ITV: Saturday 18th January – 5.20pm
When Despicable Me 2 hit cinemas last summer, it did so to rave reviews and outstanding box office success; takings approaching almost $1billion worldwide stood testament to a writing team that managed to tick every box on the checklist for animation sequels. The second installment developed the beloved characters of the original while successfully integrating new ones, including a love interest, it also broadened its scale and kept the jokes fresh. Most shrewdly though, it brought the Minions, the scene stealing supporting cast of the first chapter to the forefront, upping the laughs and creating a strikingly different feel the second time out.
Reading the reviews and going by initial word of mouth, it appeared Despicable 2 would be to the original, what Toy Story 2 was to its trailblazing predecessor – a sequel that somehow, against every expectation, raised the bar, but on reflection, as brilliant as it was, as Minion-laden as it was, and as wildly entertaining as it was, it still wasn’t quite the up the standard of film it followed.
Notwithstanding its moderate use of Minions, Despicable Me remains the better movie. For those unfamiliar with its charms, it’s the story of Gru, an evil super-villain who decides that for his next appalling act, he will steal the moon; to do so he first needs to get funding for the scheme from the Bank of Evil, who in turn agree to provide him with a loan, but only once he’s obtained the shrink ray device that lies central to his plan.
Gru plots away and successfully steals the device, only to have up-and-coming rival (Vector) immediately take it from him; unable to infiltrate Vector’s booby trapped fortress himself, Gru sees an opportunity when he chances upon three orphan girls, Margo, Edith and Agnes, who are able to walk into the base unchallenged, being that they’re selling girl scout cookies – something the new criminal mastermind on the block has a real weakness for. All Gru has to do now is adopt the girls, have them infiltrate Vector’s lair for him, and then abandon them…only in the midst of it all things start to get complicated as one of the world’s baddest men finds his heart melting.
And this is the reason, that despite everything, despite every hilarious effort of the Minions, despite he added depth provided by the sequel, this is why Despicable Me is the superior film – it simply has a bigger, greater, softer heart; while the whirlwind romance and the growing father-daughter bonds of the second film infuse part 2 with a familiar warmth, it’s the initial journey that Gru and the girls embark upon, from suspicious strangers to a loving, secure family unit that ultimately charms most of all.
In an era when the Hollywood release schedules are constantly awash with CGI-based family film fare – Toy Story 3, and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, apart – Despicable Me represents the high watermark of recent years.
Adam
For Your Consideration 