Despicable Me (2010) - Renaud & Coffin's wonderfully conceptualized animation family comedy

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1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Animation (lost to Toy Story 3) 

+ Best New Franchise of the Year

The infectiously happy, effective poster for Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin's Despicable Me

Gru is an old-fashioned super-villain, who is getting overtaken by young up-and-comer Vector and his shrink ray. To get his cool back, he will have to steal the Moon, using the shrink ray and the help of, among others, his three sweet daughters.

Despicable Me looks somewhat similar to the great Megamind (2010), but it isn't quite as funny. The star-studded voice cast here mainly have the effect of making someone like me wonder which star is what character.
As the three girls move in with Gru, the story gets more sympathetic, although it never attains the heart of some of Pixar's best films, (Toy Story (1995) or Finding Nemo (2003), for instance.) On the other hand, the yellow minions and the hipster villain created here are rather funny.
The Despicable Me animation style and universe is full of fun and colors, 3D eye candy that will woo kids and a general upbeatnes that makes it hard to object to for anyone, though there might be those that will find it too much. I am full of admiration for its well-polished concept; an admiration similar to the one I felt for the first Transformers (2007).
Despicable Me is written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (The Lorax (2012), both) and directed by feature-debuting Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud (Despicable Me 2 (2013)).

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Pierre Coffin: Minions (2015) - Inocuous fun for kids (co-director)
Coffin and Chris Renaud: Despicable Me 2 (2013) - Fun craziness for everyone

Watch the amazing trailer for the movie here

Cost: 69 mil. $
Box office: 543.2 mil. $
= Huge hit
[Despicable Me premiered July 19 at the Moscow International Film Festival and runs 95 minutes. It is the first feature from Illumination Entertainment, and the film was heavily promoted and merchandised through Universal, NBC and connected companies. The general North American release was July 9. The film opened #1 with a 56.3 mil. $ opening weekend in North America, where it grossed 251.5 mil. $ (46.3 % of the total gross), becoming Universal's biggest domestic hit since The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). It became the 2nd highest grossing animated film in North America of the year behind Toy Story 3, and the 4th highest worldwide, behind Toy Story 3, Shrek Forever After and Tangled. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets for the film were the UK with 32.2 mil. $ (5.2 %) and France with 28.5 mil. $ (5.2 %). The film was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Golden Globe, losing to Toy Story 3. Its success spun the Despicable Me franchise that has resulted in Despicable Me 2 (2013), Minions (2015) and in 2017, Despicable Me 3. Despicable Me is certified fresh at 81 % with a 6.8 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Despicable Me?

Despicable Me 2 (2013) - Fun-filled animated craziness for everyone

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One poster for Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud's Despicable Me 2 that trusts the sage wisdom that the franchise's cute and banana-esque 'minions' can sell anything

Former super villain Gru is now a full-time dad and is quietly leaving the super villain business, when the AVL (Anti Villain League) searches him down to get him to help them track down a new super villain with a world threatening new weapon. He reluctantly agrees to the job and is partnered up with agent Lucy Wilde.

Despicable Me 2 is written by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul (The Santa Clause 2 (2002), both) and directed by great French filmmaker Pierre Coffin and great Marylander filmmaker Chris Renaud (Despicable Me (2010), both). It is the sequel to the big 2010 hit, which it surpasses in quality: It has more depth to its story, more heart and more laughs. It is an animated family comedy that is as hard to resist as the cuteness of the yellow minion characters in it. The movie develops into a romance with funny takes on dating, the nerves provoked by the exercise, and on fatherly protective instincts.
The unknown new super villain in the film is to be staked out in an ... American mall, using a store as a front for his evil business. This ploy comes in handy for many laughs. It gets down to a tie between the zealous wigmaker, Floyd Eagle-san (Ken Jeong (Ride Along 2 (2016))) and the charismatic Mexican restaurant owner, Eduardo Perez. - Who of the two is the super villain who threatens world peace?
Steve Carrell (The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)) and Kristin Wiig (Bridesmaids (2010)) are back as voice stars in the movie (although Wiig now voices a different part), with Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)) still voicing Gru's funny lab-expert Doctor Nefario. Pharrell Williams (The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)) still contributes unorthodox tunes to some sequences (in collaboration with composer Heitor Pereira (Show Dogs (2018)). Despicable Me 2's team of writers and animators have keen eyes for the ridiculous and silly in most any location and situation, and the humor is a good-spirited mix of slapstick and character-driven gags. The super villain El Macho, voiced perfectly by Benjamin Bratt (Miss Congeniality (2000)), is a prime example of this. The minion hilarity is also turned up in the follow-up to everyone's pleasure. The little yellow critters are a really good sport that appeal broadly to just about anyone.
And while the animation doesn't make one's eyeballs turn inside out in amazement, it is a very exuberant and handsome film that still pays much attention to using its 3D-side for various whoa effects.
Everyone seems to attack the fantastic universe with more confidence and spirit in this second go-around, and the result is a flourishing, marvelously entertaining time. Despicable Me 2 is a very happy, fun-filled time for the whole family.

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2013 in films - according to Film Excess 

Despicable Me franchise: Minions (2015) - Inocuous fun for kids (also directed by Coffin) 

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  

Despicable Me (2010) - Renaud & Coffin's wonderfully conceptualized animation family comedy (also directed by Coffin/Renaud)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 76 mil. $
Box office: 970.7 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 12.77 times its cost)

[Despicable Me 2 premiered 16 June (Champs-Elysées Film Festival, France) and runs 98 minutes. Most of the animation took place in Paris, France. Al Pacino was cast as El Macho but left the film due to creative differences late in the process with Bratt taking over the part. The film opened #1 to an 83.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it remained #1 for another weekend and stayed in the top 5 for another 3 weekends (#2-#3-#5), grossing 368 mil. $ (37.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 72.2 mil. $ (7.4 %) and China with 52.9 mil. $ (5.4 %). It was the 3rd highest-grossing film of the year and the most profitable film ever in the 101 year history of Universal Pictures. The road to securing the film a release in China was very difficult (the first Despicable Me went unreleased theatrically in the market) due to the restrictive, unfair Communist legislation there. One of the world's largest airships was rented to travel 20,0000 miles (32,000 km) across the US as the 'Despicablimp', marketing the film. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Original Song (Happy by Pharrell Williams), lost to Let It Go by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez from Frozen, and Animation, also lost to Frozen. It won 1/2 BAFTA award nominations and was nominated for a Golden Globe, among many other honors. Coffin returned with Minions: Super Fans Spot (2015, short) and theatrically with Minions (2015); Renaud with The Secret Life of Pets (2016). Carell returned in a short, a TV-series and a music video prior to his theatrical return in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013). Despicable Me 2 is certified fresh at 75 % with a 6.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Despicable Me 2?