‘Despicable Me 2’ charms

By THOMAS HUGHES

Last weekend, University of Mary Washington’s Cheap Seats featured “Despicable Me 2,” which was released in theaters on July 13.

The animated movie features the voice of Steve Carell (“The Office” and “Despicable Me”) as former supervillian, Gru, who is now attempting to live a normal life after discovering his true calling of being a father to three orphan girls.

Audiences are introduced to the Anti-Villain League (AVL), which recruits Gru to track down and stop a threatening new supervillain.

The first movie featured goofy and lovable characters that put a comedic and perhaps misunderstood spin on the conventional meaning of a “villain”. Audiences watched as Gru attempted to become an evil villain, and felt for him when he eventually failed and came to the realization that he just was not villain material.

The sequel takes what audiences loved about the first installment and expands by providing more character development, as well a new adventure that introduces audiences to the broader fictional universe.

AVL agent Lucy, voiced by Kristen Wiig (“Bridesmaids” and “Saturday Night Live”), is assigned to help Gru complete his task. This sparks a campaign by Gru’s daughters Margo, Edith and Agnes to bring the two together, despite their lack of compatibility. Lucy proves to compete with Gru, using high-tech gadgets, such as the lipstick taser.

Arguably the most popular aspect of both films is Gru’s minions, who are responsible for the majority of the comedy throughout the film. Their mostly unintelligible language is funny enough on its own, especially when combined with their slapstick behavior and quirkiness.

Overall, “Despicable Me 2” proves to be more than just a movie for kids. People of all ages, including college students, can appreciate a film that blends mature and light-hearted themes to create an experience that is both entertaining and fulfilling.