totally dislike "Shark Tales", "Planet 51", "Space Monkeys", "Surf's Up", the first "Madagascar" (except for the penguins and the king lemur, lol).
In a broader sense, my all time favourite animated movie (although not CGI) is "The Nightmare Before Christmas".
Enough of that! With that very well established, let me give you my opinion of this movie.
It is amazing! It is charming without being corny; hilarious without resorting to stupid pop-culture references; exciting without being overly loud.. and the best thing: it plays like a fable.
It is absurd! ... but in a good way. The whole plan is to steal the moon, for crying out loud! How ridiculous could that be? And yet, we are led to root for the evil genius to be able to do just that. The whole thing is so tongue in cheek that you will pee in your pants laughing at the effects of having no moon for a few minutes (it is a quick flash of things, for they are so funny).
The movie is incredibly intelligent. The jokes are dead on and VERY imaginative (for example - and this is not a spoiler - pay attention to how they manage to produce light when Dr. Gru and two of his minions are in a ventilation duct at Vector's fortress - just delightful).
You will fall in love with his minions, and if you have a soft heart, with the three orphan girls.
OH, I almost forgot!! The 3D... this is the best usage of 3D I've seen (excepting "Avatar", of course) in a movie. There is a roller coaster ride scene that will literally "tickle your tummy" (like my kids said). For the first three seconds it easily compares to the effects found in "The Simpsons Ride" at Universal Studios.
The action sequences are thrillingly enhanced by the right amount of 3D, and make sure you STAY while the credits roll on. There are some OBVIOUS usage of 3D on those scenes with very funny results. Actually, here's a hint: sit down and enjoy these scenes while the people in the rows in front of you try to exit the theatre; the point of reference they offer will enhance the 3D in such a cool way that it will seem that they will bump into the staircase and the minions protruding from the screen (I suppose that was the intention of these bonus scenes, and boy they nailed it!) All in all, do yourself a favour and go WATCH it... I am sure I will do it again!
Cheers!
P.S. Be sure to learn a little, tiny bit of Spanish so you can "get" one of the jokes... my family was the only one laughing like crazies during that scene.. cheers again!