IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched on Blu-Ray
For a long time, it looked as if the Americans would decide among themselves who would take the crown of CGI animated films. Disney and Pixar were the most promising contenders, but DreamWorks and the then still-existing Blue Sky Studios also raked in millions for their respective studios. However, nobody expected that a French animation studio would suddenly be at the top with "Despicable Me". Firstly because traditional animation was still very popular in the Grande Nation, and secondly because Mac Guff's previous computer-generated attempts had attracted a rather limited international audience. But with Universal Pictures behind him, there were completely different means at his disposal - and "Despicable Me" clearly demonstrated this.
Animations, modeling, textures, effects - you're already playing in the premier league here. Everything here is beautiful to look at, flawless, but above all funny. While the three girls are still quite ordinary, Gru (Steve Carell) resembles an elongated Igor. And his big antagonist Victor (Jason Segel) with his big glasses and orange jogging suit is also quirky enough to stand out from the mass of computer-generated characters. But the real, no longer secret stars of the movie are the Minions, those babbling, yellow and very simply knitted underlings of Gru, who look like a cross between the Raving Rabbids and a thumb puppet, only a little cuter.
The movie as a whole is supposed to be cute, from the little girls - one of whom is always running around with a toy unicorn - to Gru, who would like to be completely evil but actually has a soft heart. It's not overly original, just as most of the things here are very predictable; more moments of surprise certainly wouldn't have hurt. But the ambitions were different anyway, especially towards the end they wanted to please the hearts of the audience. When the absurd slapstick gives way to heightened sentimentality, some may find it warm-hearted and uplifting, others may find it kitschy.
However, "Despicable Me" is nice either way, offering good entertainment for the whole family despite the sometimes trivial content. There tends to be less hearty laughter, but there are plenty of reasons to smile. And the target group was more than happy with the result anyway, so much so that the sequel "Despicable Me 2" followed three years later, 2 "Minions" spin-offs and a third part were also huge successes, so that "Despicable Me 4" will be released in our cinemas this year.
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