By Jamison Wagner, Staff Reporter | Photos provided by wallpiph.com
Bee-doo bee-doo bee-doo. This will be the noise for which Despicable Me 2 is forever remembered.
This time the minions voiced by Pierre Coffin (Brad & Gary, Despicable Me) and Chris Renaud (The Lorax, No Time for Nuts) do not steal the show, they are the show in this film.
From the minions’ antics in attempting to put out a fire in the office of their boss, Gru who is voiced by Steve Carrell (The Office, The 40 Year Old Virgin), to the outrageous attempts to drive a getaway car, the minions alone are worth the price of ticket admission.
SPOILERS ahead!
While the Gru’s daughters Margo voiced by Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly, Our Deal), Agnes voiced by Elsie Kate Fisher (Despicable Me, Home Makeover) and Edith voiced by Dana Gaier (30 Rock, Home Makeover) do not play as large a role in this movie as the girls did in first movie, they do remain compelling characters on screen.
From Margo’s difficulties with boys to her young siblings struggles with their own growing pains the children remain characters the audience can readily understand and be engaged by.
The newest character introduced is Lucy voiced by Kristen Wiig (How to Train Your Dragon, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs) whose zany antics make for an interesting foil to Gru’s more dour mien.
From her kidnapping of Gru in a bid to recruit him for the Anti-Villain League as she tasers’ him, to her diving out of a moving airplane to return to his side as the duo endeavors to bring down the villain of the movie, Lucy is an oddly idiosyncratic heroine that never bores.
The animation is as solid as it had been in the first movie without any pixilation or tearing in the filming frames so the viewer is never pulled out of the film experience.
The story is not quite as unique as the first movie’s plot as it comes across as reminiscent of a romantic comedy at times, which lacks the quirky pull of a villain becoming a father but is still solid overall.
The tale begins with a science laboratory in the Arctic being completely abducted by a giant flying magnet, who knows why the scientists insisted on hanging onto metal objects as they were pulled up that seems like poor planning. Fast-forward to Gru’s house where he is hosting a birthday party for his youngest adopted daughter Agnes with the help of his minions who engage in some amusing hijinks at each other’s expense.
The next day Gru when walking his dog he is accosted by Lucy who then kidnaps him by knocking him out and then stuffing him in the trunk of her car. Lucy is pursued by two minions in an absurdly amusing chase scene who are then knocked out and taken by her along with Gru to a submarine base.
Gru is then introduced to Silas Ramsbottom (insert bad joke about sheep rear ends here) the head honcho of the Anti- Villain League. Silas attempts to recruit Gru to the League, but Gru refuses.
Gru returns home to his base which is now making jellies and jams where Dr. Nefario voiced by Russell Brand (Arthur, Get Him to the Greek) announces he is taking a new job. Gru gives Nefario a 21 fart gun salute as a rather wry sendoff and then decides to sign on with the Anti-Villain League.
Gru is partnered with Lucy as the two of them attempt to track down the villain that stole the chemical compound from the lab at the start of the movie. Gru and Lucy base themselves out of a cupcake shop in a mall with some slightly half-baked moments as the League detected trace amounts of the chemical in the mall itself.
All in all, the sequel is not quite as compelling as the first movie was but it is still a pleasant experience.
