New Blogging Idea

   

    I thought that it might be fun for me to do a Blog series centered around animated shows that are every bit as good as the best live-action shows on T.V. today. I've found that people tend to dismiss animated shows off-hand as being simply 'for children.' However, in my experience, many animated T.V. shows deal with incredibly complex issues, and often combine stunning artistry with great story-telling. Just like comic books I believe that cartoons, anime, etc. are incredibly impactful and receive far too little credit with the public at large. We live in a world where Geek culture is gaining increasing importance, and I know many self-proclaimed Geeks who would agree that these shows helped to shape their lives. So, anyways, I thought for a while I'd post reviews of shows that helped to shape me, and that I believe are simply incredible and need more love.

     I don't really have a name for the series yet, and I don't have any posts, but I have plenty of ideas and plenty of shows I think deserve a review, so I guess I'll reveal the rest of the information with the first post in the series. We'll see how this goes, should be fun.

Hero Week: Despicable Me

Story Girl is hosting a Hero week this week, and I thought I'd throw my two cents in with a character review of Despicable Me (in celebration of Despicable Me 2). I'll be the first to admit that, when it comes to Dreamworks movies, I'm initially very skeptical. I mean, the company's no Pixar right? Well, sure, but lately I've felt that Dreamworks has been outpacing the Pixar powerhouse (How to Train your Dragon anyone?). Despicable Me is certainly not on par with Toy Story or Finding Nemo, but with that being said, as far as heartwarming stories go, it's hard to beat this one.

First there's the movie's protagonist, the not-so-super villain Gru. Gru desperately wants to be one of the best baddies there is, but compared to recent developments in the criminal world, his villainy is pretty small scale. It's always fun to love a bad guy, and its even more fun when, deep down, you're pretty sure that the bad guy isn't so bad after all. Gru gets some pretty adorable character development as he makes the transition from aspiring super villain to dad.

Margot is pretty great. She's not may favorite character, but she's a wonderful big sister to Edith and Agnes. She's also not afraid to call Gru out when he's a terrible person, which is helpful. Also, she's wearing a Lorax shirt, which I just now noticed, and that's pretty boss.

Edith is pretty hilarious. For a girl who wears a lot of pink and does ballet she's pretty tough. I think of all the sisters she has the least screen time, but I do hope we get to know her better in the second movie. 

AGNES!!!! She was my absolute favorite. If anyone could melt Gru's heart it was this kid. She's so sweet and adorable, and totally has one of the best lines in the whole movie. She's one of those kids that you wish you could know (like Calvin and Hobbes, but in a good way).

Gru's Minions were pretty fantastic too. I loved them. They are responsible for the movie's cruder humor, but I honestly didn't think that it detracted from the story at all. Plus, they just get themselves in to ridiculous situations, which is great.

     I didn't want to watch this movie when it came out, my family made me. I swear to you I've cried every time I've watched it since. It's incredibly adorable, and even if it isn't as great as Pixar, whenever I feel sad I'd rather watch this than a Pixar movie. True story. I'm not sure what that says about me, but there you go. :)