DESPICABLE ME is not an animated feature. It is a flat-out feature-length cartoon, a rare bird in the field, and the first really successful one since THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE. If anything, it's better.

Animated features are typically fantasies, taking us to places and stories that cannot be filmed in live action. They can be dramatic, fantastic, inspirational, terrifying, all the range of emotions. Cartoons are different. Cartoons inhabit a universe that is a cross between Krazy Kat and the Keystone Kops. Walk off a cliff and you don't fall until you notice. Fall a thousand yards and hit the ground and you wheeze like an accordion until the next scene, when you're fine. Cartoons are silly.

And this one is very very silly, from Steve Carell's indecisively Eastern European-voiced Grue to Julie's Andrews who, as his mom, sounds like Beaky Buzzard's mother in Bugs Bunny shorts, to the seemingly indistinguishable minions who talk like Chip and Dale on helium -- Grue knows all their names. A modern supervillain has to have people skills.

The gags are all spot on in relevance and impeccably timed. The plot advances at a good clip and even the heartwarming aspects of the plot never descend into mawkishness -- the little girls whom Grue adopts to advance his plan to steal the Moon are endearing but frequently annoying.

I saw the 3-D version and the question arises, should you spend the extra money to see it in 3-D? I don't think so -- but then I am happy looking at stuff in black and white and even silent films. You may get a little more out of the 3-D version, particularly the credit extras. But that's up to you. See it in whatever form you like, but see it.

I heard that this movie was very good, and after seeing seeing it myself, I have to say I heartily concur. While not my favourite film of the year, and the film never tries to be that, Despicable Me is cute and wonderfully inventive. While it could have been a little longer, what made Despicable Me work was a number of things. The animation for starters is stunning, I liked the colours and character designs but it was the backgrounds and retro-futurist design that blew me away, while the gadgetry is ingenious.

The music fits very well with the film and is memorable without being overly ambitious or simplistic, the story is ceaselessly inventive and fast paced with a surprisingly clever subplot about the importance of family. The characters also add a lot, Gru is wonderfully zany especially and I found it impossible not to fall in love with his minions, they are so cute. But my favourite assets of Despicable Me are the humour and the voice cast. The writing is just excellent, it was so funny and incredibly smart without feeling too much, while the voice work is exemplary especially from Steve Carell whose brilliant vocals add a lot to the film's success.

Overall, a truly great film with a lot to like. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I should note that I did NOT see this film in 3-D but at a non-3-D equipped theater. I am not sure that this impacted my viewing experience very much as most 3-D films I have seen really didn't benefit much from this technology--the most notable exception being "How To Train Your Dragon"--a film that fully utilized 3-D and was amazing to see in all its glory.

I should also point out that I knew exactly where this film was going long before it got there--and I am sure most adult viewers and kids probably felt the same way. Heck, just by watching the preview for the film a few months back, I knew exactly where the film would go. But despite being a formulaic film where the big curmudgeon has his heart melted by some adorable orphans, I still had a wonderful time watching the movie. Why? Because it did something that many family movies forget--it was fun!! And, on top of that, it was super-cute--but not in a cloying manner. Unless you are Genghis Khan, you WILL find the countless little yellow minions to be completely adorable and funny--a real high point for the film. Heck, a couple months before the film was released, I was at Universal Studios in Florida and just HAD to have my picture taken with one of these characters as it roamed the park--it was just so freaking cute! And, I even liked the adorable little orphans--something I usually hate in films. They had a good balance between cute, sassy and endearing.

Overall, this is a wonderful 3-D movie because parents can enjoy it. I loved the characters and thought the French animators did a terrific job--with artistry that stacks up very well against the older and more established CGI studios, Pixar and Dreamworks. A pleasant treat that won't change your life...but who cares if it's so entertaining?!

By the way, the plot for this film sure looks a lot like "Megamind" that was released just a few weeks later. I have yet to see "Megamind" and plan on doing so soon, so I'll update this review to reflect which of the two films I preferred. I just can't imagine how "Megamind" could be that much better!