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COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Universal Pictures "Despicable Me 2" plays up the humor this time around.
COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Steve Carell returns as a reformed Gru, who must foil a supercriminal voiced by Al Pacino in "Despicable Me 2."
"Despicable Me" had two big things going for it: heart and humor.
"Despicable Me 2" doesn’t have nearly as much heart, but it makes up for that deficiency with a lot more humor.
It’s tough to find the same kind of emotional notes that made the original film — the 2010 hit in which Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) goes from being a supervillain who steals the moon to the loving father of three orphans — so enjoyable. It seems almost impossible to emotionally top adopting orphans.
| ‘DESPICABLE ME 2’ Rated: PG  Opens Wednesday |
That’s why the sequel leans more on the humor, especially with a much-expanded role for the jabbering, yellow, round assistants known as his Minions. These are the funniest yellow characters this side of "The Simpsons." Not since the "Madagascar" movies where the feisty penguins stole the show has a group of supporting players been so much fun.
Had it not been for this shift in focus, "Despicable Me 2" would have had to bank on the thin plot points of first love and mommy envy. The recruitment of Gru into a supersecret organization that tracks super-bad guys isn’t that interesting. Nor is the addition of a potential love interest, despite some energetic voice work by Kristen Wiig.
Carell continues to bring wonderful life to Gru, but this time around he doesn’t have a lot to say because of an uninspired script by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul. Directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud were smart enough to throw in a steady stream of inane antics by the Minions, particularly the three stooges Kevin, Bob and Stuart, to get the movie back on its laugh track. The characters are pure silliness and that works beautifully.
The other big plus is that "Despicable Me 2" is brilliantly animated. In fact, this movie features such grand computer-generated vistas, there are moments when the background comes close to being distracting.
"Despicable Me 2" works because of the direction and stunning visual effects. It should do well enough to make a third movie possible. If that happens, let’s hope the focus shifts to the Minions. Because if the production can be as beautifully animated as it is in this sequel, there are plenty of possibilities ahead.
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Review by Rick Bentley, Fresno (Calif.) Bee
