Despicable Me 2 [DVD] [2013]

For those of you who aren't aware, the Despicable Me movies, and the Minion movie, are cute, and I think a lot of fun. I bought this Blu-ray when Best Buy had it on sale for $12.99, and I think it's a really good deal. This Blu-ray comes with a 3-D disc, a Blu-ray, a DVD, and digital copy either in Ultraviolet or iTunes. The Blu-ray comes with a commentary by the directors along with three mini-movies, one of which is in 3-D, the making of the mini-movies, some deleted scenes. As for the 3-D disc itself, I think it looks excellent! I really enjoyed their use of 3-D in this movie, and I personally think it helped make it even more enjoyable to watch. Quite a number of the visual gags in the film lent themselves to 3-D. If you're not a credit watcher, and you're watching it in 3-D, I highly suggest you watch these credits. They are very amusing! This disc does remember where you left off, which I like very much. One thing I don't like, is that when you place the disc on pause, you lose the 3-D. The pause menu is in 3-D, but the image you want to pause to take a closer look at goes flat. To me that's very stupid! I'm very glad I got this 3-D disc set, I think if you purchase it, you'll enjoy it also!

The Despicable Me franchise certainly has made a name for itself, including the spin-off movie, Minions. I was not as impressed with this film as I was with the first one; however, this film still retains enough of the heart-felt bond between Gru and his three girls, while adding in additional characters along with them. I think this film just misses it's mark slightly on the urgency for Gru's direction. It's a difficult task to follow up to such a widely successful first movie, but I'd say that this film does an admirable job. As for the 3D aspect, this film has some very prominent pop-out 3D. The overall depth and dimensionality of the 3D however isn't quite as pronounced as some others, but it certainly is a pleasing 3D presentation overall. There was only one instance that I noticed cross-talk in the image and that was when a couple of soap bubbles were really protruding from the screen on a black background. Other than that instance, I noticed no cross-talk issues, even on other pop-out effect moments. *Note: I watched this on a LG OLED with passive 3D,which is not as sensitive to inherent cross-talk as the active shutter 3D tech.

Parents need to know that Despicable Me 2, the sequel to 2010's hit supervillain adventure Despicable Me, features gadgets and weapons like the original, but now with the aim of stopping "evil" instead of perpetrating it. There's a romantic subplot between Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and Lucy (Kristen Wiig), an Anti-Villain League agent. Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) has her first crush and boyfriend as well, although both couples mostly flirt and stare at each other (the adults do kiss). Language is mild ("nutjob," "sheep's butt"), and the violence is cartoonish and silly but does include biological weapons and a taser gun. Mexican restaurant owner Eduardo is depicted somewhat stereotypically (his restaurant is Salsa and Salsa, he has a pet chicken he calls el pollito, and he throws a lavish Cinco de Mayo party). Otherwise, this is a minions-filled animated adventure for the entire family.

A great sequel to a great animated film! Steve Carell continues his role as the voice of the hilarious character Gru, who had turned himself from a super villain to a loving father of the 3 girls he adopted, Margot, Edith, and Agnes, and tries to go into a business of selling jams and jellies! But he is pulled out of retirement when an agency known as the Anti-Villian League recruits Gru to help them track down a mastermind criminal who has stolen top secret data to make a serum to create chaos throughout the world. Gru is partnered with an agent from the AVL named Lucy, voiced by Kristen Wiig. The film plays out with great hilarity, with an excellent soundtrack, featuring music by Pharrell Williams and Pitbull! Although the first film was excellent, this one is definitely better!!

The ex-villain Gru is raising his daughters Margo, Edith and Agnes and researching a legitimate jelly and jam business with Dr. Nefarion and the minions. Meanwhile, a laboratory in Arctic is stolen by a powerful aircraft using magnetism. The Anti-Villain league (AVL) agent Lucy Wilde recruits Gru to help her agency to discover who has stolen the laboratory and its research. They know that the thief has a store in a mall, and Gru suspects that the owner of the Mexican restaurant Salsa & Salsa, Eduardo Perez, may be the villain El Macho that is presumed dead in an accident. "Despicable Me 2" is a delightful family entertaining. Who can resist to Gru, Agnes and the minions? And now, with Margo growing up and interested in boys and the clumsy but heartwarming Lucy Wilde, it is a great fun for the whole family.

My two boys loved this film in the theater and were eager to have it on disc at home. We use the digital copy on both the boys' iPads and that makes watching it easier for them. This is a very cute movie with a good message. There is some crude humor about body functions I would prefer we avoid and the film caused an uncomfortable question from my older about why Gru was opposed to the girl dating the boy, but we got past that. I would not spend the extra money on the 3D version. The 3D tricks wear off quickly and the kids get tired of wearing the 3D glasses. Save your $5. Extras are a little thin... 3 mini Minion movies are great, but the featurettes were the same I saw on HBO, and there are no games or other things for the kids to do. Kind sad there. But still Highly Recommended

Some may say that it got no fluidity in transitioning from 1st movie to the 2nd, but unfortunately, many forget that such children's sequel need not follow a plot in continuum, rather bringing the amusement and excitement in a children's movie to the majority of the audience. In this case, majority would be children with a minority audience of accompanying adults that could consist of parents, uncle and aunts and older siblings, but it should not necessarily cater the older audience expectations in their view of entertainment, but the producers have met the greatest condition in keeping children in their apex of satisfaction throughout the movie. My children and I enjoyed it very much and recommend watching this movie. without any hesitation

This is one of those rarities, an animated sequel that improves on the original. It does so by slimming down a bulky plot and accentuating the lively cartoon madness with Looney Tunes-style flair. The film again follows Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), a master criminal turned family man and father to three adopted girls—and their little pill-shaped minions—as they help a secret agent (Kristen Wiig) thwart an arch-villain. The directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, and the screenwriters, Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul, have crafted a winning formula that enfolds snappy one-liners and inventive visual gags into a speedy, buoyant, inspired entertainment. The pitch-perfect voice cast includes Benjamin Bratt, Russell Brand, and Steve Coogan