Despicable Me 2

                In 2010, Universal’s newest animation studio, Illumination, had brought itself to the public with their first film, “Despicable Me.” The film tells of Gru, a villain who wants to be #1, but is always one step behind his rival, Vector. In an attempt to get Vector’s invention and succeed in stealing the moon, Gru adopts three little girls to assist him. And throughout the film, we see Gru start to become attached to them the more he spends time with them. While it wasn’t really anything ground-breaking, especially since it was a month after “Toy Story 3,” it was a good movie. For a first time with animation, Illumination did a fairly decent job and made something that’s fun for both kids and adults, with some likable characters and some very decent voice acting. And with a film like this, it was bound to have gotten a sequel.

                In the new film, Gru has given up the villain’s business and moved on to be a better father to his children: Margo, Edith, and Agnes. When a villain steals a formula to turn anyone into a berserk hairy beast, Gru is recruited by the Anti-Villain League to capture him and bring him to justice. During his mission, he starts to develop a relationship with his partner, Lucy, especially since his girls want him to find love and give them a new mommy. The film does an especially good job, adding new ideas and jokes, all while still being genuine. It continues the story, and doesn’t try to repeat the same story and keeps it going strong.

                Steve Carell reprises his role of Gru again, and he manages to keep the character fresh, making sure that the character is made his own. Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher return as Margo, Edith, and Agnes, and they have a much bigger part relating to the movie this time around. Here, Margo is starting to show her interest in boys, which is something Gru is trying to cope with, especially when she’s falling for the villain’s son. And let me say, the pay off it leads to is hilarious. Agnes and Edith are also trying to find Gru a perfect match, so they can have the feeling of having a mother, especially when Agnes has to recite a performance for Mother’s Day. It really adds to the touching factor that was done well with the first film, which is made better here as well. Kristen Wiig also returns to the film, but this time she’s playing Gru’s partner and love-interest, Lucy Wilde. Surprisingly, she was actually my favorite character in the film, since I’m not too big a fan of her work, but here she managed to prove me wrong and be very likable. She’s energetic, crazy, and her personality was just all over the place that I could hardly keep myself from laughing every time she was on screen.

                One thing this film made work so much better were the minions. In the first film, the minions really didn’t do much aside from just being comic relief. Here, they actually serve more purpose to the plot, and are actually a key element involved with the villain’s plan. Speaking of which, the villain El Macho was just a joy to watch. Originally, he was played by Al Pacino, and was put all over the promotional ads for it, but for some reason he dropped out and was replaced by Benjamin Bratt. Bratt does a pretty good job you can’t tell that much difference.

                The one problem that I had has to do with the final act, but that dives right into spoilers. I’ll I can say is if you’re going to establish a character with certain traits, only for her to forget about them at the end, give a better reason for them to not work.  If you’ve seen the film, you know what I’m talking about. Also, I wish the final battle with Gru and El Macho had lasted a bit longer. Other than that, there isn’t that much I had a problem with it.

Overall, “Despicable Me 2” was an enjoyable film with a big audience, and there are plenty of jokes for both kids and adults to enjoy. If this does spawn another film, aside from the minions’ film, I’m open to see what comes next.

Rating: 8/10