Megamind is a misunderstood fellow. Big, blue and sinister, he has made his life’s purpose committing evil crimes against his archrival Metro Man. When one of Megamind’s plans actually succeeds (as they often fail) he is left with two things: A city to rule and a no more rival. While this should be a good thing, Megamind goes into a small depression and ends up concocting one of the most evil schemes he has ever concocted… give birth to another hero to fight. Regretfully, nothing goes as planned for the evil genius (?) and the city ends up needing a hero to stop his hero. Who can they turn to?
The thing I like about Megamind is that no one involved took the film ‘over-the-top’ in terms of humor. While the likes of Shrek and Toy Story movies generally set the bar with humor, most films trying to get to that established level usually try too hard in the process (and fail). Will Ferrell is certainly one person that take humor and make a massive mess out of it, but this time around he restrains himself and the humor subtly and gracefully flows out of his character. His performance of Megamind is not only touching, but it’s also impressive, as he truly sells the character to the audience. This is the first movie ever that I forgot the main character was being played by Will Ferrell. It takes a lot to forget that he is onscreen or his voice or humor is onscreen. Ferrell’s ability to completely buy into the character of Megamind probably helped him out a bit and it shows wonderfully in the movie. He is sad when he needs to be and funny when he needs to be, but most of all he is dead-on Megamind from beginning to end. There is no obnoxiousness involved.
As for the other actors, I liked what Brad Pitt did as Metro Man, but I felt like he wasn’t in it nearly enough as he needed to be. You can’t fault Pitt for that decision, but you can fault the story (which we’ll talk about next). Tina Fey’s presence as the strong willed reporter Roxanne Ritchie was as good as any role she has been in (sans that horrible film Baby Mama). Honestly, before I got to the special features, I had no idea that Ben Stiller was in the film as Bernard, Megamind’s fish assistant. I was pretty sure it was Patton Oswalt the entire time. I am shamed.
Anyway, having a great cast intact isn’t enough to make a movie work (see Ishtar for an example, or better yet just take my word for it). A well-established story goes a long way, but I certainly realize that an animated project like this takes years and getting the right actors in place and on time to get the work done is mind-numbing business. Sometimes the story takes a backseat to other work, which is regretful. The overall story of “What’s my purpose” in Megamind resonates throughout the film. You never forget that is what the story is about. Unfortunately, there are just a few imbalances that adults might notice along the way that don’t reside in movies like Shrek. The quick absence of Brad Pitt after the first 10-15 minutes of the film is awkward. Since the marketing of the film revolves around Megamind and Metro Man it was important to have both in there for a little while, at least to establish a better relationship. The story misses the boat on this and we get the majority of the movie with Megamind being funny and dragging the storyline a bit from plot point to plot point. Even when the story does get rolling it seems to be a little bit lost on what direction it wants to take, though by the end of it all it comes together pretty well. What I’m saying is that the middle of the film is a bit messy. It’s got a great beginning and a powerful ending, but the middle is confusing.
Will kids care? No. Will parents care? Probably not, but it’s obvious to the keen eye and it does make the movie drag here and there.
Overall, it’s still a fun movie with great actors doing a very good job at making the mess work.
What about the Blu-ray? The Blu-ray is fantastic. Starting with the visuals and audio, you get some great HD. The animation is bright and colorful and this Blu-ray should be the Blu-ray they use when companies are trying to sell you HD televisions. It’s crisp and clean and there are no artifacts. That’s one thing I’ve really come to appreciate with animated films, how great they look when they get to Blu-ray. Megamind looks and sounds top-notch on the best format available. Simply put, it’s gorgeous all the way around.
With that said, it’s not the best thing about the Blu-ray release. That honor goes to the special features section, which includes the following:
– Megamind: The Button of Doom
– PiP Storyboards, Behind-the-scenes footage and interviews
– Megamind trivia and fun facts
– Interactive Comic Creator (HD)
– Meet the Cast (HD)
– Discover The Lost Scene (HD)
– Visit Megamind’s Lair (HD)
– Experience AnimatorMan (HD)
– Learn to Draw Megamind (HD)
– Unleash The Reign of Megamind Video Comic Book
– Filmmaker’s Commentary
– DVD version
While there is more features on this release, this is the main stuff. As you can already tell there is a lot of kid friendly material here to be had. Not to say that parents won’t enjoy the experience, but this release was made for kids and there’s plenty for them to do. I especially like the lost scene and the ‘meet the cast’. As you can tell there is enough here to keep you and your kids satisfied well after the movie has ended. Dreamworks really took a page from the Disney Studios book for this release. These are all very impressive.