Despicable Me 2010

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Despicable Me is a 3D cartoon comedy of whiplash-quick laughs, funny punch lines and a wickedly gimmicky appreciation for 3D. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: By taking the "heart" part just seriously enough, and in the nick of time, the movie saves itself from itself. Read more

Mary F. Pols, MSN Movies: The movie finishes strong, managing to be sweet without being saccharine. It's no Toy Story 3, but Despicable Me is a solid alternative. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: So much is going on in this movie that, while there's nothing worth despising, there's not much to remember either. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: The setup is pure Looney Tunes, and indeed, Despicable Me is at its best when trading in the anything-for-a-laugh prankery that was a specialty of the Termite Terrace crowd. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: It looks so stylish that thinking about its plot is strictly optional. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: Despicable Me appeals both to our innocence and our glee over cartoon anarchy. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: Despicable Me is a joyously creative, refreshing piece of work, right up until it falls into a hackneyed hole. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Neither as rich in story nor stunning in animation as Pixar offerings, Despicable Me instead settles for simply being goofy good fun, and it hardly seems like settling at all. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Despicable Me has enough visual novelty and high spirits to keep the kiddies diverted and just enough wit to placate the parents. Read more

Cliff Doerksen, Chicago Reader: Like the best kids' entertainment, this creates a daffy little world all its own. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Welcome to the on-screen psychoanalysis of Joan Rivers, of which she seems equal parts willing participant and antagonist. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: There's a fine line between gleeful anarchy and wasted energy, and Despicable Me has a wonderful knack for staking out its spot and staying on the right side. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The result is a sweet and witty bit of animated fun with both eye-popping 3-D effects and a warm heart. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Lo, another 3-D animated kid movie demonstrates that cartoon storytelling pitched to young people is the last, best refuge of sprightly filmmaking this hard, hot summer. Read more

Laremy Legel, Film.com: Despicable Me is darned cute. I know cute isn't to the lofty level of "message storytelling" but it can be entertaining to watch when done correctly. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: Kids will dig it, adults will smile with amusement, and no one will be any different afterward than they were walking into the theater. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: The film throws so much ersatz cleverness and overdone emotion at the audience that we end up more worn out than entertained. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Unfortunately Despicable Me is just, predictably -- eh. And the one thing the larcenous Gru never steals is our heart. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR.org: It's all thoroughly adorable, and with an overlay that's nearly as odd as Carell's accent: Despicable Me looks a lot like other computer-animated pictures... Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Right now, any excuse for air conditioning will do. So it's a happy bonus to find that Despicable Me is more than just a heat-busting baby-sitter. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Despicable Me may not be the most sophisticated kids movie ever, but it stacks up against recent animated fare like How To Train Your Dragon the way The New York Review of Books compares to USA Today. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Short, sweet-and-sour, and amusing rather than funny, Despicable Me can't help but be likable. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: This is a smartly written comedy with a soft emotional core. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The film is funny, energetic, teeth-gnashingly venomous and animated with an eye to exploiting the 3-D process with such sure-fire techniques as a visit to an amusement park. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: You don't need to know more except that directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud are expert are springing surprises from the ingenious script by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: When compared with the ambition and achievement of recent animated films, such as Coraline and Toy Story 3, Despicable Me hardly seems to have been worth making, and it's barely worth watching. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: You'll probably leave the theater smiling, but don't expect to be emotionally engaged, Pixar-style. You'll be tickled, not touched. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: This animated thing pretty near out-Pixars Pixar. Read more

Jason Anderson, Toronto Star: What may be the summer's wittiest kids' flick. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: This is an agreeable confection with a few soft spots. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: One of the year's most likeable family entertainments. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: A whip-smart family movie that makes inventive use of the summer's ubiquitous 3-D technology is something worth cheering. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Since villains so often steal the show in animation, Despicable Me smartly turns the whole operation over to megalomaniacal rogue Gru. Read more

Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice: The result is pleasant and diverting, if ultimately forgettable, and it's one of the rare instances in the recent history of 3-D's resurrection as The Savior of Cinema in which the technology doesn't dim the screen or distract the focus. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: An improbably heartwarming, not to mention visually delightful, diversion. Read more