My family and I loved Despicable Me. It had all the makings of a great family movie – super villains, wild gadgets, silly sidekicks and a lot of heart. The transformation of despicable criminal Gru from an angry, lonely, unhappy bad guy to a lovable and warm adoptive dad of three wraps the movie nicely. His child-like sidekicks, the Minions, along with a goofy rival villan gives the movie a lot of humor to go along with the heart.
The bobbling Minions made the movie for my girls, ages 8 and 11. We have anticipated the opening of Despicable Me 2 for almost a year. YouTube shorts and sneak peeks with the Minions is all we had to tide us over until the movie was released this summer.
This time around, Gru, voiced by Steve Carell, is working hard to figure out his new life as a father and legitimate businessman. The Minions and Dr. Nefario now produce a line of jelly that doesn’t exactly taste good. Gru’s girls think the world of him, but also miss having a mother to round out their family. The neighborhood soccer moms are also concerned about the lack of Gru’s love life.
Gru then gets recruited by a secret agency that tracks super villains and their crimes. Agent Lucy, voiced by Kristen Wiig, provides both a professional rival and a love interest for Gru.
Both Carell and Wiig do such a great job rounding out their characters, you realize how much character creation is based on the actor’s voice behind it.
Gru’s struggle to adapt to fatherhood, preteen crushes and his new job, makes for a cute story, the writers had to know this wasn’t going to be enough to carry the movie. The funny and beloved characters – the Minions and Agnes – are given a lot of screen time. (There may also be a few mutant Minions peppered in for additional humor.)
If you are a fan of the first Despicable Me, take your kids to laugh and cheer on the Minions (along with Gru and company) this summer.
More Minions, More Humor Fills Despicable Me 2 is a new post from Be Tween Talk
