Film Review – Despicable Me 3

June 29th, 2017 | POSTED BY Tristanne Endrina

“You just can’t get enough of the yellow cuteness!”

They say sequels are rarely as good as the first one, but when it comes to Despicable Me, it can only get better – or at least not worse. What do you expect from a second sequel like Despicable Me 3? Most likely it’s going to be the same old story line as the previous film with slightly duller characters. However, even with an antagonist such as Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker) with a weak yet necessary connection to the storyline, the movie wins with the peppered moments that made me crack up – like the covering of the boob when one of the Minion’s coconut bra falls (*see the trailer).

This sequel has a new and fun storyline: an exciting surprise is unexpectedly dropped on Gru (Steve Carell) – he has a twin brother (also voiced by Carell) that he did not know about for more than 50 years. What a convenient circumstance to his current situation – getting fired by the AVL. It was an interesting and fun twist to the story compared to the previous films. In Despicable Me, the twist was the three girls entering Gru’s life, altering his villain life. In Despicable Me 2, it was Gru leaving villainy behind to fight crime and getting married, completing his little family.

The film has good balance without straying from the main plot. With side stories such as the Minions quitting their jobs and then getting thrown in jail (and completely running that prison!) & Lucy (Kristen Wiig) working on being a mom, Despicable Me 3 is a well-rounded film for both kids and adults.

The film has its familiar bright colors and quick scenes and engages the audience with witty banter and a touch of cuteness – okay, A LOT of cuteness! If you’re a fan of the Minions like me, you’re going to just continue loving them after watching this film. Their personalities individually as well as a whole make Despicable Me 3 greatly entertaining. They really know how to work the big screen. Who’s YOUR favorite Minion? (See Minions for more!)

The Despicable Me series has had the same director (Eric Guillon) for all three films, so you can expect those familiar faces you’ve loved from the previous films to keep the dynamics playing off of each other. From Agnes’s high energy and innocence to Lucy’s kindness and spunk to Kyle the dog’s melancholy aggressiveness. Even the introduction of twin brother Dru Gru whose clumsiness and over excitement is a good contrast to Gru’s calculated grumpiness. I give Guillon props for knowing exactly how to create characters who are genuine, authentic and relatable.

The villain Balthazar Bratt wasn’t my favorite, even though he brought with him a sense of nostalgia with his obsessiveness to the 80’s. I didn’t like to hate him as much as I did with Vector from the first movie. I understand that it could be a bit difficult to create an appropriate villain for a kid’s movie that has a compelling story that adults, too, could get into. This character could’ve used a bit more thought, IMO. He wasn’t terrible, but not amazing either. Although, he DID have some cool dance moves. Ha!

Overall, I really enjoyed myself as I sat there with my buttery popcorn. I almost choked on a kernel when the prison montage scene played! I would highly recommend watching this film…either alone or with the kids. It’ll lift your spirits and give you a good laugh and will leave you laughing at those peppered moments for a while after the credits are done scrolling. Oh, and did you know that Gru’s mom’s voice is Julie Andrews?! Mary fricken Poppins is blunt and unforgiving Marlena Gru!

This film gets an A- in my book. :)

Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2, Despicable Me 3, Eric Guillon, Julie Andrews, Kristen Wiig, Kyle Balda, Minions, Pierre Coffin, Steve Carell, Trey Parker, Universal Pictures