Despicable Me 3 is double the fun when Gru meets his twin brother Dru

Movie Title:  Despicable Me 3

Grade:  B

Rating: PG, 90 minutes

In a Nutshell:  This is the 3rd installment in the Despicable Mefranchise (4th if you count Minions).  It's not as good as the first two, but it's still silly fun for families.

The detailed animation is absolutely outstanding. The movements, colors, textures, voices, water, and facial expressions are incredible.  The physical humor is adorable.

Uplifting theme: 

• Family

• Kindness
• Imagination

Things I liked:

• I’m a twin, so I was excited to see Gru’s twin.  If you’re one too, be sure to go to the annual “Twins Days Festival” in Twinsburg, Ohio at least once in your lifetime.  It’s awesome and hilarious.  Steve Carell has always done an excellent job with Gru's lovable accent and now he adds a double who has a voice that is similar, yet different.  Well done.
• The 80’s villain “Balthazar Bratt” voiced by Trey Parker is really funny.  I love his dance moves retro style.  Watching him do aerobics on that exercise ball made me laugh out loud.  Complete with a Michael Jackson cassette tape and bubblegum-launching shoulder pads, he steals every scene he is in.  I love the detail of his bald spot.  Dance battle!
• Pharrell Williams did most of the music, making for a foot-tapping soundtrack.  The cutest musical moment for me was when the minions sing "Papa Mama Loca Pipa" in the "Sing" competition.
• I love Jenny Slate’s voice and think she’s perfect in animated movies.    
•  The lovely Julie Andrews gives us a cameo voice talent of Gru’s mom.
• Other voice talents include Russell Brand, Steve Coogan, and the SNL favorite Kristen Wiig.
• The Cheese Festival had some fun features, like that slide grater people went down on a chunk of giant cheese.  Ha ha
• I’d like a magical unicorn to help me do math too. 

Things I didn’t like:

• As a mom, I don’t appreciate that the advertising tagline is “It’s good to be bad.”  Really?  That’s what you want to teach our kids?  One of the Minions holds up a sign that says, “Be bad!”
• Some themes could have gone much deeper.  Instead, there are a lot of story lines going on, so the movie just doesn’t have time to explore them all.
• The movie never reaches a truly emotional moment like Pixar is so brilliant at doing.
• You’ll chuckle, and maybe even a lot, but probably not belly-laugh.
•  The finger-snapping Minions are still cute, but moving dangerously close to the annoying Jar Jar Binks status.  In fact, they get crude and violent in this film.  Not cool. 

Funny lines:

• “Heist music!” – Balthazar Bratt
• “Dance fight!” –  Balthazar Bratt
• “Son of a Beta Max!” – Balthazar
• “I saw a unicorn once.” – guy in a bar

“Was it fluffy?” – Margo (Miranda Cosgrove)

“It was so fluffy I thought I was gonna die.” – guy

“Sqeeeeeeee!” – Margo
* "Yes, Molly Ringwald.  I will take you to the prom." - Balthazar Bratt

Tips for parents: 

• You see Gru’s naked back side.
• The minions stick out their tongues and say, “Pffffth” often.   Fair warning: your little ones may think that’s hilarious and want to imitate it.  They're also going to want to hunt for a real unicorn. Squee!
•  Animated violence and destruction.

Need to catch up on the first 3 films in the series?  You can find them cheap on Amazon, just in time for Amazon's annual Prime Day!
Despicable Me

Despicable Me 2

Minions

@trinaboice 

Minions get their own fun flick

Movie:   Minions

Grade:  B+

In a Nutshell:   Adorable.  Silly. Colorful.  Like eating pure sugar. Imaginative prequel to the beloved Despicable Me movie franchise. The plot isn’t deep, but their crazy antics will still make you smile.

Warning: It may be too much sugar for some people.

Uplifting Theme:

·         Don’t mess with a minion’s teddy bear?

·         Working together, you can accomplish your goal.

Things I liked:

·         I love the minions’ cute jibberish language.  Adorable.  I noticed that they include quite a bit of Spanish bits, such as “Si”, “Gracias” and “Que paso?”  (What happened?)

·         There are a lot of fun pop icon moments, like the Campbell Soup Can art by Andy Warhol. I got to see the original one a year ago at a conference! 

·         I liked Scarlett’s husband’s play on words.  For example, he called Stuart: “Stu-ART”, “Stewperman”, and “Beef Stu”.

·         It was so fun watching Kevin, Stuart, and Bo go to London, so that I can share my vacation photos with you.  I was just there last week!  Awesome pic, right?

Even the famous Tower of London guards known as “Beefeaters” are featured for a moment. When I visited there last week, I learned that "Beefeaters" actually have many years of military experience before they can even apply for the job.  They live on site and exhibit such pride for their job.  

·         Great music from the 60’s and 70’s.

·         I loved the new Buckingham Palace guards with the yellow Minion hats.  Yep, I just saw the real changing of the guards there last week too!    I got this close to them during the ceremony...

·         There is a scene that shows the House of Commons in Parliament.  I saw that too!  The chairs really are green!  The House of Lords is so much more beautiful and fancy.  Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos on the tour.

·         Cute Abbey Road Beatles moment.  Did you catch it?

·         Funny faked landing on the moon conspiracy theory moment.  Did you see it?

·         The minions visit Westminster Cathedral too.  

 ·         After spending days on the London Tube, I got a kick out of the “Mind the Gap” voice on the train.  The location scouts for the movie did a great job of including authentic images for the London scenes.  What a great excuse to share some of my vacation moments with you!       

·         Keep watching while the credits roll at the end of the movie.
-    Terrific voice talents include the lovely Sandra Bullock, the handsome Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, and a bunch of unnamed yellow blobs.
-   The movie begins with an evolution backstory of the minions.  I loved their different clothes changes as the decades passed.  Yeah, I wore jean overalls in the '60s and 70's too.
-  Did you notice that Bob has one green eye and one brown eye?

Things I didn’t like:

·         Scarlett asks “Doesn’t it feel so good to be bad?”  Um, I’m not sure I want my kids repeating that message.

·         It doesn’t have the heart of Despicable Me, although it does explain how the minions found their ultimate villain.  No tissues required.

·         It’s more fun to see in 3D.

·         Uneven pacing.
-     Despicable Me is more magical, but these cute little guys deserved their own fun flick.

Funny lines:

·         “Who are you, my knights in shining…denim?” – Scarlett

·         “Steal me the crown and all your dreams come true: respect, power, banana!” – Scarlett

·         SPOILER ALERT:   “Bob, who appears to be a bald, jaundiced child, has pulled the famed sword right from its sword and has become the new king.” – TV reporter

Tips for Parents:

·         Some characters take off their shirts and do suggestive dancing.  You also see another character’s buns.  Come on now….that’s just not necessary in a kids’ movie.

·         Parents will be amused by references to pop culture that most kids won’t catch.
-   Unlike a lot of kids' movies, this one doesn't have a ton of bodily functions, although Bob farts once.

What?  You haven't seen the Despicable movies?  Hurry and catch up!  They're AWESOME!

Let the adorable merchandising begin:




Did you know?
During opening weekend, this film’s incomprehensible yellow henchmen, took in a whopping $115.2 million at U.S. box offices this weekend—the second biggest opening of all time for an animated film. (Shrek the Third holds the record, with $121.6 million in 2007.) “They’re bigger than Spongebob. They just have that mass appeal right now and are basically a merchandiser’s dream,” a senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations told USA Today.