"Despicable Me 4" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Classic Speedy]

Surprised there isn't an official talkback for it yet (there was only pre-release discussion). Well, there is now.

I've liked all the Despicable Me films to an extent but not been blown away by them. I tend to forget most things about them after I watch them, but I can't deny they're entertaining while I'm watching them. Same goes for this one. It was fun, had the same fast gags and enjoyable set pieces but even a day later it's not leaving an impact.

Stuff I did like:
-The T2 parody! Was not expecting it, and they really made it work in the context of the supermarket chase, even if that lady whose haircut Lucy botched basically disappears from the film after this scene.

-While they were obviously made partially to give kids new tie-in toys to buy, I can't deny the Megaminions were fun, particularly how they subverted superhero tropes of being more destructive than helpful. Also, I can't help but they were making a commentary on the superhero-heavy film industry when one of the angry citizens says "We're sick of superheroes!"

-Principal Übelschlecht stole any scene she was in. I actually liked her more than the main villain Maxime (Will Ferrell).

-Likewise, I did like Poppy, the new teenage character who at first looks like she's only going to be a foil to Gru with the blackmail thing but it turns out she wants to be a supervillain so there was more to her than it first seems.

What could've been worked on:
-The kids really take a backseat in this movie. It's not like they're completely absent or anything, but with the added character of Poppy, the trio aren't given as much screen time. Given that they were arguably the draw of the first film, this is a letdown. Edith in particular is shafted.

-Agnes doesn't want to lie about her new name while in witness protection, which I thought would be a major plot thread with a pay-off in a later scene but outside of the initial scene and the karate class scene, it's abandoned soon after.

-Speaking of the kids, we don't get many scenes of the trio having difficulty adjusting to their new town (or, conversely, fitting right in). There wasn't even a good pay-off of Margo having trouble making new friends at school- the most we get is "I hate glitter bombs." When The Simpsons episode "You Only Move Twice" had a better development of this type of thing than a feature film, that's kind of a problem.

-They really did another dance party ending. Good gravy, is this a requirement for CG animated films or something?

B- range.

 

[Spacething7474]

I thought it was pretty good! Comedy is this franchise's strong suit, which thankfully succeeded since there's a lot of plots that just kinda go nowhere (the lame baby who's name I forget unfortunately not being 1 of them), including:

-Maxine having a cockroach army (which could be used as a parallel to Gru's Minion army)
-Edith and Agnes' karate class (middle child syndrome kicks in for Edith again because she has the least going on, and that's saying something since all 3 girls don't have lot to do)
-Lucy accidentally destroying a salon service and burning a client's hair
-an entire city that hates the Mega Minions because they suck at what they do

Honestly I believe a good chunk of the plots would work better as a TV series, so if they commit to that Megaverse bit (which I will be holding them to), let's hope Untitled Mega Minions TV Series explores these when it comes out in 2101!

On the plus side, Maxine and Poppy are very amusing and charming villains, Mr. Sheepsbutt Silas Ramsbottom comes back after retiring and getting replaced with some annoying nobody in DM3, and the cameos featuring all the past villains, side characters (even though he had lines, Dr. Nefario falls into this since he had like 1 minute of screentime beforehand), and even Fred the neighbor are fun, albeit kinda fanservicey/nostalgia-baity (it also implies that Vector came back to Earth after DM1 and Mooned, and I demand a full-scale movie explaining how he returned).



The villain for the next sequel should be the Minion that was stuck in the vending machine, got out, then got stuck again in the house's security system.

 

[Pooky]

I'm an easy mark for this series, and I enjoyed this quite a bit, but in all honesty it probably is the weakest of all 6 films. In particular Rise of Gru seemed quite a bit fresher despite coming out only 2 years ago. The last two DM films have to fit so much in with the expanding roster of established characters/elements and introducing new ones that they're inevitably very overstuffed and a bit formless.

The Minions stuff was all pretty top tier Minionry, and generally an improvement over their antics in DM3, especially the Tennis ref, the poor fellow trapped in the vending machine, and the Megaminions, although perhaps they aren't quite as timely as they thought they would be with superheroes losing quite a bit of their spotlight over the past couple of years. Interesting that the only superhero film they directly parodied, unless I missed something, was Spider-Man 2, so keeping it a bit old school.

Despite being voiced by Will Ferrell with an outrageous French accent, and being based around some pretty silly comic conceits , the main villain was overall more threatening (and occasionally even somewhat sympathetic) than comic. Not a complaint, just an observation.

I personally found the dojo scene painfully unfunny and tedious, and the Lucy Hairdressing bit also fell kind of flat, but they were over pretty quickly which I guess is the upside of such an overstuffed film.

I did love the gag about podcasting. I know "podcast" is kind of a hacky writer-over-a-certain-age's idea of something that's funny to reference because it's "new", but the idea of a 7 year old and a goat having a podcast did crack me up.

I know this is not a series to look for too much logic, but why exactly could they take 3 of the minions with them into hiding but not a pet goat? Granted most people don't have pet goats, but I know what would be a bit more conspicuous.

The Poppy subplot was fun, although it's kind of odd that it boils down to a kind of mean rich girl really wants something and gets it.

Gru's alma mater is called Lycée Pas Bon which translates literally to High School Not Good. Pretty funny, and kind of cool that the series' French roots on display.

Surprising that Dr. Nefario returned, if briefly. No surprise that they changed voice actors.

So yeah a slightly mixed bag but I enjoyed it and I'm sure at some point I'll enjoy it again. Some of the criticisms of this series are fair, but I'm personally glad it's out there waving the flag for light-hearted, unabashed silliness and creativity in big screen animation. Some good 3D moments if you see it that way too.

 

[Spacething7474]

I know this is not a series to look for too much logic, but why exactly could they take 3 of the minions with them into hiding but not a pet goat? Granted most people don't have pet goats, but I know what would be a bit more conspicuous.

Initially I thought it was because those 3 were gonna be the ones turned into the Mega Minions, but then it ended up being Not Them at all, so now I choose to believe that Gru needs a minimum of 3 Minions at all times for emotional support.

 

[ShadowBeast]

I love how the film ended. It's actually the perfect way to end the franchise (well Gru's part in it) with all the past villains singing together.
There were a couple of issues with the film like Agnes having a lying issue that could've easily been dealt with by simply telling her that it's just gonna be her temporary name. But I liked the scheme with Poppy and Gru stealing the villain school mascot and Gru's son starting to like his father from the experience. The villain actually seems the most dangerous Gru has fought against, but at the same time, the most pathetic. He's dangerous, but his obsession with insects and what Gru did makes him pathetic, and he would've still been out in the sky looking for Gru if he hadn't gotten a call from the villain school...Principal?
And again, I loved how it ended with all the villains singing along with Gru and Max in the end with the minions joining in. It kind gives off a big friendship-vibe with Gru and the villains.
Okay I know I said that this would be a great film to end the franchise, but maybe even a better one would be a situation with all the past villains teaming up with Gru against a too deadly enemy.

 

[Surreal Kangaroo]

I finally got around to seeing this movie earlier today. I was expecting the baby to be evil, but I’m kind of glad they didn’t take that route. I thought Agnes not wanting to lie about her name was going to lead to something, but it didn’t and that seemed like a waste. I did like the dance party at the end. Was it implying this was the last Despicable Me movie?

 

[ShadowBeast]

I thought Agnes not wanting to lie about her name was going to lead to something, but it didn’t and that seemed like a waste.

Yeah, there was no reason for it really. The movie could've done without it and nothing would be missed.

I did like the dance party at the end. Was it implying this was the last Despicable Me movie?

It would be a perfect way to end Gru's story.

 

[Mejo]

Was it implying this was the last Despicable Me movie?

Nah. Universal will probably milk this cow for all it's worth.

As for my thoughts on the movie, I thought it was ok. My favorite part of the whole film actually, wasn't even the film itself per-se, but rather the fact that Pharrell Williams made a song that's currently thought to be a Kendrick-ish diss track to Drake and put it into the movie (the song's called Double Life).

 

[wonderfly]

The News Team's slai has a new review up on the front page of AnimeSuperhero.com:

"Review: Despicable Me 4: Still Charming, Just Too Convoluted"​

"The Despicable Me franchise is now 14 years old, if you can believe it, and is the 6th film in the franchise counting Minions and Minions: The Rise of Gru into the mix. In this 4th outing, which takes place just after the events of Despicable Me 3, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) revisits his old villain school, Lycee Pas Bon, for a class reunion where he is reunited with his old school rival, the French accented Maxime Le Mal (voiced by Will Ferrell). Trying to one-up Gru, who had stolen Maxime’s song for the talent show years ago, Maxime reveals that he has made himself more powerful by mutating himself with cockroach parts. Unbeknownst to his old classmates and Maxime though, Gru is an Anti-Villain League/AVL agent, sent to the class reunion to capture Maxime, which he does with help from a team of AVL agents. Despite being captured and imprisoned, Maxime escapes the AVL’s prison with help from his girlfriend, Valentina (voiced by Sofia Vergara), and vows revenge on Gru and his family.

Gru is happily living at home with his wife and fellow AVL agent, Lucy (voiced by Kristen Wiig); their 3 adopted girls, Margo (voiced by Amanda Cosgrove), Edith (voiced by Dana Gaier), and Agnes (voiced by Madison Polan); Lucky, Agnes’ pet goat from the 3rd movie; his new baby son, Felonious Gru, Jr., or Gru Junior (voiced by Tara Strong); and 3 of the Minions: Kevin, Stuart, and Bob (all voiced by Pierre Coffin), who have stayed behind to be with Gru and family. Their happy life is upended by former AVL head Silas Ramsbottom (voiced by Steve Coogan) who has come out of retirement to tell Gru and his family that Maxime has escaped and that they are now in danger and would have to be relocated via witness protection for safety. The family is whisked away to a town called Mayflower where Gru and family have assumed new identities. Despite the new identities, their new neighbors’ daughter, Poppy Prescott (voiced by Joey King), recognizes Gru since she herself is an aspiring villain. She uses her knowledge to blackmail Gru into helping her steal Gru’s villain school alma mater’s mascot honey badger, Lenny, to score brownie points for admission into the villain school."

Read the full review here.

 

[RainbowCupcake]

I am very late in posting my thoughts on the film, but I saw it back on opening weekend and...liked it? Wait, did I just call Despicable Me 4 a likable film? Is this the first Despicable Me film I've actually enjoyed since Minions?!

That's right, I had a lot of fun watching this film. Definitely more tolerable than Despicable Me 3 and WAAAAAAY better than Minions: Rise of Gru. The characters were at their best here and their personalities shone through. I especially loved some of Lucy's moments, like when she caused the fire in the hair salon and later when she chugged down the neighbor lady's martini when she heard that the kids were in trouble. Margo, Edith, and Agnes all had pleasant mini-side plots (not nearly as annoying and random as the ones the writers threw into the third film). And it was neat to see some more character development from Gru. Although the whole baby-plot was predictable, it was sweet to see him and his son connect at the end of the movie.

The villain was pretty entertaining, and his snobby girlfriend made for some great comedic tension. I absolutely loved the scene at the gas station where they couldn't get the credit card to work. I also appreciated that this villain was tied to Gru's backstory (in a ridiculous way, of course). I don't believe any of the previous baddies had any ties to Gru. The end scene where Gru and the villain sing, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," with all of the previous bad guys joining in was GENIUS.

Overall, I really liked this film. Was it as good as the first two movies? Of course not. But it was sooo much better than what Illumination has been putting out for the past 9 years.

With this movie's release, here is my ranking of best to worst Despicable Me movies:

1. Despicable Me 2
2. Despicable Me
3. Despicable Me 4
4. Minions
5. Despicable Me 3
6. Minions: Rise of Gru