Despicable Me 2 Revisit: Moving On with the Anti-Villain Family Life
Copyright © Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment
Title: Despicable Me 2
Director: Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
Sequel to: Despicable Me (2010)
Release Date: July 3, 2013
This is another one of Illumination's successful animated movies with bonus points thanks to an original song. One of the originally-written songs of the soundtrack, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, became a largely successful song in 2014. Now is it time to talk about the upcoming movie, Piece by Piece, again? The answer is no because it's time to review Despicable Me 2, the sequel to Despicable Me, which is the second installment of its own movie line up. When it got released in July 2013, it was given a positive reputation, just like almost all of the other movies in the franchise. The box office gross is $971 million worldwide, an even higher number than its predecessor, which put the movie up in third place for the highest grossing films of 2013. Again, both critics and audiences praised it as a step-up from the original film. This is mainly for its family-friendly humor and smoother animation. Thanks to its commercial and critical acclaim, the movie was nominated for many awards, mainly at the Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. Stepping up with smoother animation and a more fun story for the family, Despicable Me 2 continues to become an Anti-Villain...rather with some romance and salsa!
Summary
After leaving the life of evil to embrace being a father, Gru (Steve Carrell) is taking matters to provide for his daughters, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher). When he is recruited by the evil-fighting organization, the Anti-Villain League, he is tasked with a mission to defeat another villain in yet another heist. Except, this heist uses more weaponry and Minions.
Reasons
As it is a step-up from its predecessor, Despicable Me 2 provides its biggest strengths being the exciting story, fun characters, and much funnier humor. Since the first film was a success for their company, the storywriters decided to write a romance story for kids to enjoy. Plus, it is relatable for both kids and adults because of the situations the characters run into. Also, the new mission was more entertaining since it expands on the lore of the universe, plus more action and Minion antics. From the story, it uses themes that are more understandable, like fatherhood, longing for a mom, and family, themes indeed surprisingly fitting into a family-friendly movie. To side with the themes, there is also representation of blended families and Mexican culture as it gives this movie some significant raises. Because they make the story even more exciting, the characters are more fun and likable than ever. First off, Gru (Steve Carrell) has turned into a likable agent by raising his daughters and joining a spy organization for his own good. His redemption gives him a wife, Lucy (Kristen Wiig), who is also a fun character. Talk about lipstick tasers! Gru's daughters, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher), have now become relatable side characters for the kids to resonate with. Let's give it bonus points for giving Margo a dating subplot. Eduardo Pérez (Benjamin Bratt) is an enjoyable villain with a unique concept for a kids movie, as he is a Mexican restaurant owner holding a secret other identity. Again, the Minions (Pierre Coffin) are still as entertaining and silly as they were, and it is sweet to see them help Gru in the adventure. Mainly coming from the characters, another thing that was improved was the humor by raising up its craziness and sensibility. Just like with the first film, the movie mixes kid and adult jokes together, except that it is more understandable. In the ending, there is even a song that is unexceptionally hilarious. To add, there are some subtle antics in the background which make the movie tads funnier.
To boot, Despicable Me 2 also has much smoother animation, ingenious dialogue, and a memorable soundtrack. First of all, there is Illumination practicing their animation in movies that do not plan on having a franchise, until it proves that they are polishing years later! As many people notice, the animation is much smoother and has more motion blur, which makes the movie look less uncanny and outdated. There is even more detail and color for the animation to look pleasing for the kid crowd. Complimenting with the gorgeous animation, the dialogue is more snappy and lively. One thing that is to blame for the dialogue's improvement is the voice performances, especially Steve Carrell's, which is thanks to Gru, Carrell's voice role. He yells a lot and has some whimsical remarks to leverage the entertaining value of his character. What is also included is the references to popular culture. These are added mostly for the adults to point out whatever the movie poked fun at. Some of these references are also pretty easy to understand for kids as it does poke fun at things such as the 1939 Wizard the Oz and even a fair share of celebrities. They can be pointing it out and be like "Hey! Gru is dressed as the Good Witch of the North!" or anything similar. To top it off, the movie even has a memorable soundtrack thanks to its composer team. The song, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, is one of the most iconic parts of the movie itself. In addition, it is one of Pharrell Williams' most famous song to date, for its catchy beats and soul-inspired harmony. Even the score by Heitor Pereira is tense and fun to listen to. Since he worked on the score for the first movie, he returns to compose for the sequel.
Just like with many other Illumination movies, Despicable Me 2 has a handful of flaws that can be fixed. Similar to how the first has lore problems, this movie has plot holes. Again, this is supposed to have cartoon logic, but it still needs to have some answers to the plot-hole-filled situations. Although he is not a horribly-written character, Eduardo needed more character and depth as he is just a Mexican-based villain. Honestly, he would have the values of his culture, like respect for elders, loyalty, and creativity. Even his backstory would have been more fleshed out with more explanation.
Conclusion
To wrap it up, Despicable Me 2 continues as an Anti-Villain with a more exciting story and smoother animation. Starting off, since the first was a success, it expands on the family by giving Gru his own wife for the adventure. In it, there are complex but sweet themes and relatable plot points sandwiched inside. Speaking of which, the characters are more fun and even relatable for the whole family to connect with. Largely courtesy of Illumination's antics, the humor improved to be funnier and more functional. Another one of the company's improvements is the smoother and more colorful animation proving Illumination is always getting there. Steve Carrell's voice performance and the pop culture references both leverage the dialogue to be entertaining. Finally, the soundtrack is iconic and catchy, notably because of how "Happy" became one of the most popular pop songs to date. Minion perks, go salsa yourselves over there, especially if you are fans of the franchise thanks to those yellow rascals.
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