Despicable Me 3 Review
Now that the Minions have gotten their own film and an upcoming sequel, can Gru, Lucy, and the girls keep their storyline alive?The third installment, not including Minions, of the Despicable Me franchise features the voice talents of Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel as the new Agnes, and Steve Carell reprising his role of Gru along with providing his voice for Gru's twin-brother, Dru.
Let's face it. If you're a parent and your kid could handle the first Despicable Me films and the Minions spin-off, it's pretty much the same with this next film. However, the crude humor is expanded into more inappropriate territories and I hate to have kids repeat some of what the Minions say. So with that, here's the Kids-In-Mind article for this film.
They aren't the main characters, but I'm gonna start off with the Minions for two reasons. One, because I know those are the characters that are the most popular and two, because they serve as my semi-introduction to this review. Shoutout to my Grandpa, who is a huge fan of the characters.
The Minions
So I got to be honest with you. Before I saw the first trailer of Despicable Me 3, I had totally forgotten about Gru, Lucy, and the other characters that inhabit the world of Despicable Me. "Why?" Because of the many viewings that I had of Minions. That, and if you discount the Minions spin-off, it's been a four-year gap between Despicable Me 2 and 3. Because of the always-increasing popularity of the Minions and the gap between Despicable Me films, I'm starting to have a feeling that the days of Gru, Lucy, and now Dru, are limited. I mean Universal is already planning a sequel to the Minions movie, but so far, there are no plans for a Despicable Me 4. I like the Minions, but as they displayed with their film, they don't make for great leads.
As for their part here, it's super tacked-on that it's almost unnecessary. I believe that the only reason that the Minions were here was because they are as popular as they are. The only reason they're not missing is because they're the Minions and heaven forbid any Despicable Me movie not have a minion in it. They changed a few things with the Minions this time, but I found those changes to actually tear down a few clever notions of the characters and not help it. I'm also continually baffled by the fact that no human in the film questions the existence of the Minions and that they just go with it.
Gru and Dru
I really enjoyed the relationship/dynamic between Gru and Dru. Their relationship is part of why I liked this film as much as I did. I relate to the relationship that Gru and Dru have with one another. Sometimes they get along and they often have fights with each other, which is something that all siblings do with one another and I appreciated that added layer to the film.
That's also a credit to Steve Carell, who has always been voicing Gru and now, will be voicing both him and Dru. With all things considered, Steve Carrell did a wonderful job playing both Gru and Dru. Even though the actor was voicing both characters, you felt that the two individuals were completely different from each other so that they weren't the same character with different appearances. There was a scene that features Gru and Dru impersonating each other for laughs. The scene got old for me real quick, but I appreciated the acting that Steve Carell gave in that scene.
Even though a twin brother was a welcome addition, Gru still is the best at being the best. Sure, he has some faults, but Gru remains the more funny of the two and also the one that has more heartwarming scenes than his more light-hearted twin. I enjoy watching his continued relationship with Lucy, Margo, Edith, and Agnes, but because of this new twin, I didn't feel like I got that much of that. I understand that the filmmakers didn't want the movie to focus on too many things, but I felt we could've sacrificed the storylines we got with a storyline that would've worked better.
As for Dru, I was sure that he would turn out to be the real villain and that Balthazar Bratt was just a cover. It was between Dru or that mean lady who fires Gru and Lucy from the Anti-Villian League. I was surprised to find out that that wasn't the case with Dru or Jenny Slate's character. That he was just that cheerful, clumsy brother, who really didn't have anything to do. If that was the main storyline, I didn't feel like there was a lot of that. Gru and Dru's arguments lasted for a second before being resolved with the next big thing that was happening. The movie's an hour and thirty minutes long, but I think that there could've been much more time focusing on Gru and Dru's dynamic.
Lucy/Margo, Edith, and Agnes
Now I really enjoyed Lucy from the second film. She was not only a great story aspect of the film, but just a great character in general. In here, she doesn't have much to do. The movie finds itself trying to locate it's main story. Is it Gru meeting his long-lost twin, Dru? Or is it Lucy wanting to be considered a mother by Margo, Edith, and Agnes? It doesn't decide, so it ends up splitting time to make way for both, which ends up serving neither of the stories. On top of that, Agnes gets her own mini-adventure to go on and that also takes up valuable time.
Two of the three were great, but the third didn't come to fruition much and it ended being wasted time for the sake of a joke. A joke that I didn't find funny much.
The Gru/Dru story was entertaining, but my favorite would probably be Lucy wanting to be considered a mother by the girls. Although, Lucy shouldn't feel too bad, because the girls keep calling Gru by his name and not Dad, which is also problematic. For some reason though, Lucy kept diverting all parental responsibilities to Gru, instead of taking care of them herself. Sure, she doesn't want to inadvertently make the girls hate her, but if you want to be a mother, helping make decisions for the kids is part of the job.
Margo, Edith, and Agnes don't have anything to do. Nothing worth the screen time that is. Margo's a walking easter egg with her t-shirt teasing Illumination's animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie, staring Benedict Cumberbatch as the Grinch himself. Edith is wandering around with nothing to do, and Agnes is searching for real unicorns. It would've been better if they were included in one of the established storylines, because they didn't have anything to do with the time that they had.
Trey Parker didn't have a lot to do, but he owned every single scene he was in. I enjoyed his character, Balthazar Bratt. He was a pretty clever character. I feel that his 80s background was a welcome and creative. His 80 shtick never got tired, but when he did the dance fight, I couldn't help but think of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 where Star Lord challenged Ronan to a dance-off. That's my only problem against actually was my favorite character in the film. His heists were entertaining and hilarious and I found the 80s songs to mix well with the tone of the movie. There were some obvious choices like Michael Jackson's Bad, but also surprising ones like a-ha's Take on Me or Nena's 99 Luftbaloons. His gadgets like chewing gum, action figures, or rubix's cubes were used in creative manners and I felt that they were as good as the gadgets Gru and Dru were using. All in all, Bratt was one of the better elements of this film.
As for Dru, I was sure that he would turn out to be the real villain and that Balthazar Bratt was just a cover. It was between Dru or that mean lady who fires Gru and Lucy from the Anti-Villian League. I was surprised to find out that that wasn't the case with Dru or Jenny Slate's character. That he was just that cheerful, clumsy brother, who really didn't have anything to do. If that was the main storyline, I didn't feel like there was a lot of that. Gru and Dru's arguments lasted for a second before being resolved with the next big thing that was happening. The movie's an hour and thirty minutes long, but I think that there could've been much more time focusing on Gru and Dru's dynamic.
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| I couldn't find a good picture of Lucy in this film. |
Now I really enjoyed Lucy from the second film. She was not only a great story aspect of the film, but just a great character in general. In here, she doesn't have much to do. The movie finds itself trying to locate it's main story. Is it Gru meeting his long-lost twin, Dru? Or is it Lucy wanting to be considered a mother by Margo, Edith, and Agnes? It doesn't decide, so it ends up splitting time to make way for both, which ends up serving neither of the stories. On top of that, Agnes gets her own mini-adventure to go on and that also takes up valuable time.Two of the three were great, but the third didn't come to fruition much and it ended being wasted time for the sake of a joke. A joke that I didn't find funny much.
The Gru/Dru story was entertaining, but my favorite would probably be Lucy wanting to be considered a mother by the girls. Although, Lucy shouldn't feel too bad, because the girls keep calling Gru by his name and not Dad, which is also problematic. For some reason though, Lucy kept diverting all parental responsibilities to Gru, instead of taking care of them herself. Sure, she doesn't want to inadvertently make the girls hate her, but if you want to be a mother, helping make decisions for the kids is part of the job.
Margo, Edith, and Agnes don't have anything to do. Nothing worth the screen time that is. Margo's a walking easter egg with her t-shirt teasing Illumination's animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie, staring Benedict Cumberbatch as the Grinch himself. Edith is wandering around with nothing to do, and Agnes is searching for real unicorns. It would've been better if they were included in one of the established storylines, because they didn't have anything to do with the time that they had.
Balthazar Bratt
Trey Parker didn't have a lot to do, but he owned every single scene he was in. I enjoyed his character, Balthazar Bratt. He was a pretty clever character. I feel that his 80s background was a welcome and creative. His 80 shtick never got tired, but when he did the dance fight, I couldn't help but think of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 where Star Lord challenged Ronan to a dance-off. That's my only problem against actually was my favorite character in the film. His heists were entertaining and hilarious and I found the 80s songs to mix well with the tone of the movie. There were some obvious choices like Michael Jackson's Bad, but also surprising ones like a-ha's Take on Me or Nena's 99 Luftbaloons. His gadgets like chewing gum, action figures, or rubix's cubes were used in creative manners and I felt that they were as good as the gadgets Gru and Dru were using. All in all, Bratt was one of the better elements of this film.
Animation and Score
The animation like in Cars 3 is phenomenal. One of the best examples of great animation that this film has, is Dru's house. Lucy was right. That house is like the Sistine Chapel. Inside and outside, it's flawless. I wonder who built that. Whoever built that deserves a medal. If you think it's good in that picture, you ain't seen nothing yet. Dru's house isn't the only thing that looks good as everything else in this film is masterfully crafted. My jaw dropped several times throughout this film. It's that good. Maybe I'm overrating the animation, but I feel that it's that good.
I don't know about you readers, but I'm getting tired of Pharrell Williams songs. In the previous films, there were one or two songs done by Pharrell. Here, there are eight songs done by him. It was just overload of songs that almost sounded the same. I wonder why there were eight songs here. Was it because that his song from Despicable Me 2, Happy, was nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars and lost to Let it Go? Was this an attempt to get a nomination in the same category this year? I'm curious as to why there were so many songs from Pharrell Williams this time.
Grade: C-
If you've seen the first two Despicable Me films along with the Minions spin-off, you should definitely see this film. It's makes for a great time at the cinemas and both children and adults will enjoy this film highly. If you haven't seen the Despicable Me/Minions films, maybe you should you go, but definitely check out the first two films before seeing this third outing.
I didn't see this in 3D and I don't think it's worth the extra money to spend. The only reason that you'd see this in 3D, is so that you can have all the stunning animation in your face. So it's up to you on what you decide to go with.
So that's my review of Despicable Me 3. If you saw it, what did you think of the film? For those of you who haven't, are you wanting to see it now? Share this with your friends, write those thoughts in the comments section below and let me know what film you'd like me to review next. Thanks for reading, I'm the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.
I didn't see this in 3D and I don't think it's worth the extra money to spend. The only reason that you'd see this in 3D, is so that you can have all the stunning animation in your face. So it's up to you on what you decide to go with.
So that's my review of Despicable Me 3. If you saw it, what did you think of the film? For those of you who haven't, are you wanting to see it now? Share this with your friends, write those thoughts in the comments section below and let me know what film you'd like me to review next. Thanks for reading, I'm the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.
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