Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
(PG)
**
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Despicable Me could’ve been called “Forgettable Me,” said Christy Lemire in the Associated Press. Kids will get some kicks from this 3-D animated film, about an evil man who fancies himself the greatest villain in the world, and parents may “smile with amusement.” But neither will leave the theater wanting to see it again. Despicable Me is a “far cry” from the animated classics that Pixar keeps turning out, but screenwriters Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul give it a lot of heart, said Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News. Steve Carell voices the villainous Gru, who—after hearing that another evildoer has stolen the Great Pyramid of Giza—plots to steal the moon. Carell turns Gru into an “amusing fusion of Boris Badenov and Dr. Evil,” said Ty Burr in The Boston Globe. He’s cold-hearted enough to trick orphans into aiding his vengeful plot—but not so cold as to keep from melting under their influence. Thanks to this surprisingly sympathetic supervillain, the film’s odd mix of cynicism and sentimentality mostly works.
