DM2 poster
By far the funnest animation of the summer came out this previous Wednesday to wreak havoc in the box office. And havoc was wreaked by Despicable Me 2 and all was well in the world. I was lucky enough to see it Thursday night with my father who I had seen the original with.
The movie really starts off with little Agnes’ birthday party where Gru is being by far the best father in the world to these 3 little girls. The detail they go into with the princess party theme is brilliant. All of the kids are dressed up in theme related costumes aside from Edith. Who of course is in ninja garb. Which she dons almost the entire time. I love this scene for so many reasons, but the main three are:
- You have girls and boys wearing whatever costumes they want, girls aren’t just princesses but also knights (etc.).
- When the hired fairy princess cancels last minute, Gru cross dresses as a fairy princess for his beloved Agnes.
- There is an adorable scene with the Minions attacking a medieval villain dressed as knights, and of course end up attacking one another.
After directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud remind you why you loved the first film we then are graced with the synopsis of the film. Which can be done with the following trailer:
The lady in the blue who kidnaps Gru for the Anti-Villain League (AVL) is Lucy, she eventually becomes Gru’s partner and (obvious) love interest while they try to figure out who the new villain in town (or the mall) is and why they stole a monstrous formula. The movie is predictable but let’s not forget this happens to be a children’s film that adults ended up loving just as much.
It’s interesting to see how the animators ended up throwing in the little details which were there to help the audience draw comparisons to the character. The easiest by far is to watch which characters have scarves. Gru has his classic dressing garb which hasn’t changed even though he claims to be good instead of evil now. Or are at least neutral. Both ends of his scarves are in the front, with his black and grey stripped pattern that mimics that of a cloak. Lucy, his soon to be love interest wear’s a robin blue dress with a white and pink poke-a-dot scarf that drapes behind her, mimicking a cape. Showing quite clearly how opposites attract.
Oedipus Complex happening right here
Of course Margo is getting to the age where she begins to like boys, as it is foreshadowed in the above trailer. She ends up crushing hard over a boy with a charming accent who happens to wear a black leather coat and grey scarf. He is a bad boy, thus drawing some eerie Oedipus complex to the pre-pubescent girl. Of course these small outfit details are all there for the adults, nothing that children would ever catch on to.
There are many other details that one can catch in the background which are entertaining in some manner or another. The same goes for watching what the minions do. They are as always the best part of the film next to Gru’s interaction with his girls. But looking out for what individual minions are doing in group scenes is a jolly good hunt all in it’s own. There’s some good news for minion fans too. They’re getting their own movie due in December 2014 which acts as a prequel to the Despicable Me universe. The movie’s helm is Minions.
Knowing how Hollywood’s creative well runs dry incredibly fast, and when Despicable Me graced the theaters in 2010 we were surprised and tickled to the bone with a breath of fresh air. The sequel is a fun adventure with our new favorite characters returning to the story, but with the movie making $50 million in its first 3 days, I am sure that we will see another Despicable Me sequel in the near furutre as well. Hollywood has a new money maker and I am sure they will squeeze every last drop out of it. Let’s just hope that when Despicable Me 3 comes out we have (spoilers) newly weds Gru and Lucy turning into evil villains bent on creating havoc (hopefully with unicorns and rainbows), if even for a short period of time, on the world. Hollywood can do so much more with evil protagonists, which is what made the first movie that much fun and original in the first place. (END SPOILERS)
One of the major plot lines are the minions being stolen, without Gru realizing it. He just thinks they end up having vacation days around the same time. The new bad guy on the block is turning the Minions into crazy, indestructible, evil minions. Who happen to be purple. The evil serum that turns the minions evil is first introduced to us on a bunny. Which then directly reminds me of the children’s song “I think I’m a bunny.” So I believe who ever created the below concept had to have heard this crazy child’s song at one point or another.
Despicable Me 2 is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and has been demolishing Disney’s Lone Ranger which cost around $250 million to make. After just 5 days, Gru and his Minions have been smashing records and have accumulated about $130 million. And today is only Saturday. Sorry Johnny, seems as though Disney needs to hire a “date consultant” maybe you should give them my number, I could have kept your movie from bombing in the box office and tell you when it should of came out.
