Despicable Me

I’m not sure he’d be terribly flattered by the comparison, but I kept seeing a skinny-legged Terry-Thomas every time I watched the dastardly “Gru” plot his latest scheme to prove he is the most evil of criminal masterminds. His latest plan is to steal the moon! Thing is, he needs a gadget that is being kept in the highest security by “Vector” in his fortress-like home. Try as he will, he simply cannot overcome the defences and so he has to think laterally. The result? Well that involves some cookies and three orphans. They will wheedle their way into the heart of his home and then the robotised cookies will do their stuff. Of course, not only doesn’t that work but poor old “Gru” starts to find himself feeling an uncharacteristic affection for these rugrats. Indeed, they start to become even more important than his grand design. How can he possibly capture the gadget, steal the moon, cement his global reputation and keep the children (and his army of minions) all happy, too? I don’t usually take to films with children in them, but I really did quite enjoy this crime caper with a difference. The “Gru” character is a masterpiece of increasingly soft-hearted wickedness; there are enough gadgets and gizmos to keep “007” busy for years and the story races along for ninety minutes of fun, menace and even a bit of inappropriate photocopying from his yellow perils too! It’s a characterful animation that innovates as it entertains and even I, who always thinks the baddie should emerge victorious, couldn’t begrudge the sequel-inviting conclusion.