Watched on Blu-Ray

Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks led the way and the rest enthusiastically followed suit: Computer-generated animated films with great family appeal are not only good for box office takings in the triple-digit millions, those who incorporate cuddly characters can also look forward to a veritable shower of merchandising money. It was no wonder that Universal Pictures wanted to get in on the action at some point - the pie was too big for them to stand idly by. It is true that they had made a big splash on the cartoon market with films such as "The Land Before Time" and the stop-motion film "Coraline" became a critics' favorite. But when it came to the CGI version, the company was a little behind the times. However, the late entry paid off, with "Despicable Me" grossing more than 500 million in 2010. And so, three years later, Gru (Steve Carell) and co. were able to court the public's favor again.

To ensure that the box office results are right this time too, continuity is the order of the day: not only can most of the protagonists be seen again in "Despicable Me 2", but the two directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin are also back. Accordingly, little has changed in terms of the basic concept: The visuals are still very good, even better than the successful first movie, pleasing with animations, small details and beautifully whimsical designs, still relying on slapstick and occasional maudlin scenes. However, there are changes in the details, and they are not always positive.

It is striking how unimportant many of the previous protagonists have become. Gru's mean raven mother - a wonderful running gag in the first part - only appears here at the end, the oddball developer Dr. Nefario disappears about halfway through, as do the secret stars: the yellow, babbling and infantile Minions. But apart from Margo, the trio of girls also play a surprisingly small role. Instead, the interaction between Gru and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) increasingly takes center stage in "Despicable Me 2". This also provides some amusement at times, for example when they go hunting criminals together at night. Overall, however, there is a lack of variety and some wit, and the former supervillain's love troubles are certainly among the weakest parts of the movie. In addition, the contrast between the grim Gru and the overzealous agent is not nearly as beautifully absurd as the one with the orphans in part one, where little girl dreams met big power airs.

Like its predecessor, "Despicable Me 2" shines more with its external gags - i.e. funny characters, grimaces or grotesque disguises - than with its content. The story is simple and predictable, as is the humor for the most part. However, it is still entertaining, especially when the movie plunges headlong into its silliness and deploys its yellow secret weapon. Then the movie becomes an undemanding but very entertaining pastime.