Despicable Me 2

Title: Despicable Me 2
Year: 2013
Directors: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud
Starring (voices): Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove
Red Rating: RRRR (4/5)
High Point: Agnes' birthday party
Low Point: Big action scene

You would not believe how excited I was to hear our little yellow square friends would be returning to our screens this year after the first instalment back in 2010. This time the story follows Gru (Carel) and his girls Margo (Cosgrove), Edith and Agnes with their ploy to find Gru and partner. This being said, Gru wants to focus his time on other things now that he is not a super villain and changes from producing jams and jellies to helping the Anti-Villain League, finding his new friend Lucy (Wiig). We spend the whole film wondering who the new super villain was who stole the secret lab in the Arctic circle while watching Gru and Lucy's relationship blossom as well as observing Gru become more like a father figure compared to his awkward carer role in the first film. With both new and old characters, it sure wasn't a disappointment.

Firstly, the film was great for a family audience, much like the first film. Adult references to Isaac from the 1980's classic 'Love Boat' and jokes that younger children may not understand, 'I know what makes you a boy' being my favourite line addressed to Gru from the youngest girl Agnes, worked incredibly alongside the classic jokes that even the smallest of children would understand such as fart jokes and slapstick humour. This family approach means that unlike some children's films, adults will also get a few laughs whilst treating their little angels to a cinema trip. Parents, if you're unsure if this is for you, it is, trust me. 

The new characters explored in the film, such as Gru's new sidekick Lucy and Salsa restaurant owner Eduardo, give the film the additional boost it needed rather than keeping the same characters from the first film. No reference was made to Gru's previous enemy Vector, so he was probably still stuck on the moon where he was last seen at the very end of the first film. This helped the storyline progress though and it was probably the reason that no repetitive jokes or comments were made, all the material used was fresh and funny. The doesn't go to say that some favoured elements of the first film were forgotten, fear not DM lovers, the fart gun made a well received return alongside Kyle the dog and Kevin, Bob, Stuart and Dave the minions. 

I was very disappointed, however, that one of my favourite characters from the first film failed to make an appearance apart from a 10 second dancing slot at the end, and this character is Gru's beloved mother. The evil mum who doesn't exactly care about her son, his future or his wishes. One of the funniest characters in the first film. I was actually quite shocked that she didn't have a speaking role this time around as there were plenty of opportunities for her to have slid in. But as the running time was already quite long, maybe she got cut, I don't know. 

I was pleased that there is probably room for another Despicable Me instalment after the quite predictable ending (well, it is a kid's film and I am 17, so this probably wasn't a bad thing) so I'd keep your eyes peeled well back after this film hits the shelves for an announcement from the almighty Universal Studios. A new villain maybe, more focus on Gru's family life? We didn't get to see Agnes' mother's day recital so that would be a nice little short, just a hint there Universal. Even possibly a return of Gru's evil side? An older version of the girls taking over from their father? I wish I could write scripts instead of blogs because I would be right on this, I have too many ideas. 

A big question on most people's lips is: is this film as good as or better than the first? My answer, no. But it was going to be very hard to make a film better than one of my all time favourites from any genre made for any age. However, it is still incredible with its fair share of both funny and sincere moments. I would recommend the film to anyone, of any age, just go and see it, right now, go on, book your ticket. You won't regret it, I promise, and let me know if you agree with me! Until next time.