Aside of Minions, the other element you'll find plenty in Despicable Me 2 is laughter. This 3D computer-animated comedy, a sequel to the 2010 Despicable Me, may be thin in substance but does not suffer from dull moments. Steve Carell is back as Felonious Gru, his evilness gone now that he is a full-time dad. It is one area where the film falls short from its predecessor: after all, its titled Despicable Me. Yet Gru is now the good guy, a devoted father who needs to overcome a childhood trauma in pursuit of romance. Yes – that is the underlying theme: overcoming rejection, but if you miss it, worry not; the plot is merely an excuse to laugh at plenty of slapstick moments provided by the all too adorable Minions.
The animation is delightful, and the adults are thrown a few extra bones in the form of hints kids are surely to miss e.g. a moment that brings to mind The Invasion of the Body Snatchers and a few musical notes evoking the score of the evil empire theme from Star Wars.
In summary, there are no great messages in Despicable Me 2, and it does fall short in originality, but you'll laugh a lot, your kids will love it, and you won’t notice how fast those 98 minutes pass.
P.S. expect the video games to follow shortly – the film has plenty of scenes designed, so it seems, with action games in mind.