Despicable Me

Synopsis
A mysterious criminal mastermind has stolen one of the pyramids in Egypt, sparking a fit of jealous envy in evil genius Gru (Steve Carell), who hasn't managed to make headlines since he and his minions swiped the Times Square JumboTron years back. Ever since Gru was a little boy, he dreamed of going to the moon. Now, if Gru can just build a rocket and get his hands on a powerful shrink-ray, he can cement his reputation as the greatest thief who ever lived by stealing the Earth's satellite right out of the sky. But immediately after Gru heists the shrink-ray, the cunning super-nerd Vector (Jason Segel) swoops in and snatches it right out of his hands. Now, in order to claim the moon, Gru must first reacquire the weapon from Vector. Armed with the knowledge that his nemesis has a mean sweet tooth, Gru adopts cookie-selling orphans Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Agnes (Elsie Fisher), and Edith (Dana Gaier) and commissions a new line of cookie robots from the evil Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), his personal weapons specialist. But as Gru and his diminutive yellow minions prepare to carry out the biggest heist in history, something strange happens. Gru discovers that the three little girls who have come into his life are much more than simple pawns. They actually seem to care about Gru, and it turns out the scheming evildoer makes a pretty good father. When Gru realizes that his upcoming moon mission clashes with a ballet performance by the girls, he must decide what's more important -- being a present parent or cementing his nefarious reputation once and for all.

Reviews
"[I]t's funny, clever and warmly animated with memorable characters..." (Hollywood Reporter)

4.5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] rousingly funny, heartfelt and imaginative 'toon blessed with the vocal talents of Steve Carell and loaded with whimsy and smarts." (Box Office)

"[S]prightly filmmaking....[A] charming tale of bad intentions and happy endings." -- Grade: A- (Entertainment Weekly)

3 stars out of 4 -- "The film is funny, energetic, teeth-gnashingly venomous..." (Chicago Sun-Times)

"[T]he animation is a grabber all the way through....Stylish..." (Wall Street Journal)

"A picture that manages to feel both original and pleasingly nostalgic without straining for either effect." (Movieline)

"[A] giddy joy....Mostly, DESPICABLE ME is a joyously creative, refreshing piece of work..." -- Grade: B (A.V. Club)

3 stars out of 4 -- "[A]n improbably heartwarming, not to mention visually delightful, diversion..." (Washington Post)

3 stars out of 5 -- "Combining INCREDIBLES-style hardware with a SHREK-esque protagonist....Satirical, scatological and slapsticky..." (Total Film)

"[Pharrell Williams] contributes some of the coolest, glitchiest would-be mumbled rap ever heard." (Sight and Sound)

3 stars out of 5 -- "Naturally, there's a trip into space and a spectacular near disaster, but it's the heart which makes DESPICABLE ME effective." (Empire)

4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he yarn has its own sly humour." (Uncut)