Despicable Me Or Lovable Me?

The question I asked myself after viewing Universal Studios’ Despicable Me is if the title of the film is intentionally misleading. I asked that question because the film tells the story of Gru, whose reputation as one of the worlds greatest and despicable villains becomes questionable, once three little orphan girls become a part of his life and he takes on the duties of a father.

At first introduction we see how truly despicable Gru is. He makes little kids cry, thinks only of himself and has really only accomplished one great heist. To remedy his track record as a villain Gru comes up with a most diabolical plan! (Spoiler alert) He will steal the moon! To do so he must obtain a shrink ray which he manages to steal, but loses it to the hands of his rival Vector; who is younger, smarter and more well-funded.

Always the opportunist, Gru sees a way to get the shrink ray back when he notices that Vector allows three little girls into his hideout so that he can buy the cookies they sell. It is at this point that Gru decides to “adopt” the children. However, things begin to change almost immediately upon the arrival of the girls into Gru’s home despite the wily crooks attempts to keep the girls at arm’s length. That’s it for the spoilers. After all, this is one of the summers must see movies.

In a nutshell, Despicable Me is great family fun with laughs a plenty. Amidst the abundance of entertainment value, Despicable Me is a story of how even a person of evident callousness towards humanity can have a change of heart just by allowing even a little ray of light into their lives.

With Steve Carell as the voice of Gru, the vocal talents of Julie Andrews, Russel Brand and Will Arnett; ingenious  3D effects and beautiful animation to boot, I wonder if Despicable me should not be called Lovable Me instead.