Despicable Me

Ok, so despite enjoying the trailers and having a good feeling about it in general I refused to get excited for Despicable Me, simply because Dreamworks has poisoned the CGI well so thoroughly that anything non-Pixar is going to have to work its ass off to prove itself. I went to see Despicable Me this weekend and absolutely loved it.

Basically, Despicable Me is the anti-Dreamworks. I counted one pop-culture reference. I wasn't drowning in cheap sentimentality despite the story having a good heart. The cute little Minions didn't annoy the living fuck out of me and were funny in every scene they were in. The three girls were cute and charming instead of cloyingly obnoxious. And the whole thing felt like it loved being a cartoon.

Most importantly, I was laughing almost from the first scene, and the only reason that was a bit muted is because the first five minutes were one of the trailers I'd seen before. Point is, Despicable Me is super-fun from start to finish.

James

i agree. i hope everyone sees this movie and likes it a lot.

i am going to go see it again, but this time in 3D!

It was funny and well animated. No where's near on the same level as How to Train your Dragons or Toy Story 3 though.

Also you need to get your head out of your ass with comments like "Dreamworks has poisoned the CGI well so thoroughly that anything non-Pixar is going to have to work its ass off to prove itself"

That's how people feel. And I think it stems from the amount of cuddly animal heroes doing stuff they were churning out for awhile now. Kung-Fu Panda was kind of fun, but it still fell in to that "Dreamworks uses animals like people!" archetype. Pixar did that once with Nemo, yet still retained the identity of each fish personality. Dreamworks never does that. It's just Jack Black as panda Jack Black. Or Will Smith as fish Will Smith, etc. I think the claim has merit, if not a little too harsh.

How to Train Your Dragon was the first DW movie to really go above and beyond. And that movie was exceptional.

Yeah. James isn't the rude butthole with his head up his ass. Despicable Me didn't pander, it didn't try to be bigger and better than anything, it didn't try to be the cool, slick film that all the young adults will quote; it was a nice little film made by people who love what they do. That's what Toy Story was in the first place.

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Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

IAlso you need to get your head out of your ass with comments like "Dreamworks has poisoned the CGI well so thoroughly that anything non-Pixar is going to have to work its ass off to prove itself"

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No, no I don't. It's one of those optimism vs experience things. At this point I'd rather be pleasantly surprised than disappointed.

I'm still disappointed I missed How to Train Your Dragon, by the way. I didn't notice it was out and then there was a nice, long period of really bad timing.

James

It was pretty good! but i liked Despicable Me better.

If that was truly how the general public felt than those DW films you hate wouldn't make more money than the Pixar films, which a lot of them do. I also don't see how because it uses animals that are talking it's less of a movie. Disney has done this a shit ton of times, and Pixar also did it plenty. Bugs life, bugs who can talk and act like people, Monster's Inc, monsters who can talk and do things like people, Finding Nemo was already covered, Cars, cars can talk and act like people.

That wasn't my point though. My point was why not go see any animatedmovies except Pixar ones when 1 company out of 7 - 8 of them makes movies you don't like. It's like saying I'm not playing any games not released by Microsoft because Activision puts out games I hate! It's a stupid idiotic reaction. Akin to some one who has their head up their own ass.

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Originally Posted by James

No, no I don't. It's one of those optimism vs experience things. At this point I'd rather be pleasantly surprised than disappointed.

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Yes, yes you do. Because cutting off every 6 other companies productions because 1 company makes movies you don't like is retarded and stupid. You're acting like the brain challanged folks who think every game released on the PS2 was made by Sony.

And yet here I am posting a thread about a movie I enjoyed the living hell out of despite misgivings, having seen it opening weekend.

Pixar, Dreamworks, Sony... Who are the other three?

James