DVD Reviews

Despicable Me - Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Dec 21, 2010, 15:22 GMT

Get ready for a minion laughs in the funniest blockbuster hit of the year!Vying for the title of “World’s Greatest Villain”, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) – along with his hilarious crew of mischievous minions – plots to pull off the craziest crime of the century: steal the moon! But when Gru enlists the help of three little girls, they see something in him nobody else has ever seen: the ...more

“When we got adopted by a bald guy I thought it would be more like Annie.”

Steve Carrell takes on villainous persona as a mastermind who adopts some cute kids to complete a nefarious plan.  Never underestimate the ability of cute kids to make a baddie’s heart melt. 

Gru (Steve Carrell) is the world’s top super-villain with a plan to steal the moon being the next item on his agenda.  He has his elderly inventor Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) and his little yellow minions preparing for the heist of the century, especially to impress Gru’s mother (Julie Andrews). 

He plans on stealing the moon, but to do so he needs funds from the Bank of Evil (formerly Lehmann Brothers) and a shrink ray that’s in a top secret research facility.  He hasn’t acquired the ray but presents his plans to Mr. Perkins (Will Arnett), the bank representative, for funding.  He’s turned down because there’s a new super-villain on the scene named Vector (Jason Segel) and he’s one-upped Gru. 

To make matters even worse, Vector steals the ray from Gru after he’s stolen from the facility.  Now Gru has to get it back from Vector’s fortified sanctum.  While staking out the joint he notices that Vector has ordered cookies from a group of orphans. 

Gru’s plan is to adopt the girls, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher), and have them sneak in his robots disguised as cookies when they deliver Vector’s goods.  However, the evil villain may find his heart softened by the cute kids. 

Despicable Me is not despicable at all.  In fact, it’s a cute family film that never takes its super-villainy seriously.  In some ways it reminds me, as the season is upon us at the time of this review; of The Grinch that Stole Christmas in that we have a baddie whose heart grows three sizes thanks to being a daddy.  Sniffle.  So it doesn’t exactly cover any ground that you haven’t seen before, the thing is that it also does it with fun and style.  

Any viewer of Bond films will recognize Gru’s Blofeld-like appearance, Ken Adams inspired sets, or his Addams Family influences.  Carrell even channels that cold war accent that many of them had.  We do get some cutesy kid entertainment from his passel of minions as they bumble about doing Gru’s bidding. 

The film is done in loving CGI animation with support from that fine vocal cast.  It’s a grand time and the whole family will fall in love with the many aspects of the film. 

Despicable Me is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (1.85:1).  Special features are presented in high definition.  First up is a commentary from directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin jointed by the minions. 

There’s also a “Gru-Control” that puts the minions in charge while you’re watching the film.  You also get 3 new mini-movies (12 minutes total) that feature the little yellow creations.  The 16 minutes “Voices of Despicable Me” covers the vocal cast, the 15 minute “World of Despicable Me” covers the design of the film, the 3 minute “Despicable Beats” is about the score, the 3 minute “A Global Effort” looks at the international talents brought in to make the film. 

You also get 4 games, cookie recipes, 2 minutes of game previews and the disc is BD-Live enhanced.  Disc two is a DVD/digital copy. 

Despicable Me is a delight and certainly further cemented Steve Carrell’s box office clout and family friendly gravitas.  The Blu-ray looks fantastic and offers a delicious dose of special features (even if a bit more gimmicky than for film scholars). 

Visit the DVD database for more information.