Entry from July 13th:

This past weekend I was in line to watch Toy Story 3, only to change my mind after stepping on a flyer for yet another 3d animated movie called Despicable Me.  I only had vague recollections about what it was supposed to be about, but I figured, What the heck.  Everyone’s watching Toy Story.  I’ll watch this.

Considering the tough act it had to follow in the powerhouse that was and still is Toy Story 3, Despicable Me is a very respectable freshman effort by production company Illumination Entertainment, founded in 2007.  The animation is of the same caliber as anything Pixar has produced, and makes excellent use of 3D, culminating in a funny game of “stretch” played by the film’s bean-shaped, somewhat cycloptic “minions” during the end credits.

The minions themselves play a very small role in the movie–especially small considering the vast numbers of them–but certainly shine when they have their moments in the sun.

Despicable Me is about one Mister Gru, a super villain whose recent heists have been upstaged by an unserious neophyte known as Vector.  Attempting to regain his crown, Gru plots to steal the Moon using a shrink ray that will allow him to carry the celestial orb in his pocket.  Through a series of events, Vector acquires the shrink ray instead, and Gru adopts a trio of cookie-selling orphan girls so that they may penetrate the impenetrable fortress of the confection-craving Vector.

The film is entertaining and technically well-achieved, however, it suffers from moments of mismatched tone and a poorly developed plot.  Unlike Toy Story 3, Despicable Me is rated PG, and you get some inkling why as some of the story’s darker elements appear.  As I sat in the theater, I had to question the purpose of such darkness.  Certainly kid movies are never without some sadness, but the almost-morose moods in Despicable Me seemed out of place and wholly unnecessary.

More significantly, several plot points made little logical sense–that or Mister Gru was just about the worst super villain I’ve ever encountered.  Illogical plans can, of course, be forgiven in a kids’ movie, but when bad illogical plans are the driving force for the entire story itself, I think it’s time to pay a little more attention to what your writers are writing.

In the end, Despicable Me is fun, touching, and a promising look at what’s to come from Illumination.  A live-action version of Where’s Waldo is currently in the works.

Admin

Speaking of things that go woob woob, ever since the Haiti tragedy people have been announcing earthquakes on Facebook.  Well I didn’t feel Haiti and I haven’t felt a single other earthquake besides.  My house must be built on killer shock absorbers for me to not feel a single one of these tremors.  That or I have Parkinson’s disease and a shaking universe is all I’ve ever known.

That kind of sucks.

Anyway I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July.  It’s not an especially important holiday for me but the fireworks did seem particularly special this year.  I can’t say why.

Admin

I had my birthday recently and I was really touched and impressed to have someone draw Thanh and Maggie on a birthday card.  That isn’t so special in itself except for the fact that the drawings were done on the spot and from memory, and showed most of the distinct facial characteristics of the girls correctly.  Here, have a look-see:

I’ve heard from at least a few that the girls all look the same, but I’ve always trusted that was so because the comment came from people who didn’t read the comic much.  Arguably the differences between them are very or too subtle but they are there, and were part of their designs from the very beginning.

Starting on the left, Marge has a tall, almond-shaped head, dash-dot eyes and a small beak-nose.  She usually wears her hair down and over her ears.  Maggie’s head, in the middle, is composed of an almond like Marge’s but isn’t as tall.  This, along with her curled short hair and squarer jaw, give her a wider face, even though in fact her face-width is exactly the same as Marge’s.

Another important thing about Maggie is that by default her eyes and eyebrows are always connected.  This makes her eyes look bigger (even though they’re not) and somewhat crossed, which is characteristic of her personality.

Thanh’s head height is about the same as Maggie, but is egg-shaped, and sometimes bean-shaped when viewed from the side.  Thanh has no sharp corners in her chin, unlike the Margarets.  Her most distinguishing features, of course, are her hair– typically in a ponytail– and her nose, what I refer to as “The Speed Bump.”

You could argue for Maggie’s wide-eyed appearance, but ultimately it’s Thanh that is the most child-like in her design.  Flat-nosed, with a round, indistinguishable chin, Thanh is remniscient of a prebuscent child, her gender barely recognizable in this lineup with her hair tied into an unseen tail.  Her attitide, too, is immature and reflective of her story.