Tuesday’s Top Trailer: Despicable Me

Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

Despicable Me – Opening July 9, 2010



I’ve seen this trailer a few times now, before the more family-friendly films I’ve been to lately, like “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” It’s hard to believe that anyone is already thinking about summer 2010 when the best movies of 2009 haven’t even been released yet. This trailer is more of a teaser that excerpts an actual scene from the movie to kick it off, and if nothing else, it looks intriguing. The title refers, presumably, to a character that is hardly seen in the trailer and is only referenced by his hunched shadow that appears at the end of the trailer and on the movie’s promotional poster. Summer is prime time to release animated films, and the past four years have seen monstrous successes in “Cars,” “Ratatouille,” “Wall-E,” and “Up,” all of which have had a better shot at standing out since there isn’t as much competition during the summer season. This looks like quite an imaginative effort, featuring major world landmarks and this despicable thief who is set on stealing them and replacing them with inflatable replicas. Stealing artifacts might be fun, and the trailer doesn’t indicate whether the focus is on the public search for this devious criminal or on his life. A quick reading of the summary suggests that the trailer is hardly informative, but it’s certainly intriguing. The lineup of voices sounds cool, and Steve Carrell as Gru, the thief in question, should make for a fun lead character. The voice of the tourist father at the start of the trailer can be identified as Jack McBrayer (“30 Rock”), and the slate of other stars lending their voices – Jason Segel, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Danny McBride, and Russell Brand – should make for amusing conversations. It’s sort of like “Saturday Night Live” for kids, and the uncertain plot should be interesting, if nothing else. The fact that this is already being promoted now means that it will have plenty of time to build excitement, and this will likely be a major animated film of the summer. But don’t forget about the other animated movie coming out next summer, being released just a few weeks earlier, which is sure to give it a run for its money: “Toy Story 3.”