The Despicable Me franchise has had longer legs than one would have thought when it premiered in 2010. The third installment feels the most fractured, like multiple episodes of several animated series edited together into one feature, but it still entertains adults and children. Reformed supervillain Gru (v. Steve Carell) discovers he has a twin brother, Dru, who wants to learn how to be a villain. Gru just wants to get his job back after failing to capture child-star-turned-supervillain Balthazar Bratt (v. Trey Parker).
Yes, Gru’s yellow Minions return too, but they spend much of the movie in jail, which makes for some pretty funny sequences. The villain is underwhelming, with Bratt’s spoiled antics and ’80s references flying over the heads of most children, and Parker showing little of the caustic vigor on display in “South Park.” Still, the movie has enough charms to justify another encounter with Gru and crew.
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