The makers of this sequel wisely give the audience what they want with another instantly forgettable but undeniably funny caper that breezes along at a fast pace, providing plenty of slapstick, the odd funny line, some gorgeous animation and a bigger role for the scene stealing minions.
Former super villain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) is now going straight, following his adoption of three young girls, Agnes, Edith and Margo. He and his phalanx of cute minions, along with Dr Nefario (Russell Brand), are now making jellies and jam! Their existence is disturbed by the arrival of Lucy Wilde (Kirsten Wiig) an agent of the Anti-Villains League, a group that polices super crime. The AVL recruit Gru to go undercover to try to find which of the shop owners in a local mall is actually a super villain who has stolen the formula for a dangerous chemical that can transform animals and people into monsters. Could the owner of the Salsa restaurant be El Macho, a former Mexican villain believed to be long dead? As Gru and Lucy investigate they find themselves attracted to each other but who is stealing Gru's Minions and for what purpose?
Like the first, Despicable Me 2 is light on plot, the story being merely a prop to hang the various gags and comic sequences on. Pixar may make pretensions to be creating art but here, directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud's intent is to get as many laughs as possible out of as many daft scenarios. Mostly this works well, and there are some funny lines, for example, when Gru's kids make him an online dating profile they ask which movie star he thinks he looks like; the bald Penguin like Gru says Bruce Willis, to which the girls suggest Humpty Dumpty or Gollum. The sight gags include a sublime opening where an Arctic research station is stolen by a giant flying magnet, a fight between Gru and a homicidal chicken and a finale that is so gleefully bonkers that it leaves a huge smile on your face. One of my favourite moments was when Dr Nefario left on his mobility scooter that transformed into a plane that then flew just as slowly as when it was a scooter. It owes a debt to Austin Powers but it made me laugh a lot.
The voice talent is fine, with Carell and Wiig engaging enough. That said, the scenes where the two moon over each other, or deny their feelings are a bit of a drag, not least because when the pace slows we notice more how pedestrian some of the script and dialogue is. The writing of Agnes, the precocious four year old, is spot on however, and she gets some of the best lines and most of the genuine awww moments, especially at the end. The real stars of the film however, are the minions and the makers have wisely upped their screen time this time out. With their yellow bean like bodies, dungarees, odd glasses and nonsense language, they generate laughs whenever they're on screen; they're like a combination between naughty children and silent era comedians like Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy. Scenes towards the end where the little fellas form a boy band had me crying with laughter and the subtle differences between the main ones (Dave, Stuart, Bob, Kevin) are a delight. The mutated versions seen later on in the film manage to be scary and comical at the same time, giving a big nod towards Joe Dante's Gremlins. It's no surprise a spin off Minions film is due to be released next year. I'll be there!
While not as quality a product as some of the Pixar animations, Despicable Me 2 is fast, funny, gorgeous to look at and inventive. It had me and my two kids consistently laughing and, on the car ride home, the pair spent the whole trip talking about their favourite bits. A decent film for the whole family.
GK Rating: ****
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