Megamind - Soon-to-be Your New Favorite Animated Movie!

Rated PG for action and some language
Starring Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, David Cross, Jonah Hill
Running time: 95 minutes

I say that Megamind will be your new favorite movie because it’s just that good. I believe it’s as good as The Incredibles, Toy Story and a few other fabulously famous animated films. The script is incredibly clever, the cast is phenomenal even the soundtrack rocks! That being said I’m an adult (obviously) and I wonder if my child or other people’s children feel the same way? I’m beginning to believe after participating in Flixy Mom that my new preferred movie genre is animated children’s movies because I’m enjoying myself quite thoroughly.

It starts out with a bang as Megamind’s (Will Ferrell) planet gets sucked into a blackhole but not before his parents send him out in a small spaceship( just like Superman’s Mommy and Daddy once did). He lands in a prison yard to be cared for and raised by the convicts and taught the criminal side of life. He also creates wonderfully clever inventions and ultimately turns into: Incredibly Handsome and Criminal Genius and Master of all Villainy. A twin spaceship that was also sent out from the doomed planet lands in the lap of a wealthy family, and thus the battle between Megamind and his nemesis, Metro Man (Brad Pitt) begins.

Metro Man with his superhero strength frequently wins the fight against his rival while also winning the hearts of the people of Metro City (which Megamind mistakenly pronounces Metrocity like “atrocity”). One day Megamind finally succeeds in defeating Metro Man using nosy reporter, Roxanne Ritchi (Tiny Fey) as bait. She has been used as bait so often she jokes that she has a frequent kidnapping card.

Megamind basks in his victory with Minion (David Cross), who is a fish that has robot body, until he realizes that he’s a villain with no hero. He decides to create a new hero by fashioning Metro Man’s super powers from his dandruff DNA and accidently injects them into Hal, Roxanne’s weirdo slacker cameraman.

Megamind disguises himself as a Marlon Brando-lookalike-mentor (love that nod to Superman’s Dad, Jor-el in the Christopher Reeve flick) to teach Hal to be a hero so that he will have someone to battle once again. But Hal is not good which is a perquisite for most superheroes, and goes rogue and becomes Tighten who wants only one thing…Roxanne.

Roxanne, however, is falling for Bernard who is actually Megamind in disguise. He has invented a ray gun that dehydrates humans into small cubes so that he can then replicate himself into that person. Megamind/Bernard is falling for Roxanne in return, and when Minion tells him, “the bad guy doesn’t get the girl,” Megamind responds, “maybe I don’t want to be the bad guy anymore.” And, that’s the major turning point for him especially when he loses Minion as a friend.

Roxanne and Megamind team up to stop Tighten from ruining Metro City and ultimately he becomes the hero to prove himself to Roxanne. I love that Megamind goes on the greatest hero’s journey of all and turns from evil overload into white knight.

I’m not sure my five-year-old was as enthusiastic about this movie as I was. She did watch it with me twice so I can say that she liked it that much. I think older children will appreciate the humor and the action better than smaller children. As for the rating, for the life of me I cannot think what the questionable language in this film could be?

It’s a great story about a super hero and a super villain with a dream cast. (Will Ferrell is a god!) Go and check it out from the library or your nearest box now.



Want to rent Megamind today? CLICK HERE for Netflix.

Did you see Megamind? Leave a comment with your own mini-review! We love to hear from Flixy Mom readers!

Despicable Me

Rated PG for rude humor and mild action
Starring Steve Carell, Jason Segal, and Russel Brand
Running time: 95 minutes

I originally saw Despicable Me in theaters with my three kids (ages 17, 15, and 12 at the time) when it was released. All three kids and I LOVED it. Since then, I have easily been entertained by this funny and sweet movie another ten to fifteen times. I'm not exaggerating.

A quick recap of the story: Gru (Steve Carell) is an evil villain who is feeling like his career might be on the downswing when someone begins stealing major world monuments and man-made wonders. Determined not to be outdone, he and his cohort, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) decide they will steal the moon. The problem is, to steal the moon, he needs a shrink ray - the only one of which known to exist, is in the hands of the new villain on the block, Vector (Jason Segal), who has an impenetrable fortress. But Gru is no dummy. He has a plan: adopt three cookie-selling orphans who have a delivery to make at Vector's compound and essentially walk right in with the aid of this innocent girls and his evil cookie robots. The plan works like a dream, but what he doesn't count on is growing to love the three orphan girls. That's right - Gru is a bad guy with a big ol' soft, squishy heart. Will the melting of his tough exterior spoil his ability to steal the moon? You gotta watch and see.

Despicable Me is a winner of a family movie for many reasons, but the biggest is Steve Carell, who plays Gru with what you think might be a Russian accent, and with that magical Steve Carell touch. You never really hate Gru - how can you? He drives a funny car and has strange little minions with names like Dave, Jerry, and Bob. And while you know this story will be predictable, that Gru will succumb to goodness and will exchange his role of evil villain for that of lovable father, it doesn't matter. The script, animation, and voice-over acting are so exceptional, that you're connected from the opening sequence to the very last scene.

The rating is PG for rude humor and mild action. I believe the rude humor cited must be the word "fart," which occurs in a particularly humorous scene when Gru tells this hard-at-hearing Dr. Nefario that he asked for a "dart gun" not a "fart gun." Of course, most kids love the word "fart" so if you're not bothered by it yourself, I think that's the extent of your rude humor. And the "mild action" is nothing disturbing, even to very young children.

Fun, fun, fun, and more fun, is how I would describe Despicable Me, so if you haven't seen it yet, get that DVD, rent it from Netflix, or see if you can find it on cable, because you and your kids won't be disappointed. Especially since they are coming out with a sequel July of 2013.

Reviewed by Karen Cantwell



Find Despicable Me on Netflix

Lilo & Stitch: Hang Ten with this Disney Favorite

Rated PG for mild sci-fi action
Starring David Sanders, Daveigh Chase, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Ving Rhames
Running time: 85 minutes


My daughter and I sat down to enjoy this 2002 Disney flick one rainy afternoon. Her interest piqued after seeing the Stitch character at Disney on Ice a few weeks ago so I surprised her with the DVD after checking it out from the library.

Without giving spoilers, the basic plot is that Stitch (Chris Sanders), a failed genetic experiment from an alien planet that destroys everything it touches, is exiled to an asteroid, but finds himself on one of the islands of Hawai’i instead. He’s captured, and Lilo (Daveigh Chase) and her sister adopt him from the pound where he is taken because the authorities don’t know what the heck to do with him. Lilo, a scrappy, undisciplined and virtual outcast, lives with her sister, Nani (Tia Carrere), after the death of their parents, and well, they’re having a tough time of it. Inevitably. Nani tries to paint a picture of domestic and familial bliss for the social worker (Ving Rhames) who has the one of the best character names ever (Cobra Bubbles), but he’s not fooled. Stitch’s basic nature is destruction so Lilo and Nani suffer greatly when he comes home with them. Granted, they were already suffering before he arrived, and he became a convenient scapegoat to point the finger at, but we’ll just overlook that shall we?

There are some big lessons to learn here on family. The old heartstrings get a workout when foster care looks imminent and when Lilo gets bullied at school then prays for real friends at bedtime later. My daughter asked me to turn off the movie at one point (she said Stitch was a little mean and scary) but persevered through to the end.

Stitch is not your typical cuddly Disney character, but Lilo is quite loveable, and you can’t help but root for her and Nani to get it together and be a true family. From the Elvis karaoke to the cool surfing scenes, the story is fun even for adults. Give it a try next time you’re at the library or adding titles to your queue. And, here’s a direct quote from my five-year-old, “I didn’t like it at first, but then I loved it!” Now, if that doesn’t persuade you…

Reviewed by Beth Balberchak

Rio

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, and George Lopez
Rated G
Running time 96 minutes

As a baby, a blue macaw is stolen from Rio de Janeiro by rare bird smugglers, but is rescued by a young girl in America when his cage falls from the truck transporting him. The girl, Linda (Leslie Mann) grows up with her new best friend, Blu (Jesse Eisenberg). When a Brazilian ornithologist arrives on the scene, asking Linda to return Blu to Rio for mating purposes, this truly adorable story really begins.

Jewel (Anne Hathaway) is Blu’s intended mate, but she is only interested in escaping, which she manages to do with Blu in tow. The problem: Blu can’t fly. The adventure revolves around the events of reuniting Blu and Linda safely.

There are bad guys in this story of course, in the form of bird smugglers, but also some really fun sidekicks with some priceless lines. The music and musical numbers are very entertaining as well.

I watched Rio with my thirteen year-old daughter, and couldn’t believe, once the movie got going, that we hadn’t watched it sooner. In fact, since our first viewing, we’ve seen it two more times – we especially enjoy the opening scene when Blu is a baby. The animation is tremendous, and you just want to scoop up little Blu and ruffle his cute baby feathers.

Did we enjoy Rio? Yes! Do we think other families would enjoy Rio? Yes!

So I mentioned this theme of mating – it is handled so vaguely, that I don’t think parents of young children will get questions that they can’t easily answer. There is a bad-guy cockatoo that could scare some younger members of the family (five and under maybe?), but I will recommend Rio for full family viewing. It is sweet, funny (some really fine laugh-out-loud moments), fun, and entirely entertaining.

So truly, if you haven’t seen it yet, and you’re looking for a fun flick for family movie night, try Rio. You won’t be disappointed.

Reviewed by Karen Cantwell