Approved for 12+

Despicable Me

In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) in Universal's new 3-D CGI feature, "Despicable Me."

Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad.

The world's greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.
7
Negative Rating
12345
SexLanguageViolenceDrugsNudityOther
0
Positive Rating
12345
FaithIntegrity

Dove Review

This is an extremely cute movie! It is imaginative and funny and features memorable characters. It also shows character growth as one main character in particular changes by film’s end. It does include some animated violence but nothing very graphic and almost all of it is set in a fantastic make-believe world. This is the reason for our twelve plus Dove Seal, along with our “other” category rating a two, but after checking the content listing, some parents will be fine with their children under twelve watching it. There were some young kids at the screening I attended and none of them seemed frightened. In fact, most of them seemed delighted with the on-screen happenings. Steve Carell does a great job as the main character, Gru. His voice and comedic talents are on display in this one.

The story in a nutshell is this: Gru plans to steal a fantastic shrinker device from a company called Vector, with the goal of traveling to the moon and shrinking it and holding it until his demands are met. He winds up adopting three orphan girls from Miss Hattie’s Home for Girls. His goal is to use them to infiltrate his enemy’s place, as his enemy buys cookies from the girls. Gru’s despicable, unfeeling ways are soon challenged as he can’t help but fall for the little tykes and their loving ways and big eyes. The themes of this film include the capacity for change, loyalty, and finding people to care about. There are a few scenes such as the one in which Gru bakes cookies for the girls and one of them is shaped like an outlined dead body on a city street, with a hole in it to boot. If this humor is offensive to some, keep in mind it is the exception and not the rule. There is a lot to like about this movie. The imagination can run wild while watching flights to the moon, incredible inventions, and the funny little yellow creatures which are always into something. It is a clever and imaginative movie.

Dove Rating Details

0
Faith

None

0
Integrity

Animated violence including some characters hitting one another; a man is hit by a bus but survives; a kid falls on top of a man; some characters are frozen by a freeze ray gun; a character makes an animal balloon for a little boy and then pops it with a pin; a flame hits a few yellow creatures; yellow creature hits a fellow yellow creature in head with a hammer; a creature resembling a dog with fangs bites a character but we see he is allright; a girl bites an adult's leg but she changes; a character receives an electrical shock.

0
Sex

None

1
Language

Suckers-1; Butt-2; Poop-1

2
Violence

Animated violence including some characters hitting one another; a man is hit by a bus but survives; a kid falls on top of a man; some characters are frozen by a freeze ray gun; a character makes an animal balloon for a little boy and then pops it with a pin; a flame hits a few yellow creatures; yellow creature hits a fellow yellow creature in head with a hammer; a creature resembling a dog with fangs bites a character but we see he is allright; a girl bites an adult's leg but she changes; a character receives an electrical shock.

1
Drugs

There is a Beer sign on display in one scene.

1
Nudity

Nude little statues but no breasts or genitals are seen; baby's bottom is briefly seen; a character is seen in his boxers.

2
Other

A little yellow creature sits on a copy maching and makes copies of his yellow buns; there are three orphaned girls who look like they will have to return to the orphanage after a brief stay at a potential father's home; some kids at the orphanage have to sit in a box of "shame" when they have been naughty; a character talks about having stolen a few items like the small Statue of Liberty from Vegas but he changes by film's end; a girl places a mud pie on an administrator's desk; a little boy's ego is bruised when he says he wants to go to the moon one day and his mother says too bad, that the monkees are no longer being sent but this character winds up eventually having a happy adulthood; talk of a "fart" gun that makes foul odors; a kid picks his nose.

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