Animation Spotlight: Despicable Me, How to Train Your Dragon & Tangled

Despicable Me: Directed by Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud
How to Train Your Dragon: Directed by Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders
Tangled: Directed by Nathan Greno & Byron Howard

Two of this year’s top contenders for the Best Animated Feature Oscar are now available on DVD, while a third remains in theatres following a Thanksgiving opening date. In a year that’s been somewhat sparse on animation (the only animated film reviews you’ll find on MoviesWithAbe.com so far are for “Toy Story 3” and “My Dog Tulip,” both also eligible for the Oscar), here’s a brief look at three of this year’s most notable animated features. Look also for a review of French animated contender “The Illusionist” around the time it opens in limited release on December 25th.

“Despicable Me” is the least impressive of the three, mostly in terms of narrative storytelling. The film’s two teaser trailers from last summer presented wholly different pictures of the film’s plot, one the story of a mysterious villain seeking to steal massive monuments and the other a tale of two competing super-villains. The film doesn’t do all that much to clarify, presenting a rather underdeveloped and lackluster narrative about a selfish mastermind named Gru (entertainingly voiced by Steve Carell) who adopts several orphans in order to complete his lifelong dream of succeeding in super-villainy. “Despicable Me” also fails the perhaps unnecessary and unfair qualification that adults should be able to enjoy its content just (or nearly) as much as young children.

“How to Train Your Dragon” falls into that same category to an extent, though it certainly contains more believable, complex characters and an intriguing storyline about a young boy in a Viking community who realizes that the dragons his people have spent their lives hunting aren’t actually dangerous. “How to Train Your Dragon” works better metaphorically than literally since it doesn’t prove to be much more than a parable about trying peace before exercising violence. While simplistic, it’s visually enthralling and accompanied by a score that gives the feel an authentic and distinctive feel.

And then there’s “Tangled,” the simply wonderful classic Disney film that re-imagines the famous story of Rapunzel and her lengthy, magical hair. From its start, “Tangled” is magnificently energetic and entirely captivating, telling a familiar tale in a new, creative way with typically dazzling storyboarding and animation. Its use of original songs is extraordinarily effective as well, giving its characters and voice actors the opportunity to perform dance numbers that enhance an already top-notch story. The best part of “Tangled,” as It turns out, is its talented voice actors. “Chuck” star Zachary Levi is charismatic and hilarious as vagabond Flynn Rider, and Mandy Moore is charming and endearing as the sweet, sheltered Rapunzel. If “Toy Story 3” hadn’t been realized this year, “Tangled” would easily be the best, most enjoyable animated film of 2010.

Despicable Me: C
How to Train Your Dragon: B-
Tangled: A-

Tuesday’s Top Trailer: Despicable Me

Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

Despicable Me – Opening July 9, 2010



I’ve seen this trailer a few times now, before the more family-friendly films I’ve been to lately, like “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” It’s hard to believe that anyone is already thinking about summer 2010 when the best movies of 2009 haven’t even been released yet. This trailer is more of a teaser that excerpts an actual scene from the movie to kick it off, and if nothing else, it looks intriguing. The title refers, presumably, to a character that is hardly seen in the trailer and is only referenced by his hunched shadow that appears at the end of the trailer and on the movie’s promotional poster. Summer is prime time to release animated films, and the past four years have seen monstrous successes in “Cars,” “Ratatouille,” “Wall-E,” and “Up,” all of which have had a better shot at standing out since there isn’t as much competition during the summer season. This looks like quite an imaginative effort, featuring major world landmarks and this despicable thief who is set on stealing them and replacing them with inflatable replicas. Stealing artifacts might be fun, and the trailer doesn’t indicate whether the focus is on the public search for this devious criminal or on his life. A quick reading of the summary suggests that the trailer is hardly informative, but it’s certainly intriguing. The lineup of voices sounds cool, and Steve Carrell as Gru, the thief in question, should make for a fun lead character. The voice of the tourist father at the start of the trailer can be identified as Jack McBrayer (“30 Rock”), and the slate of other stars lending their voices – Jason Segel, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Danny McBride, and Russell Brand – should make for amusing conversations. It’s sort of like “Saturday Night Live” for kids, and the uncertain plot should be interesting, if nothing else. The fact that this is already being promoted now means that it will have plenty of time to build excitement, and this will likely be a major animated film of the summer. But don’t forget about the other animated movie coming out next summer, being released just a few weeks earlier, which is sure to give it a run for its money: “Toy Story 3.”