Sunday, July 7, 2013

Despicable Me 2 - 3 smiles


“Despicable Me 2” follows the formula for animated success. There’s just enough ‘smart’ material to retain the interest of adults and sufficient slapstick and colorful action to keep kids involved. However, there’s not a lot of story as the plot is thin, veering off into tangents related to Gru’s struggle to be a good parent (he’s terrified by the thought that his girls, especially Margo, might be discovering boys) and his attempt to kindle a romantic relationship with Lucy. There’s never much of a mystery about who the bad guy is and the climactic battle is not filled with much suspense. The satirical elements that played a big part of the original movie have been toned down although the minions play a bigger role in the narrative. And the voice talents, especially Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig, are excellent so everything works.

Former super-villain Gru (Carell) is living a life of domestic simplicity with his three adopted daughters: Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Elsie Fisher). And his day-to-day routine consists of running a legitimate business (making jelly) and planning Agnes’ birthday party. Then Secret Agent Lucy Wilde (Wiig) of the Anti-Villain League recruits Gru for a special assignment. An unknown person has stolen a shipment of a super-secret toxic substance that threatens the world’s safety. If injected, it can turn the most passive creature into something that’s purple and acts like a Tasmanian Devil. Of course, Gru and Lucy must discover who stole the formula and recover it. “Despicable Me 2” is fun and colorful with lots of minion mischief. 7/1/13

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Very cute animated flick with lots of minions and a "not so despicable" GRU. Good story and grand kids loved it. I give it 3 1/2 grins.