Despicable Me (film)

Despicable Me was initially developed by Sergio Pablos under the working title Evil Me. He later participated in development during the early stages of the production and took the package unsolicited to Universal Pictures, where he became the first of several screenwriters on the project as well as executive producer.[4]

Producer Chris Meledandri left 20th Century Fox Animation as president in early 2007 to establish his own animation studio under Universal Pictures, which he named Illumination Entertainment.[5] After buying the pitch from Pablos, Meledandri brought in screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, with whom he'd worked on Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who (2008) while at Fox, to write the project.[6] Soon after he brought together animators Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud to direct, with the Paris-based studio Mac Guff to handle animation.[7] Coffin, who comes from Mac Guff, was recruited for his experience directing commercials for the studio, while Renaud was brought in for his animation experience in Blue Sky Studios.[7] In November 2008, Illumination Entertainment announced the beginning of development on its first CGI animated film and project, Despicable Me.[6][8]

The language spoken by the Minions was invented by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, the directors of the film. The language is sometimes titled "Minionese".[9]

Universal Pictures partnered the film with licensing and promotional partners valued at $75 million for the marketing campaign.[13] Additional marketing partners for the film included AirHeads, Church's Chicken, Hungry Jack's, Color Me Mine, American Express, Kodak, IHOP, and Best Buy.[13]

Despicable Me was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on December 14.[14] The release included three new short films, titled Home Makeover, Orientation Day, and Banana.[15]

Despicable Me grossed $251.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $291.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $543.1 million, against its $69 million budget.[2]

In the United States and Canada, Despicable Me opened at the number one spot at the box office and pulled in $56.3 million, making it the third-biggest opening grossing for an animated film in 2010 behind Toy Story 3 and Shrek Forever After.[16] In its second weekend, the film dipped 42% to second place behind Inception (2010) with $32.8 million earned. The film then had another drop of 28% in its third weekend and finished in third place with $23.7 million.[17]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 81% with an average score of 6.80/10, based on 202 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Borrowing heavily (and intelligently) from Pixar and Looney Tunes, Despicable Me is a surprisingly thoughtful, family-friendly treat with a few surprises of its own."[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[19] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[16]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three stars out of four, saying the directors were skilled at "springing surprises" from the writers' "ingenious" screenplay.[20] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, "Since villains so often steal the show in animation, Despicable Me smartly turns the whole operation over to megalomaniacal rogue Gru."[21] Robert Wilonsky of The Village Voice wrote, "The result is pleasant and diverting, if ultimately forgettable, and it's one of the rare instances in the recent history of 3-D's resurrection as The Savior of Cinema in which the technology doesn't dim the screen or distract the focus."[22] Keith Uhlich of Time Out New York gave the film three stars out of five, saying, "The setup is pure Looney Tunes, and indeed, Despicable Me is at its best when trading in the anything-for-a-laugh prankery that was a specialty of the Termite Terrace crowd."[23] Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel gave the film three stars out of four, saying, "Despicable Me is a 3D cartoon comedy of whiplash-quick laughs, funny punch lines and a wickedly gimmicky appreciation for 3D."[24] Christy Lemire of the Associated Press wrote, "Kids will dig it, adults will smile with amusement, and no one will be any different afterward than they were walking into the theater."[25] Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film three and a half stars out of five, saying, "Neither as rich in story nor stunning in animation as Pixar offerings, Despicable Me instead settles for simply being goofy good fun, and it hardly seems like settling at all."[26]

Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying, "Short, sweet-and-sour, and amusing rather than funny, Despicable Me can't help but be likable."[27] Colin Covert of the Star Tribune gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "You'll probably leave the theater smiling, but don't expect to be emotionally engaged, Pixar-style. You'll be tickled, not touched."[28] Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three stars out of four, saying, "A whip-smart family movie that makes inventive use of the summer's ubiquitous 3-D technology is something worth cheering."[29] Tom Keogh of The Seattle Times gave the film three stars out of four, saying "Despicable Me appeals both to our innocence and our glee over cartoon anarchy."[30] Jason Anderson of the Toronto Star gave the film three stars out of four, saying, "Despicable Me may not match the stratospherically high standards set by Up and WALL-E (2008) but that hardly matters when it's this much fun."[31] Ty Burr of The Boston Globe gave the film three stars out of four, saying, "Despicable Me has enough visual novelty and high spirits to keep the kiddies diverted and just enough wit to placate the parents."[32] Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, saying, "The film is funny, energetic, teeth-gnashingly venomous and animated with an eye to exploiting the 3-D process with such sure-fire techniques as a visit to an amusement park."[33] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying, "By taking the "heart" part just seriously enough, and in the nick of time, the movie saves itself from itself."[34]

Kim Newman of Empire gave the film three stars out of five, saying, "It's no first-rank CGI cartoon, but shows how Pixar's quality over crass is inspiring the mid-list. Fun, with teary bits, for kids fresh and smart for adults."[35] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying, "The film throws so much ersatz cleverness and overdone emotion at the audience that we end up more worn out than entertained."[36] Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying, "Unfortunately Despicable Me is just, predictably eh. And the one thing the larcenous Gru never steals is our heart."[37] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three stars out of four, saying, "This is a smartly written comedy with a soft emotional core."[38] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post gave the film three stars out of four, saying, "An improbably heartwarming, not to mention visually delightful, diversion."[39] Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail gave the film four stars out of four, saying, "This animated thing pretty near out-Pixars Pixar."[40] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film two stars out of four, saying, "When compared with the ambition and achievement of recent animated films, such as Coraline (2009) and Toy Story 3, Despicable Me hardly seems to have been worth making, and it's barely worth watching."[41]

Bob Mondello of NPR gave the film an eight out of ten, saying, "It's all thoroughly adorable, and with an overlay that's nearly as odd as Carell's accent: Despicable Me looks a lot like other computer-animated pictures."[42] Mary F. Pols of MSN Movies gave the film four stars out of five, saying, "The movie finishes strong, managing to be sweet without being saccharine. It's no Toy Story 3, but Despicable Me is a solid alternative."[43] A. O. Scott of The New York Times gave the film two stars out of five, saying, "So much is going on in this movie that, while there's nothing worth despising, there's not much to remember either."[44] Laremy Legel of Film.com gave the film an A, saying, "Despicable Me is darned cute. I know cute isn't to the lofty level of message storytelling but it can be entertaining to watch when done correctly."[45] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Despicable doesn't measure up to Pixar at its best. Nonetheless, it's funny, clever and warmly animated with memorable characters."[46] Steve Persall of the Tampa Bay Times gave the film a B, saying, "Directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud craft a fun stretch run, wrapping the story with warm, fuzzy funnies and nothing to suggest a sequel, which is probably wise."[47] Tasha Robinson of The A.V. Club gave the film a B, saying, "Until the creep + orphans = happy family formula starts demanding abrupt, unconvincing character mutations, Despicable Me is a giddy joy."[48] Marjorie Baumgarten of The Austin Chronicle gave the film three stars out of five, saying, "Everyone knows that the villains are usually the most interesting characters in any movie. So the makers of Despicable Me were wise to cut to the chase and make the megalomaniacal Gru the central character in this animated film."[49]