Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

Although you might not know it from watching Date Night, Steve Carell is a very funny man. The star of "The Office" and The 40-Year-Old Virgin has had a hit-or-miss run on the big screen, but Despicable Me is the perfect vehicle for him. Deftly slipping back and forth between dry sarcasm and zany insanity, Carrell's supervillain Gru is a memorable, entertaining anti-hero that both kids and adults will love. (Just don't ask me to explain his accent.)

Much like Dr. Horrible and his mission to join the Evil League of Evil, Gru is a seasoned supervillain in constant competition with the young and ambitious supervillains of tomorrow. After his new nemesis Vector steals an Egyptian pyramid, replacing it with an inflatable replica, Gru and his hilarious militia of minions plot to one-up Vector by pulling off the crime of the century: stealing the moon!  (Insert your best evil laugh here.)

Complicating matters is the trio of adorable orphan girls Gru has just adopted, a necessary element in his elaborate scheme. (Be sure to listen for the hilarious Kristen Wiig as twisted orphanage owner Miss Hattie.) Between dealing with his new dependants, managing his minions, and oh yeah, stealing the moon - it's no wonder Gru is more than a little stressed out.

The Picture

If there's one genre that consistently looks exceptional on high definition Blu-ray, it's animated fare like Despicable Me. Whether it's a Toy Story, Dragon drama, or Meatball movie, animated feature films always manage to impress - and Despicable Me is no exception.

Boasting a vivid and playful color palette, exceptional shading, and gobs of fine detail, Despicable Me is a 4-star affair in the video department. Although there's no shortage of eye-popping visuals in the film, my favorite element is Gru's car, if you can call it that. This rocket-propelled Airstream trailer of sorts is a visual marvel, a massive construction of realistic-looking stainless steel coasting around Gru's colorful suburban neighborhood. The same material appears to have been used to construct the goggles adorning the faces of Gru's minions and these too look similarly impressive.

The Sound

Every bit the match for Despicable's video transfer is its stellar, lossless DTS soundtrack. This 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio sound mix is a thoroughly engaging experience with activity coming from every corner of the room. Dialogue is intelligible and there's plenty of low-end oomph during aerial battles, shark attacks, roller coaster rides, and the film's varied array of fun-filled hijinks. (There's a word I don't use often enough.)

On a curious side note requiring further investigation, I did experience a small handful of very brief audio hiccups. Essentially, the soundtrack seemed to blink, just for a moment, and the net effect was a chopped word here and there. I heard these using Toshiba's BDX3000 Blu-ray player, but I was unable to duplicate them if I rewound to the same spot and played it again. I was also unable to duplicate the hiccups on my Panasonic DMP-BD35.  The fact that I couldn't duplicate the probablem consistently says it's not a software/disc issue, but if you experience anything similar, please share your story in our forums!

The Extras

Although Universal has also released a Blu-ray 3D combo pack of the film, I only had an opportunity to look at the 2D version. This 3-disc set features DVD and Digital Copy versions of the movie, while the bonus material accompanies the  film on the Blu-ray disc.

Leading the list of extras is a trio of all-new mini-movies starring Gru's hairless, yellow minions, or "cousins" as he might say. Like the penguins of Madagascar and "Scrat" the squirrel from the Ice Age trilogy, these side show acts love to steal scenes, and if your kids are anything like mine, they'll eat these guys up. Rest assured that these entertaining mini-movies will get just as much repeat play as the film itself.

In addition to a multitude of featurettes and Miss Hattie's top secret cookie recipes, there's also "Gru Control," a unique viewing mode exclusive to Gru-ray, err, Blu-ray. Watch as Gru, Vector and the minions periodically interrupt your movie in progress to play with your TV screen, goof off and generally fish for laughs. It's all good fun and once again, the kids will love it.

Final Thoughts

Despite the fact that Despicable Me is bursting with kiddie appeal, it's also chock full of fun for the adults in your family. Thanks in large part to the creative voice work of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Julie Andrews, and Will Arnett (to name but a few), Despicable Me is a laugh-filled delight that may just surprise you. And exploring the many facets of this nicely-loaded Blu-ray edition should keep the kids occupied for at least one afternoon during the upcoming school break over the holidays. Highly recommended.

Product Details

• Actors: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Jack McBrayer, Danny McBride, Miranda Cosgrove
• Director: Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin
• Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, Spanish, French)
• Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Region: A
• Number of Discs: 3
• Rating: PG
• Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: December 14, 2010
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• List Price: $39.98
• Extras:
  • Gru Control viewing mode
  • 3 all-new mini movies
  • Multiple featurettes
  • Director and minions commentary
  • iPhone & iPad apps: "Minion Me" & "Minion Dominion"
  • Pocket BLU
  • D-BOX Motion Enabled
  • BD-LIVE
  • Digital Copy