Despicable me not so despicable

Despicable Me 2
Universal Pictures
Steve Carell and Miranda Cosgrove
July 3, 2013

I can say without a shred of hesitation that this is going to be the best kids comedy that will come out this year — despite having no connection to the animation powerhouses Pixar or Dreamworks.

All of the returning actors return perfectly to their roles. Steve Carell plays Gru the ex-villain from the first movie, but this time he doesn’t remain a stagnant character. He continues his growth as a father, even going so far as to grow over-protective of his eldest daughter Margo, played by Miranda Cosgrove. He does this when she first discovers boys. He himself also finds love and the three girls gain a mother in the ending as a result of this love.

What puts this movie over last week’s Monster University is that while both films had some good characters and development — this movie was immensely more funny, due mostly to the yellow little minions. (Half the time I actually think they’re speaking Italian instead of jibberish)

It also makes a number of jokes where they reference spy flicks and one that is an obvious spoof on a scene from Pixar’s The Incredibles. One of the best scenes however was the ending where the minions sing the YMCA and half the audience actually stood up and danced right along. (I’m dead serious guys)

However, this movie is by no means perfect but the problems are generally miniscule. One is that the characters are kinda obvious in what role they are playing. The villain, when he is first introduced, is blatantly the main villain and the love interest is obviously going to end up together with Gru. The second problem is that there is a subplot of Margo meeting a douchebag little Spanish player. Eventually she discovers him dancing with some other unnamed little girl and that’s the last that is said about that — perhaps leaving a plothole.

In the end this movie was one of the most enjoyable I have seen this year. I can easily say that this is among my favourite kids comedies to come out since Shrek 2. If you can’t go to see this in the theatres — buy it on DVD or Blu-Ray as soon as you can.

This movie easily rates a 10/10 for me.

-Cooper Thompson