# Despicable Me...Anyone Seen It? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2010, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297 "2010-07-11T13:48:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/21 "2010-07-12T15:22:07Z")
I took my kids to see both Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me. We all liked DM better and it was actually less scary for them than TS3 (they’re 6 & 4). We saw both in 2D. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/22 "2010-07-12T16:23:06Z")
I don’t have any large interest in this movie, but I have to ask…what in the crap is it _about_? It seriously has some of the worst previews I’ve ever seen…they do not tell me ANYTHING about the plot of the movie. All I can tell is the following: There is some mad inventor (I think he’s an inventor?) and he has kids, and he’s nice to his kids, but a jerk to everyone else, and there are weird little yellow things, one of which has one eye? Am I right? That’s the only thing I can gather from the trailers. I don’t know what the main conflict of the movie is, why there are little yellow things, etc… Is it based off a book or something? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/23 "2010-07-12T16:28:31Z")
Supervillain, rivals with another supervillain, has sapient Twinkies for minions, has to take care of kids, and hijinks ensue. That’s what I’ve gotten from various teasers and trailers, anyway. It looks like plot is secondary to goofy. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/24 "2010-07-12T16:34:27Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I don’t have any large interest in this movie, but I have to ask…what in the crap is it _about_? It seriously has some of the worst previews I’ve ever seen…they do not tell me ANYTHING about the plot of the movie. All I can tell is the following: > > There is some mad inventor (I think he’s an inventor?) and he has kids, and he’s nice to his kids, but a jerk to everyone else, and there are weird little yellow things, one of which has one eye? Am I right? > > That’s the only thing I can gather from the trailers. I don’t know what the main conflict of the movie is, why there are little yellow things, etc… > > Is it based off a book or something? The hero, Gru, is a professional villain. His yellow things are Minions - his happy and loyal (and, it seems, wholly voluntary) servants. It’s never explained where they came from. Gru is being upstaged by a younger villain named Vector, and so decides to pull off the greatest heist of all time by stealing the moon. A key part of his plan requires getting something from Vector, and to do it he adopts three cute little sisters to use them as his unwitting accomplices. It goes from there. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/25 "2010-07-12T16:42:14Z")
Saw it over the weekend with the little ones. They loved it, but they always enjoy the movies. From an adult perspective, I thought it was good but by no means great. The villain concept was rich enough to sustain an otherwise by-the-numbers plot, and the minions provided plenty of Warner Bros.-style sight gags. But the rest of the picture was not at all surprising–aside from Gru, the supporting characters were pretty dull and uninteresting, and as mentioned before the action was pretty much on auto-pilot. I didn’t see it in 3D, and agree the colors are a bit washed out in 2D; my guess is the film would play better in 3D with effects that seem natually intergrated into the plotline rather than like a strained “OMG, that spear is right in my face!” effect mentioned by **FoieGrasIsEvil**. Better than the recent “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and “Monsters vs. Aliens”, but not quite as engaging as “Toy Story 3” and certainly nowhere near the masterful “Up”. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/26 "2010-07-12T16:47:38Z")
> [@CJJ](#): > > Better than the recent “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and “Monsters vs. Aliens”, but not quite as engaging as “Toy Story 3” and certainly nowhere near the masterful “Up”. Hey, Cloudy had Mr. T. That alone made the movie worthwhile. The one recent animated movie I was really disappointed in was Planet 51. Even Monsters vs Aliens was better than that. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/27 "2010-07-13T01:37:14Z")
I still can’t wrap my brain around the people that continue to eschew the current gen 3D or claim not to like it. It’s freaking awesome! Its nothing like the 3D we had many years ago with the red and blue-colored paper glasses. _Avatar_ in 3D was breathtaking to behold, despite the movie’s flaws. It was the best eye-candy I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/28 "2010-07-13T03:33:18Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I still can’t wrap my brain around the people that continue to eschew the current gen 3D or claim not to like it. It’s freaking awesome! Its nothing like the 3D we had many years ago with the red and blue-colored paper glasses. _Avatar_ in 3D was breathtaking to behold, despite the movie’s flaws. It was the best eye-candy I’ve ever seen. _You_ can see and enjoy it. _We_ can’t. _You_ apparently don’t get a headache from the eyestrain. _We_ do. I can’t wait until this fad fades away, as it has every other time before. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/29 "2010-07-13T03:45:56Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I still can’t wrap my brain around the people that continue to eschew the current gen 3D or claim not to like it. It’s freaking awesome! Its nothing like the 3D we had many years ago with the red and blue-colored paper glasses. _Avatar_ in 3D was breathtaking to behold, despite the movie’s flaws. It was the best eye-candy I’ve ever seen. You need to be clear about what 3D you’re talking about. Although not an issue for animated features, a lot of live-action 3D films were actually shot in 2D and retrofitted in post-production. “The Last Airbender” is only the most egregious example of a “quickie” 3D. This [Salon article](http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2010/07/02/3d_last_airbender) has a good overview of the problem. As a bonus, you’ll find a pretty pointed quip by Michael Bay–surely the highlight of his otherwise-uninspired Hollywood career. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/30 "2010-07-13T03:54:11Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > _You_ can see and enjoy it. _We_ can’t. _You_ apparently don’t get a headache from the eyestrain. _We_ do. > > I can’t wait until this fad fades away, as it has every other time before. Yep. About all the new generation 3D does is give me migraines and the picture is blurry. I don’t wear glasses (my eyes are good enough not to have to), but one is slightly nearsighted and the other slightly far sighted. My optometrist said this isn’t good for 3D movies. We loved it. I thought the grown up jokes were wonderful “Formerly Lehman Brothers” had me rolling. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/31 "2010-07-13T04:32:28Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I can’t wait until this fad fades away, as it has every other time before. I’m hoping it doesn’t. I love the depth and feel it adds to movies (good 3d, at least). ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/32 "2010-07-13T05:01:32Z")
I get into 2D movies for free so I’m not going to be seeing 3D films any time soon. I wear glasses and would be incapable of watching a movie without them; is it comfortable wearing the 3D glasses over regular ones? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/33 "2010-07-13T05:37:05Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > _You_ can see and enjoy it. _We_ can’t. _You_ apparently don’t get a headache from the eyestrain. _We_ do. > > I can’t wait until this fad fades away, as it has every other time before. Well, I’m sorry you can’t appreciate it, and its just too damn good to just die off as some “fad”. > [@CJJ](#): > > You need to be clear about what 3D you’re talking about. Although not an issue for animated features, a lot of live-action 3D films were actually shot in 2D and retrofitted in post-production. “The Last Airbender” is only the most egregious example of a “quickie” 3D. > > This [Salon article](http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2010/07/02/3d_last_airbender) has a good overview of the problem. As a bonus, you’ll find a pretty pointed quip by Michael Bay–surely the highlight of his otherwise-uninspired Hollywood career. Some 3D is really amazing, some less so. Since I mentioned the movie “Despicable Me” and now “Avatar” in my OP, I’d hazard a guess that its specific to my OP. > [@Dangerosa](#): > > Yep. About all the new generation 3D does is give me migraines and the picture is blurry. > > I don’t wear glasses (my eyes are good enough not to have to), but one is slightly nearsighted and the other slightly far sighted. My optometrist said this isn’t good for 3D movies. > > We loved it. I thought the grown up jokes were wonderful “Formerly Lehman Brothers” had me rolling. Trooper! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/34 "2010-07-13T12:41:10Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I still can’t wrap my brain around the people that continue to eschew the current gen 3D or claim not to like it. It’s freaking awesome! Its nothing like the 3D we had many years ago with the red and blue-colored paper glasses. _Avatar_ in 3D was breathtaking to behold, despite the movie’s flaws. It was the best eye-candy I’ve ever seen. You cannot understand some people don’t enjoy wearing uncomfortable glasses for 2-3 hours? I mean to each there own, but it should not be that hard to figure out why many people do not like the current 3D trend for a variety of reasons. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/35 "2010-07-13T13:26:49Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > You cannot understand some people don’t enjoy wearing uncomfortable glasses for 2-3 hours? I mean to each there own, but it should not be that hard to figure out why many people do not like the current 3D trend for a variety of reasons. I have never once found the glasses to be uncomfortable, but hey…everyone’s different. I certainly didn’t mean to demean in any way people that _can’t_ see it or somehow get a headache or whatever from it. But it isn’t some fad this time around…its too good and too many people _can_ see it. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/36 "2010-07-13T13:34:50Z")
It’s the next HD DVD! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/37 "2010-07-13T13:36:50Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > It’s the next HD DVD! I wouldn’t be surprised. There’s money pouring into developing this technology. I’m just bummed that I can’t watch sports in 3D at home yet ($$). ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/38 "2010-07-13T14:02:05Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised. There’s money pouring into developing this technology. I’m just bummed that I can’t watch sports in 3D at home yet ($$). HD DVD was a huge flop; I was making a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/39 "2010-07-13T15:37:17Z")
Why would anyone make a movie for kids that glorifies being an asshole? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297/40 "2010-07-13T15:47:15Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > _You_ can see and enjoy it. _We_ can’t. _You_ apparently don’t get a headache from the eyestrain. _We_ do. > > I can’t wait until this fad fades away, as it has every other time before. > [@CJJ](#): > > You need to be clear about what 3D you’re talking about. Although not an issue for animated features, a lot of live-action 3D films were actually shot in 2D and retrofitted in post-production. “The Last Airbender” is only the most egregious example of a “quickie” 3D. > > This [Salon article](http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2010/07/02/3d_last_airbender) has a good overview of the problem. As a bonus, you’ll find a pretty pointed quip by Michael Bay–surely the highlight of his otherwise-uninspired Hollywood career. > [@Dangerosa](#): > > Yep. About all the new generation 3D does is give me migraines and the picture is blurry. > > I don’t wear glasses (my eyes are good enough not to have to), but one is slightly nearsighted and the other slightly far sighted. My optometrist said this isn’t good for 3D movies. > > We loved it. I thought the grown up jokes were wonderful “Formerly Lehman Brothers” had me rolling. > [@Clothahump](#): > > Why would anyone make a movie for kids that glorifies being an asshole? Like I said earlier, I hope this big initial gross is not kids sneaking into the R-rated Predators. The same thing happened last year with Gamer and Surrogates getting shafted while Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was in first place for several weeks. What will happen is that more bad movies get made because studios think it makes money. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despicable-me-anyone-seen-it/546297.md?page=3)