 If one were to take the time to try to pinpoint when exactly the Minions got to be a bit too much for some people, I would probably point to this film in particular. It follows the formula of so many cinematic failures by putting the "funny character(s)" front and center. It always seems to take away from the charm of these character(s) we got from the beginning by offering up too much of them. Sometimes they hit, but most of the time they miss, and this is one such example. This was when "Minions" started to get plastered on everything!
I had the same thing happen in my childhood with 'Ninja Turtles', so in some ways, no big deal. The only thing about the Minions is that they are solely reliable on their cuteness. They speak Gibberish (or "Minionese," as it has now been established), and their original purpose was to be a good dose of background/side comedy relief. So to do a whole plot about their origin might feel like a bit of a stretch for some. Having said all of that, while I am totally guilty of falling for their cuteness, I still think they work better as they were originally intended. There's just too much sugar in this, and you might end up leaving with a cavity. The film kicks off with narration by Geoffrey Rush, explaining that Minions evolved from single-celled organisms and became little yellow tic tac-looking beings with eye-magnifying goggles. These little guys who have since become known as "Minions" serve only one purpose - to work for the biggest baddie in town. Admittedly, this makes the opening to the movie kind of hilarious, as if there's one thing the Minions do really well, it's to accidentally kill their master in the silliest and most mundane ways. For example, Dracula gets nailed with sunlight just because the Minions try to wake him up with a surprise birthday party. After going through boss after boss after boss, the Minions find themselves without purpose, and the begin life anew inside a cave. They reside there for years, until 1968, when eventually, a Minion named Kevin (Pierre Coffin, who also lends his voice to the rest of the Minions) decides to set out with a couple of other volunteers, Stuart and Bob (Stuart being a little more "voluntold"), to find a new master and regain purpose in their lives. This takes them to New York City, where they learn of "Villain-Con", which will be taking place in Orlando. With any luck, they'll find their new boss there. For a little bit, it turns into a road trip movie, but eventually they reach the Con, where they come across the likes of supervillain extraordinaire, Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), whose primary focus is the Queen Elizabeth II's crown. Could she end up being the Minion's primary boss? Anyway, now that I've told you half of the entire movie, it kind of goes to show how little there is to it all. Plus, we all know who they end up working for in the end, anyway. Really, this is nothing more than a "bridge" movie that probably should have just come straight to video. For me, this is about as cutesy as I can take from these little yellow dudes. It's fun in its own way, but I can't help but see how blatantly they ripped off their own characters, as Kevin, Stuart and Bob who are essentially Minion versions of Margo, Edith and Agnes, respectively, with their personalities. It's practically cut-and-paste. Further criticisms of mine include the overuse of Beatles gags when there's plenty more British pop culture to pick from, and Scarlet's God-awfully annoying husband, Herb (Jon Hamm) who was just far too over-the-top for my taste. When considering this series as a whole, one can quite honestly watch the first bit of "educational" material to this movie, then just make a jump to 'Rise of Gru'. Although the movie is funny, cute, and has quite a bit of genuine laughs for the right audience, it's ultimately a bit of a throw-away for the series, and altogether relatively pointless. It's a bit of harmless fun, and there's nothing particularly wrong with it. But It's something to watch, if at all, on a Sunday afternoon on your small screen at home. 3/5
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 While 'Despicable Me 2' manages to bring back the charm of the first movie, at the end of the day, it still manages to be an overall predictable love story that uses the Minions to its advantage quite a bit more, now that they've been found to be a success. Having said that, these are family movies about a growing family, and if the first movie involves Gru adopting the girls, the next logical step might be to have Gru fall in love, and provide the girls with a mother figure. So while it's predictable, it's still perfectly fine, and I don't hold that against it.
All things considered, at the time, I still came out of this movie with a smile on my face, as the film provides a good balance of humour and heart. Ultimately, the word I'd use to describe all of these movies is "cute," and while this chapter is no exception, it's still not as good as the first, in my opinion. Aside from perhaps a bit of predictability, as I've already mentioned, I feel like this fails to have the darker tone to it that the first one does, where the cuteness balances things out. This is kinda just straight-up "cute." As we pick things up, it's Agnes' (Elsie Fisher) 6th birthday, and Gru (Steve Carell) hosts a princess-themed party for her, hosting several of her friends, along with sisters Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) and Edith (Dana Gaier). All in all, life has gotten good for Gru, as he now fathers and loves his three girls, and he's gotten into making jelly with Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), who is okay with what they're doing, but really ends up missing being a villain with dastardly plans, complete with the darker lifestyle that comes with the territory. One day, Gru is captured by AVL (Anti-Villain League) agent, Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), and brought to the head of the AVL, Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan). Ramsbottom (heheheh, "bottom") informs him that a potent mutagen, PX-41, has been stolen from a lab in the Arctic Circle, and his help is needed to try to retrieve it. Hesitant at first, with more responsibilities as a father, Gru eventually agrees to the task when he learns about Nefario's plans to leave and work for a villain again. Gru teams up with Lucy in an effort to close this case, and as any 'Despicable Me' fan knows by this point in the game, this is the movie in which the pair eventually fall in love, and the girls get a mother figure in their lives. In the meantime, the culprit here (and villain of this chapter), El Macho (Benjamin Bratt) who stole the PX-41 ends up using it to build himself an army to take over the world, using Gru's minions for the process to some pretty damn funny results, and this time, Gru and the family have to try to rescue them. Looking at the film critically, this is another one where I feel like anything I'd be complaining about it far too nitpicky for it to matter. After all, this was a movie made with kids in mind, which is another reason I can't get mad at the Minions (they annoy so many people). I'd have been into them as a kid, if only for their gibberish speaking and slapstick humour. Again, I get where critics come from, but hell, Minions are innocent fun, and when I was a kid, 'Ninja Turtles' were on EVERYTHING! It just goes to show that things don't change much over time. I think 'Despicable Me 2' is good for what it is, and a worthy sequel to the original, even though it can't quite live up to its charm. Really, at this point, this just ends up being the backstory to how Gru met Lucy. It's padded with some decent humour from both the Minions and the girls (namely Agnes), which makes it fun, but one can almost see those Minions teetering here, and soon splitting audiences. Altogether, though, the movie is fine, and I have no real complaints. Another cute, but predictable, chapter in a cute series. 3/5  There's a decent-sized list of animated movies out there now that lend themselves to the "cheering up" process. They're films we can watch that move us in that certain way that forces a smile onto our faces, no matter how we're feeling. 'Despicable Me' was really the first time I came to actually think about it as a sort of "category," although many of my favourite films could always do it ('Ghostbusters' never fails me). But when I saw this in theatres, despite the fact that I was in my late twenties, it had that effect on me.
As time has gone by, and the franchise has gone a bit sequel-crazy, squeezing every last dime out of those Minions, I've come to realize that people are very split about this universe by now. Most of that is blamed on the Minions, but I have to admit that for myself, although I have no Minion merch, I do still love the little guys. I get that people find them annoying, but for me, it all reflects the fond memories I have of this first chapter, which none of the series' sequels have quite lived up to yet. We meet Felonious Gru (Steve Carell), a proud super villain, who devises a plan to steal the Moon with the help of his assistant, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) and his army of Minions. Their motivation comes from a rival villain named Vector (Jason Segel) manages to steal the Great Pyramid of Giza, and hoping to outdo him as the better villain. In order to obtain the Moon, Gru will need a shrink ray, which actually exists in a nearby research facility. Of course, however, Vector beats him to it, and the plan turns to stealing it from his impossible-to-infiltrate base. Enter three orphan girls; big sister, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove); tomboy middle sister, Edith (Dana Gaier); and adorable little sister, Agnes (Elsie Fisher). Gru notices them going door-to-door, selling cookies to raise some money for their orphanage, and eventually ends up adopting them and using them in order to carry out his evil plans. However, as the film continues, Gru ends up bonding with these girls, and learning that there are more important things in the world than villainy. While the all-around plot might not sound incredibly exciting, the film still has a whole lot going for it. At the time, the Minions were these weird little "I-dunno-whats," and I still remember trying to wrap my head around what they were supposed to be. Eventually I just accepted them as a bit of very random comedy relief, adding to the overall cuteness of the film with their gibberish and antics. Personally speaking, these little guys still work for me, but again, I do understand where people come from who have had more than their fill. While the Minions are fun (especially when they were something never-before-seen), what really makes the movie for me is the contrasting relationship Gru ends up having with the girls, especially Agnes, who is actually the most adorable thing in this movie, even as an almost stereotypical little girl. She's the essence of pure innocence, and definitely has the best line in the movie, in my humble opinion ("He's so fluffy I'm gonna die!") Between her and the Minions, I feel like it's pretty easy to find your smile, watching this. On top of how innocent, fun and cute the movie is, I further have to give big credit to the voice acting, namely from Carell, Segel and Brand, whose voices you can hardly recognize. The contrast of Gru's character helps make the film a bit less sugary than I'm making it out to be as well, having some of the funniest almost dark moments in the movie. I think I'll always keep this first chapter close to me heart for my own reasons, but it probably won't ever be matched in quality as far as any sequels are concerned. This was truly unique for its time, and in my humble opinion, still very much worth the watch, if only to brighten one's day. 5/5 |
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