Review for Despicable Me 3

Introduction

It’s strange how the film world has gone a little topsy-turvy. When I was a kid, the rule of sequels was simple; a good first film would invariably be followed by sequels of ever-decreasing quality, until the remake cash-in stopped working. Around the turn of the millennium, the model changed, and we started getting sequels that told substantially different stories, and tried to maintain a standard. And now, we’re actually getting film series that in some cases improve with each new instalment. Despicable Me is a case in point. Including the Minions movies, there are five in the franchise, I quite enjoyed the first Despicable Me, but the films have been getting better as the franchise has unfolded, both in terms of story and in terms of entertainment. I recently watched Minions: The Rise of Gru, the most recent instalment, and found it to be the best yet. Now I’ve filled the last gap in my Despicable Me collection, I get to see if Despicable Me 3 is even better, although chronologically it came before Minions 2, so it shouldn’t be quite as good according to my theory.


The first Despicable Me film saw would-be super-villain Gru find a family in the trio of orphans, Margo, Edith and Agnes. In the second film, realising that he had to be a stable father figure, and having met Agent Lucy of the Anti Villain League, Dru quit his villainous ambitions to put his nefarious skills to use with the AVL catching other villains. As the third film begins, Lucy and Gru are married, and with their three daughters are figuring out how to be a family. But there is trouble ahead...


The AVL are having trouble with the latest super-villain, Balthazar Bratt, a child actor from the eighties who played a super-villain on TV, but who lost his role when puberty struck. Now he’s become a villain for real, stealing the largest diamond in the world to fund his plans to take revenge against Hollywood. Gru and Lucy are able to get the diamond back, but the new boss of the AVL still fires them when they let Bratt escape. And then Gru learns that he has a long-lost twin brother. When his parents divorced, his mother got custody of baby Gru, while super-villain dad got baby Dru, and now that their father has died, Dru needs Gru’s help. For Dru never had the talent to follow in their father’s footsteps, and he wants Gru to help him become the villain he never could be alone. But Gru doesn’t want to become a villain again, and worse, when the Minions hear this, they quit!

The Disc

Despicable Me 3 gets a 2.40:1 widescreen 1080p transfer, with the choice of DTS-X and DTS-HeadphoneX English, as well as a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo English Audio Descriptive track, with optional English subtitles. The image is clear and sharp, and given the 3D CG animation, seems nigh on pixel perfect, with no signs of compression, aliasing or the like. Detail levels are excellent, and allow the animators’ imaginations to come across with impact. There are some wonderful set pieces and inventive sight gags to enjoy in the film. As with every object based audio track, Atmos or DTS-X, I can only hear the core lossless audio through my system, and that always sounds quieter than the equivalent dedicated Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD MA tracks. It’s always easily remedied with the volume knob. The audio here is clear and immersive, bringing the action across well, while keeping the dialogue clear. Balthazar Bratt is a character obsessed with the eighties, when he last had fame and acclaim, and that means I’m personally in soundtrack heaven!

Extras

You get one disc in a BD Amaray case, wrapped in an o-card slipcover. There is a digital copy inside as well. The disc autoplays with trailers for the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem theme park ride, All I Want For Christmas, the movie, and The Nutjob 2, Nutty By Nature. The following extras are on the disc.


Mini Movie: The Secret Life of Kyle (4:13)
Deleted Scene with Intro By Dana Gaier (0:40)
Minion Moments
-Drenched (0:40)
-Overkill (0:38)


Character Profiles
-Steve Carell: Dru & Gru (2:12)
-Kirsten Wiig: Lucy (1:48)
-Miranda Cosgrove: Margo (1:57)
-Dana Gaier: Edith (2:20)
-Nev Scharell: Agnes (2:06)


The Making of Despicable Me 3 (6:50)
Developing Dru (4:13)
The AVL Files (12:38)
Freedonia Visitor’s Guide
Despicable Me TV


“Doowit” Singalong (1:36)
Yellow Light Music Video (3:43)
Minion Mugshots
Wanted Posters

Conclusion

I don’t know if Despicable Me 3 is better than the most recent Minions movie, but it’s definitely up there. For me, personally, while the nostalgia was strong for the 70s setting of The Rise of Gru, it’s even stronger with the 80s references flying thick and fast in Despicable Me 3. I still love the way the film hangs together as a piece, as opposed to the usual schizophrenic Hollywood family animation which plays to the youngest demographic in terms of narrative and character, while throwing a few winks at the older demographic. Once again, I can only attribute that to the European sensibilities when it comes to the film’s production.


On the face of it, the third film might seem superfluous, given that the first film was about Gru finding a family in the three orphan girls, and the second had Gru find love with Agent Lucy, and also giving up his villainous ambitions to become an unlikely hero. That sounds like the perfect happily ever after, and when Despicable Me 3 begins, it seems that is what they have found, with Gru and Lucy happily married (and calling themselves Grucy), taking down villains together for the AVL. It’s when they come up against Balthazar Bratt that their first challenge appears, as they are sacked for not arresting him, and left trying to figure out how to provide for their daughters. At the same time, Lucy is trying to figure out how to be a mother to Margo, Edith and Agnes. So there is a bit of story arc that develops there.


It turns out that there is still room for Gru’s family to grow, when he learns that he has a long lost twin brother. Naturally they have the physical similarities that twins have, but when it comes to personalities they couldn’t be more different. Gru is a born villain, in how he carries himself, his personality, and his attitude to the world. He’s chosen to be a family man and a hero, and he has a good heart, but that will never erase an innate evil villain laugh. Dru on the other hand is warm-hearted, outgoing and friendly. And he has a full head of hair. He’s as far away from a villain as you can get, and the only reason he wants to be a villain is to fulfil his late father’s hopes for him. He’s incompetent at the villainy, which is why he asks for Gru’s help.


Gru is initially opposed to the idea, having left villainy behind, but then he comes up with the idea of stealing the diamond from Balthazar Bratt (he stole it back in the meantime) which would certainly help show Dru the ropes, but he doesn’t tell Dru that he intends to return the diamond to the AVL in the hope of getting his and Lucy’s jobs back, which sows the seeds for further conflict between the brothers.


Meanwhile, there are adventures for the other characters, beginning with the Minions’ journey in the wilderness after they quit working for Gru. Also Margo meets an unexpected suitor when they travel to Dru’s homeland of Freedonia, which is also where Agnes goes looking for a unicorn.


There is just so much to enjoy about Despicable Me 3. Once again in this series, it’s a film that can be heart-warming and deliver a positive message without being obvious or saccharine. There are plenty of entertaining set pieces, the comedy is on point, and once again, I have to say that I love the eighties pop nostalgia. It’s also been quite a while since I watched a film with such a freeing sense of glee. I lost myself in the film for 90 minutes, and it’s always a joy when that happens. Universal present the film impeccably on this Blu-ray, and offer a fair selection of brief but entertaining extra features.