Despicable Me

When a rival scoundrel swipes Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, dastardly animated supervillain Gru (voiced by Steve Carrell) becomes infuriated, devising a spectacular one-upmanship scheme to steal the moon. While Gru's acerbic mom (Julie Andrews) harbors doubts, her son insists that all he needs is a shrink-ray gun. Unfortunately, once the weapon is acquired, Gru's nerdy nemesis Vector (Jason Segel) pilfers it. Then Gru decides that the key to criminal success lies in adopting three adorable orphan girls. Bespectacled Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) is the most strong-willed of the trio, although Agnes (Elsie Fisher) and Edith (Dana Gaier) are equally adamant that their new “dad” take them on a rollercoaster ride, transport them to ballet class, and read them bedtime stories—as they gradually melt his cold, evil heart. Backed by his multitude of minions (yellow miniature robots), Gru is also assisted by Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), who invents awesome gadgets; but the doctor has a hearing problem, so when Gru requests a dart gun, Nefario instead supplies a weapon that makes farts (cue juvenile laughter). Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, this visually engaging CGI feature is full of warmth and humor (don't skip the end credits). Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, the production featurettes “The World of Despicable Me” (15 min.) and “A Global Effort” (4 min.), a “Despicable Beats” segment on the soundtrack (3 min.), the “Gru's Rocket Builder” DVD game, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “Gru Control” viewing option, “The Voices of Despicable Me” cast featurette (17 min.), three “Despicable Me Mini Movies” shorts (12 min.), a “Super Silly Fun Land” interactive game, text “Miss Hattie's Top Secret Cookie Recipes,” bonus DVD and digital copies of the film, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a fine extras package for an excellent animated film.] (S. Granger)