Despicable Me (2010)

81% of critics liked it
(187 reviews)
81% of users liked it
(182,338 ratings)

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… More 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. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
Genres: Animation, Kids & Family, Comedy

In Theaters: Jul 9, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Dec 14, 2010
Studio: Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

Laremy Legel, Film.com
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.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
This animated thing pretty near out-Pixars Pixar.
Tom Long, Detroit News
The result is a sweet and witty bit of animated fun with both eye-popping 3-D effects and a warm heart.
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
There's a fine line between gleeful anarchy and wasted energy, and Despicable Me has a wonderful knack for staking out its spot and staying on the right side.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
So much is going on in this movie that, while there's nothing worth despising, there's not much to remember either.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Welcome to the on-screen psychoanalysis of Joan Rivers, of which she seems equal parts willing participant and antagonist.
Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
A movie that mistakes grotesquery for wit--in other words a perfect vehicle for Steve Carell.
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
The film benefits immensely from a Carell lead vocal turn that's loopy and droll.
Joshua Starnes, ComingSoon.net
Despicable Me is bright and pretty enough that kids will like it, which is certainly its aim. It's also brainless, heartless and soulless.
Mark Pfeiffer, Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema
This breezy movie is more fun when it doesn't worry about saying anything important and lets the zany antics unwind.
Roger Tennis, Cinemaclips.com
Despite its evil theme, Despicable Me is likable and heartwarming family entertainment.
Jeffrey Chen, Window to the Movies
The main goal in Despicable Me is to tell this story with as little sap as possible, and on that it fares well.
R. L. Shaffer, IGN DVD
Guaranteed to keep the kids entertained, but the film shamelessly borrows from far too many other movies to keep the adults happy.
Beth Accomando, KPBS.org
I have said that this was a weak year for animation but I do want to celebrate MINIONS!
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
A fun-filled family flick!
Glenn Heath Jr., Slant Magazine
Despicable Me is undeniably enjoyable and fun as a children's film, but it also works as a revealing story of redemption for a "super villain" that can't help but be a great father.
Kevin A. Ranson, MovieCrypt.com
With no other performance coming close to being as layered as Carell's, the rest... is played for laughs to such an extent that it never reaches Pixar-plotted heights.
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
It would be a serious examination of the family in the postmodern age, were it not so laugh-out-loud funny.
Henry Fitzherbert, Daily Express
A very likeable 3D animation that combines originality and charm with a pleasing, spiky humour.
David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]
The animation is fine and crisp with some imaginative use of colour, while the 3D really brings the action to life.

Read all 26 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

John M

Minions!!!! I want a minion!!!!
Candy R

Sweet animation about Gru the wickedest man who plans to steal the moon. His heart softens when he adopts three little orphan girls. Agnes is my favourite. The minions are crazy tic tac like figures. Voices by Steve Carell, Russell Brand and Julie Andrews. Cute movie.
Anthony L

Despicable Me is fun. It's much like Monsters vs Aliens and Megamind really but maybe with a little more intended 'cuteness' but with careless predictability, albeit unimportant. I liked it. The minions weren't as great as I'd anticipated but were still good,… More
Despicable Me is fun. It's much like Monsters vs Aliens and Megamind really but maybe with a little more intended 'cuteness' but with careless predictability, albeit unimportant. I liked it. The minions weren't as great as I'd anticipated but were still good, but the 'He's so fluffy' scene made me laugh so much I rewound and played it several times - bumping up my star rating somewhat.
Melvin W

Gru: It's like my heart is a tooth, and it's got a cavity that can only be filled with children. "Superbad. Superdad." Despicable Me is a funny and smart animated film. It uses a story that has been done many times in the past, but they put their own little spin… More
Gru: It's like my heart is a tooth, and it's got a cavity that can only be filled with children. "Superbad. Superdad." Despicable Me is a funny and smart animated film. It uses a story that has been done many times in the past, but they put their own little spin on it. It basically has the same core plot as The Grinch, but now we are given a Supervillain who is brought to the good side by a few little orphan girls. The film is quick paced and is as fun as movies for children come. It is sure to keep both adults and kids not only watching, but enjoying. The movie follows a Supervillain named Gru who has a plan to steal the moon. He needs a shrink ray gun that is in the possession of another villain named Vector. Gru comes up with an idea that involves adopting a few kids, in order to obtain the shrink ray gun and ultimately steal the moon. The movie is like a James Bond movie when it comes to all the gadgets that are used. The voice cast is amazing, lead by Steve Carrell as Gru and Jason Segal as Vector. The animation is well done and the whole movie is just really well thought out and put together. I can see myself watching this again and liking it even more. There is so much to like and take from it. There's the little orphan girl who is hilarious, the little minions and gadgets like Piranha Guns. This is up there as one of the better animated movies I have ever seen. It doesn't quite make it to the level of movies like Ponyo or Iron Giant, but it is much better than your average animated, children's movie.
Lady D

Wonderful characters fill this film, in this Annie meets Bond Villain style film. The minnions of course provide great humour throughout, as do the voices of Steve Carell and Russell Brand. Definitely a good one for the kids and the majority of grown ups too.
Michael M

Despicable Me was one of the best animated films of 2010. The plot has been done and dusted many times before but it actually adds something to the equation and doesn't resort to rehashing. It also has a pretty good soundtrack. Plus, A lot of memorable lines and characters and of… More
Despicable Me was one of the best animated films of 2010. The plot has been done and dusted many times before but it actually adds something to the equation and doesn't resort to rehashing. It also has a pretty good soundtrack. Plus, A lot of memorable lines and characters and of course laughs in this intelligent and colourful animated film.
Jason O

I expected a lot more greatness from this one after how much I'd heard about it. It was not as funny, unique, or good as I thought it would be. But to be fair, I also did not see it in 3D, which was most of the jive I'd heard about it. Perhaps I would've enjoyed it… More
I expected a lot more greatness from this one after how much I'd heard about it. It was not as funny, unique, or good as I thought it would be. But to be fair, I also did not see it in 3D, which was most of the jive I'd heard about it. Perhaps I would've enjoyed it better if I had.
Eric A

In a day in age where there are more animated films than ever, Despicable Me stands out for its originality and intelligent humor.
Thomas J

I just love Steve Carell... even voicing a despicable character... he is loveable!
Brad W

Cute and funny, maybe to kiddish, but still very good. Despicable Me will bore some parents, and some parents will love it, but its mostly for kids so if your ready for a lot of Dreamworks good attempt to be funny for kids adults, be ready. The plot is okay, it has a predictable… More
Cute and funny, maybe to kiddish, but still very good. Despicable Me will bore some parents, and some parents will love it, but its mostly for kids so if your ready for a lot of Dreamworks good attempt to be funny for kids adults, be ready. The plot is okay, it has a predictable ending but the story is sweet, funny, and nice. The characters are great, and I think everyone will love the minions. The music in the film was very good too, a nice score. The jokes will be loved by kids, but some adults might find the jokes for kids ages 3-8. Other than too many kid jokes, this is a sweet, charming, funny movie and but was not as good as Dreamworks Megamind and How to Train Your Dragon.
Drake T

I wanted to really like this but I didn't. There were just so many exciting themes and ideas I was looking forward to with the premise that the story neglected. In the end it was just another harmless, formulaic kids film with a disgustingly predictable plot fueled by depth-less… More
I wanted to really like this but I didn't. There were just so many exciting themes and ideas I was looking forward to with the premise that the story neglected. In the end it was just another harmless, formulaic kids film with a disgustingly predictable plot fueled by depth-less characters. It was also heavy on the gag humor as opposed to the witty dialogue that adults are used to for their end of the bargain. Maybe the kids like it but... meh. Maybe Pixar & Dreamworks have set the industry standards too high but the characters and film in general were just largely forgettable.
paul s

The message here is something we've seen a billion times before, that of a lonely bad guy who gets swayed into being a good guy by the love of some orphan children (the curmudgeon in Up comes to mind); and certainly those passages are predictable and serve to slow down the zany… More
The message here is something we've seen a billion times before, that of a lonely bad guy who gets swayed into being a good guy by the love of some orphan children (the curmudgeon in Up comes to mind); and certainly those passages are predictable and serve to slow down the zany pace of the rest of the film, and yet there are moments where this part of the story works quite well. Looking past the obvious plot development however, you get a whacked out story that begins with a hilarious scene at the great pyramids, leading to the discovery that a villain has stolen one of em! That leads to the introduction of Gru (voiced with a totally bizarre accent by Steve Carell), a rival villain whose claim to fame was a long ago stealing of the Times Square Jumbotron. Along with his sidekick, evil scientist Dr. Nefarious (with another strange accent, as voiced by Russell Brand) Gru hatches a plan to steal the moon, thereby making him the most famous villain of all time. If this sounds wacky, it is! And it provides all the laugh out loud moments of a film that has a certain swagger to it. A fine example of realism running headlong into this crazy nonsense is when Gru realizes that he's going to have to get a bank loan to finance his rocket ship. Claiming that "the bank likes me", he parallel parks his huge rocket car (smashing the other parked cars out of the way), and then enters the bank building. He heads for the bathroom where an electric eye at the urinal identifies him and allows the side of the building to open up so Gru can enter... The Bank of Evil (formerly Lehman Bros.). I just about fell out of my chair at that one! There is a Looney Tunes feeling going on here - a nod that yes, we know it's a cartoon, so sit back and have some fun. It ain't Pixar (where most of their efforts, while animated, don't seem cartoonish at all... except the back half of the aforementioned Up), but I found this to be entertaining, if light fare. I should mention that there is a hilarious scene involving Gru's minions that plays over the ending credits; and really, the entire concept of the minions was inspired.
Sanjay R

Good voice performances by Carell, Segel and Brand, good animation and great writing make this movie funny and original.
Bethany M

Absolutely hilarious! A must see! 'IT'S SO FLUFFY!'
Summer W

Cute. Formulaic, but enjoyable anyway.
Michael G

While Despicable Me wasn't exactly... despicable, it certainly was disappointing. I could count all the funny parts on one hand and they were all in the last 20 minutes. The premise was generally lame and another great case to watch a Pixar movie instead is made in just over an… More
While Despicable Me wasn't exactly... despicable, it certainly was disappointing. I could count all the funny parts on one hand and they were all in the last 20 minutes. The premise was generally lame and another great case to watch a Pixar movie instead is made in just over an hour and a half. In the plus column the animation was good and those minion things were kind of neat. Otherwise I regret not standing my ground on watching Megamind instead.
Chris W

Taking a few old things, and adding in a few new bits and pieces, Despicable Me is a wonderfully entertaining look at the life of an ambitious supervillain with a spotty success record. The look and animation style are nice and well done respectively, and the minions and little… More
Taking a few old things, and adding in a few new bits and pieces, Despicable Me is a wonderfully entertaining look at the life of an ambitious supervillain with a spotty success record. The look and animation style are nice and well done respectively, and the minions and little girls are absolute cutest/scene stealingest side characters since maybe Stitch or the little girl from Monsters Inc. The cast are awesome, and I like the accents used by some of the performers, especially Carell and Andrews. I figured this would be a fun and enjoyable movie, but I didn't expect it to be quite this good or solid. I'm glad my expectations were raised some. Give this one a shot. For a non Disney/Pixar affair, it's one of the better animated films of the past couple of years.
Jason C

The majority of these animated features are normally enjoyable. This one is no exception. It's good storytelling, but I can't help but feel I've seen the whole thing before. This isn't bad, but it's no Pixar movie either. There's far better.
Shawn E

A highly entertaining animation with lots of laughs and likable characters.
Josh L

Alot better than I was expecting after seeing initial trailers some years ago. I agree with the general consensus that it feels inspired by the Looney Tunes and Pixars more mature efforts in the animated world. It mixes the two very nicely and has some great voice acting. It's a… More
Alot better than I was expecting after seeing initial trailers some years ago. I agree with the general consensus that it feels inspired by the Looney Tunes and Pixars more mature efforts in the animated world. It mixes the two very nicely and has some great voice acting. It's a fun animated movie with a heart to go along with it. It isn't as good as the upper class animated movies of 2010 (Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon), but its certainly better than most.