According to The Big Book of Hollywood Economics, every animated feature in this day and age must be sequelised. Even Hoodwinkedgot a sequel that nobody asked for, and there’s no palpable end in sight for the Madagascar or Kung Fu Panda sequels. The sleeper animation hit of 2010 was Despicable Me, from the newly-established Illumination Entertainment. Although it was released in the same year as Toy Story 3 and How to Train Your Dragon, it racked up an impressive box office gross of nearly $550 million, guaranteeing a sequel. But despite being masterminded by the same writers and directors as its predecessor,Despicable Me 2 is an oddly underwhelming follow-up, working only in drips and drabs rather than as a cohesive whole. It comes up short in terms of humour, not to mention it loses the heart of the original film and it lacks the thematic complexity of Pixar’s usual output. It’s not bad per se, as it’s bright and fairly fun, but it’s not unreasonable to expect a stronger finished product considering the quality of the 2010 movie.
Domesticated and no longer engaging in villainous antics, Gru (Steve Carell) has warmed up to the lifestyle of a father, diligently looking out for his adopted daughters Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Agnes (Elsie Fisher) and Edith (Dana Gaier). Meanwhile, a research station in Antarctica has been stolen, and the criminal behind the deed now possesses a serum capable of creating an unstoppable army of mutants. Investigating the matter is the Anti-Villain League, who are compelled to recruit Gru. Teaming up with agent Lucy Wilde (Kristin Wiig, who voiced an entirely different character in the first film), Gru goes undercover at a local shopping mall to weed out the new super villain. Added to this, the girls become insistent that Gru begins seeking out a girlfriend, leading to flying sparks between Gru and Lucy as they carry out their mission.
What makes Despicable Me 2 interesting is that it’s a mystery for the majority of its runtime. The villain is kept shrouded in secrecy until the very end, which provides a hook and gives the film the chance to toy with audience expectations. However, the film plays out as more of an adventure than a fun family comedy, establishing a light-hearted tone but failing to deliver a steady stream of laughs. In fact, there are no belly-laughs at all, and there are only one or two memorable moments of comedy in the entire 90-minute picture. Moreover, the best gags are only in the final third, and the only joke to make me laugh out loud (the minions dressing up as the Village People and performing their own rendition of YMCA) is right before the end credits. Despicable Me 2 needed to be coloured in with more of the sly humour that made the original so special. Furthermore, the film suffers due to a lack of heart, making it feel empty and disposable. 2010’s Despicable Me had a clichéd but effective character arc for Gru as he warmed up to the girls, but here we just get a romantic angle which lacks the sincerity to make it soar. Added to this, the Anti-Villain League is forgotten about halfway through the movie. Literally. Gru solves the mystery and saves the world, but we do not see the repercussions on the league. It’s baffling.
Owing to the three-year gap and heightened budget, Despicable Me 2 is a more attractive movie, boasting improved animation that nevertheless retains the simplistic charm of its forerunner. That said, though, the 3D does not add much to the experience. In fact, it’s one of the most rote uses of the format in recent memory, with only a few moments that take full advantage of the possibilities of 3D. For most of the time, you forget you’re watching the movie in 3D. Trust me, this one plays just fine in 2D. On a more positive note, the film fares best while observing the minions up to their usual mischief. The minions only speak in gibberish, hence it’s up to the animators to make them interesting by giving them amusing slapstick humour in the vein of the Three Stooges. Luckily, the minions are brilliant here, and their antics are as amusing as ever. But the rest of the humour is a mixed bag. The first movie had some snide moments of black comedy as well as a few sly sight gags; here, the biggest recurring joke is the fart gun, which tells you how uncreative the flick really is.
Despicable Me 2 is not an actor’s movie, of course, but Carell is still an utter delight as Gru. He’s a wonderfully quirky visual creation, and Carell voices him with a hilariously indeterminate accent that, in the actor’s own words, mixes Ricardo Montalban and Bela Lugosi. Wiig is also good here, giving Lucy a spark of brightness and charisma. Wiig is good in anything, and she was a great choice for Lucy. Al Pacino was initially slated to be part of the picture, but dropped out at the 11th hour over “creative differences,” and was replaced by Benjamin Bratt. The fact that he was so easily replaced shows how interchangeable the vocal acting is, though Bratt does a serviceable enough job. Unfortunately, Russell Brand’s Dr. Nefario is criminally underused, given barely any screen-time at all. Nefario is a supporting presence and works in small doses, sure, but a development early into the story concerning the character just doesn’t sit right.
In spite of all its flaws, Despicable Me 2 is still entertaining, with a few standout sequences and a nice sense of energy that rarely falters. It’s not that the film is unwatchable; it just feels lazy, as if the animators were the only ones who put in a genuine effort. For the first Despicable Me, the makers all had something to prove, as it was Illumination Entertainment’s debut movie and it had to make a positive impression. Now, it seems, the crew were operating on autopilot, which is a real shame.
6.2/10