Despicable Me 4 4K 2024

The emotions evoked by the first movie could not be repeated by any subsequent installment, but the fourth one seems to be more aware of what this product is and what it was created for. There are no arch-goals for the heroes, no deeply written storylines for the secondary characters, no interesting conclusions that we would make at the end, but there are funny beady-eyed minions, references to pop culture and mockery of everyday life in the form of housing in the suburbs

The whole cartoon reminded me of an animated series like “The Simpsons”, when in one episode the characters get into some pompous story, but in the next episode everything starts from the same house, with the same title theme song, and the main characters as if they don't remember what happened just a couple of days ago. It's a very funny thing to laugh at in Family Guy, well, or other fourth-wall breaking sitcoms. And, in fact, the Gru family became just such a family from the sitcom, whose authors have a whole set of recognizable images in their arsenal, which do not have to be revealed, and you can just make up with them different sketches

Here again there are a couple-three new characters, both evil and good, minions again somehow ugly for the sake of selling new merchandise, and make on this basis a plot inside the main plot. Again, a flamboyant villain with a childish idea-fix about revenge and/or world domination. Again a tirade about kindness for the very young, and so on. It's a straightforward story with your favorite characters put on maximum settings. Still, the movie is not without its pluses....

I liked the scope of the story and the new locations, from the villains' institute, where we get a couple of times, to the suburb with well-maintained streets and no less well-maintained neighbors, among whom Gru's family looks a la the Adams family! Funny third-rate characters, like the karate teacher or the woman from the barbershop. Even the quirks of the minions here allocated half of the screen time, according to personal feelings, and they, moreover, are able to cause if not laughter, then at least a smile, and not just Spanish shame. And bonus, it's just a nicely drawn cartoon, with plastic animation that pleases the eye

What's the bottom line? The original “Ugly Me” is one of the iconic cartoons of the 2010s. How to work with the characters and develop the universe within the cartoon is up to the studio bosses, but one thing that can't be taken away from this franchise, despite the unpretentiousness of its later installments, is the flavor of the original characters and the engaging aesthetic, from film to film somewhere on the edge of spy thrillers, Looney Tunes gags, and a sweet message about family values.