THE MINIONS are back!
The Minions are back!
Oh …
And Gru, too.
The gang is all back together—with a new maniacal member of the family—in “Despicable Me 3.”
This time, we discover that Felonious Gru (Steve Carell) also has a long lost twin brother Dru (also voiced by Carell) who was taken from him after their birth when their parents divorced and is substantially successful criminal—more than Gru ever was.
And very Euro-centric.
Now reunited, the blond-haired Dru wants his bald-headed twin to rejoin the forces of evil and become a full-fledged bad guy once more.
Gru, the former villain, has turned against a life of crime and is now an “anti-villain” agent. He is also the adoptive father to young Margo, Edith, and Agnes. Gru and his wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig) must stop their main antagonist, Balthazar Bratt (voiced Trey Parker) from achieving world domination.
Parker is the co-creator of TV’s “South Park.”
The official story line says, “Bratt, a supervillain (of course) is a former child star who grows up to become obsessed with the character he played in the ‘80s.”
That is as much of a “plot” to any Despicable Me cartoon romp that you will ever need.
The highlight has to be Mel and the other Minions … Kevin, Bob and Stuart (all voiced by Pierre Coffin). We at the “Family Ruffolo” take a keen interest in the Minions as we are raising three of them—the female Minion of the bunch just happens to be resting on my lap as I write this review.
Incredibly talented and fair mined, the Minions—the cartoon version and our real life ones—stumble through life by mumbling a language that is indecipherable to mortal man.
Yet all Minions—ours as well—seem to know precisely and exactly what they are saying.
How do they do that?
And the director of “The Minions” movie, Kyle Balda, is back to helm this third “Despicable Me” animated film. The official line on Mr. Balda is that he “has been working professionally in feature animation for the past 15 years, most notably with Pixar Animation Studios and Industrial Light & Magic.”
Talent always works out in the end.
In “Despicable Me 3,” Balda has a terrific vocal cast at his command, including Wiig as Gru’s wife Lucy and Russell Brand as “Dr. Nefario.”
Don’t ask.
Balda even reached into his vocal bag of tricks and out popped “Mary Poppins” herself, as Julie Andrews lends her voice to “Despicable Me 3.”
But if you are long-time readers of the Cebu Daily News, in truth, Dear Reader, this film critic truly despises anything with a number on the back of the name.
Yet with “Despicable Me 3,” I’ll make an exception.
There is just too much fun to be had with Dru and Gu his the road with their super-up, super-duper roadster.
Let’s just say … it’s good to be bad.
“Despicable Me 3” runs at a fast clip and you won’t even feel the 90 minutes that go by.
Except when you want more … MINIONS!
Will Gru join Dru on one last criminal heist? Will Gru’s wife Lucy find out and send him to the outhouse, dog house or out of the house?
Does any of this really matter?
Well, yes. It does. When you live in a household of screaming Minions, who are awake at dawn, eat all day (and night) by descending upon your refrigerator like a pack of laughing hyena, destroy your home as they throw all their toys into the air and endlessly mumble incoherently to one another … you know your days as a safe and sane adult is OVER!
To every head of the household who works and slaves away all day long to earn enough pesos to put corned beef and rice on the table—take it from this writer.
Hogtie your little ones if you have to, drag them to the nearest cineplex and tie them down in to the theater chair if you have to.
Whatever you do.
DON’T MISS THIS MOVIE!
You—and your Minions—will be glad you did.
Questions, comments or travel suggestions, write me at readingruffolos@gmail.com.