Chris Kavan's Movie Review of Despicable Me 2

The Minions Steal the Show
Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/06/13

Although the film doesn't quite have the charm of the original, for an animated sequel it still holds up remarkably well and once again I have to hand it to the vocal talent involved and, of course, to the antics of the minions. It's unsurprising the little yellow guys with their own language are getting a spinoff - you can't help but be entertained by them.

When we last left Gru (Steve Carell - once again sporting an accent of unknown origin), he had left his villainous ways behind in order to adopt three precocious girls into his home. At the start of Despicable Me 2, he is in full-on father mode - making sure the birthday for Agnes (the youngest, voiced once again with exuberant glee by Elsie Kate Fisher) goes off without a hitch, even if it means playing the role of the Fairy Princess himself. Also, he's given up taking over the world and making scary weapons in order to go into the jelly and jam business... but for Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), the lack of evil in his life means he is moving on to bigger an better (and more evil) things.

Out of the blue, Gru is kinapped by Lucy (Kristen Wiig - who voiced a different character in the first film) and taken to the Anti-Villain League HQ where the rotund Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan in a droll role) has a proposition: to recruit the former villain to track down a new supervillain who has stolen a top-secret research facility (with the use of a giant magnet ship) and the serum contained in that transforms docile creatures into killing machines. Gru at first rejects the offer, but, realizing his life is pretty boring, decides to help out after all and begins a stakeout at the local mall.

If the first movie was about Gru coming to terms with being a father, this second film is all about Gru finding love - and dealing with the eldest daughter Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) also falling for a suave young man, Antonio (Moises Arias). Antonio happens to be the son of local Salsa and Salsa restaurant owner Eduardo (Benjamin Bratt) - the man Gru is sure is ex-super villain El Macho - who supposedly died years before after strapping himself to a shark/rocket loaded with dynamite and shooting himself into a volcano (the most macho way to die ever). Many misadventures follow Gru and Lucy as their relationship starts off rocky but eventually he comes to realize just how much he likes the AVL agent - even if it pains him to ask her out.

Although the movie does tend to get bogged down at times, I still think the kids (and even adults) can appreciate the humor. The minions are still my favorite part, even if their brand of humor aims kind of lowbrow at times (the fart gun is back - hooray?). But stay for the end, where fans of early 90s era R&B will get a nice, hilarious surprise. Whenever the little yellow guys show up, a good time will be had. As the first film focused on the three girls, they don't get as much screen time here - and when they do, it's usually of a more serious nature (they really want a mother). Relationships and love - heavy themes for a kids movie.

Still, considering this is one of the few animated films I was looking forward to this year, I'm glad I caught it. It doesn't live up to the first one, but sequels rarely do. As a franchise, however, I think it's still going strong and Gru and crew have plenty left in the tank and I won't hesitate to continue following the series.

With the release of the Blu-Ray, much like the original film, you are gifted with three brand-new mini-movies featuring everyone's favorite minions (and, in one, the three girls). My favorite out of the three was "Panic in the Mailroom" which follows Minion Kevin and Bob in the mailroom where in inadvertent ingestion of the PX-41 chemical turns into, at first, a fun diversion - until a box of kittens turns things upside down. It's fun - it's funny and it ties into the movie perfectly.

The other two short mini-movies are still pretty good - in "Puppy" Kevin, seeing how everyone else seems to have a dog of their own - wants his own pet. He finds it not in a dog, but in a wayward alien spaceship. The two form a bond (and things are helped by an enlarging ray that gives everyone super-sized bananas) but the little alien gets homesick. It's the sweetest little movie of the bunch.

The final mini-movie, Training Wheels, involves the three girls with Agnes (once again Fisher shines) is upset about not being able to get to the ice cream truck as her bicycling skills are not quite up to the task. So the minions go about building her a souped-up bike while she trains. Of course it's not just a bike - and when a jewel thief takes the ice cream truck as his getaway vehicle... let's just say he gets what's coming to him. This one is a lot of fun too and Fisher continues to be entirely too adorable as Agnes.

All three shorts serve as an excellent companion piece to the film. While the other featurettes are a bit on the short side, they're easy to watch in one sitting (and are geared toward the younger target audience, I'm sure). They help support one of the best sequels to come out this year and I, for one, can't wait for the Minions to really shine when they get their own film.