Despicable Me 2

The yellow guys are back! This despicable sequel starts off with a poker game in Antarctica outside a secret lab where top secret experimental concoctions are being made, when a flying magnetic vehicle appears and steals the entire lab. To locate this missing lab, and, more importantly the secret formula PX41, the AVL (Anti-Villain League) decides to recruit the reformed villain Gru (Steve Carell) to track down the thief. At first, he turns them down, but changes his mind after his assistant Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) leaves him to work for another villain. This excites his three adopted daughters when he tells them he will be helping to save the world.

Working with his new partner, AVL Agent Lucy (Kristen Wiig), Gru runs a cupcake shop in the mall to keep an eye on the suspects the AVL has put together. Gru’s instincts tell him that Eduardo, the owner of the Mexican restaurant, is their guy. When Eduardo’s son Antonio takes an interest in Margo, Gru becomes adamant that this is their guy, despite the evidence pointing to someone else having the formula.

All the while during the investigation, minions are slowly disappearing, and Gru is suffering his neighbor’s matchmaking schemes. Whoever has the formula is using it to transform our cute little yellow minions into indestructible, purple minions who can, and will, eat anything. When Gru finally comes face to face with the villain responsible for all the mayhem, he receives an offer to join up and conquer the world. Has Gru really changed for the better? Will he save the world or conquer the world?

Possible objectionable material

There is no foul language uttered in this film, no saying the Lord’s name in vain, but there is one instance of a “what the…” that isn’t finished. There is one use of the word “butt,” and that is probably the worst word heard in the movie. There is some potty humor, including the return of the fart gun and a reference to someone pooping.

Visually, there are a few instances that I feel should be mentioned. During that opening scene where the lab is being stolen, we see a scene of a port-a-potty left behind, the door falls off, and we see the inhabitant of the port-a-potty with a newspaper and his drawers around his ankles. When the hired fairy princess cancels on the birthday party, Gru takes her place and dresses as the fairy princess himself. When he lands, he falls, and you can see up his skirt, revealing the pantaloons he’s wearing underneath the dress.

While trying to recruit Gru into the AVL, a video is shown of formula PX41 being injected into a bunny’s behind, followed immediately by the enlarged, purple monster bunny attacking the one who injected him. After opening the cupcake shop, Eduardo comes to introduce himself to Gru and Lucy and orders a hundred cupcakes with the Mexican flag. To help them know what the Mexican flag looks like, he rips open his shirt and shows his hairy chest with a Mexican flag tattoo. Later, while investigating the owner of the hair restoration shop, Gru is wearing a belt with a device that detects the missing formula and sounds the alarm when located. Gru walks around the shop, thrusting his belted area in various positions in suggestive ways to locate the missing formula.

When Margo and her sisters try to set Gru up with an on-line dating service, they are looking at photos to figure out which one, and we see Gru in swimming briefs. At one point, when the location of the kidnapped minions is revealed, you see a minion rip off his towel to run into the beach… with a yellow butt showing. There is also an incident when one of the minions is dressed like a girl, but gets the skirt of the dress caught in the escalator, ripping it off and revealing purple panties. He then covers his chest and runs to hide in a potted plant. During a Cinco de Mayo celebration, we see Antonio doing some inappropriate dance moves.

As for violence, there’s a fair bit of ax swinging, head-bonking, electric tasers that both shock the victim and cause them to do a dance. The minions frequently wrestle with each other, smack each other and the like, but there’s never any blood.

Positive material

One positive aspect is when Dr. Nefario ultimately decides that his family is more important than helping the villain conquer the world, and comes back to help Gru and the girls.

Fatherhood has been good to Gru. He has truly changed his ways. He’s gone from a villain, seeking to completely conquer the world to wanting to make it a safe place for his three girls. This is an example of how anyone can be changed. Ephesians 4:22-24 says “To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” It doesn’t matter who you were, what you have done, you can be forgiven and be made a new creation in Christ.

My experience with this movie: I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get this review out tonight, as the power at the theater went out as I was watching. I just sat there in the dark, listening to the rain pouring down and the thunder rolling on.

That being said, I did enjoy the movie and had a good time. Keep in mind, this movie is targeted at kids, so it may be loud. I did see it in 3D, so let me save you a few bucks. Don’t bother… if you do decide to see it, there’s nothing in the movie itself that lends well to 3D. Once the credits are rolling, there’s some fun bits… bubbles and butterflies that really make you think they’re really in the theater, but that’s about it.

Violence: Moderate / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: Minor

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.

• Positive
• Neutral
• Negative
• Young people