Looking down Wikipedia's helpful list of Dreamworks' animated features. I can in fact see that they've done plenty I haven't particularly liked, as well as a fair few I haven't fancied enough to watch. I was never that taken with Shark Tale, for instance, or Madagascar, whilst Turbo sounded far too much like an answer to Pixar's Cars, which in itself was a question that never needed asking.
I think that in terms of sheer quality, though, they've scored more hits than misses. Arguably they're not always as brave or as creative as Pixar, but then Pixar movies tend to leave me annoyingly underwhelmed (A Bug's Life, Wall E), a sobbing wreck of mangled emotions (Inside Out, when I get around to watching it, I bloody guarantee it) or both (Up, one of the least enjoyable movies I've ever had the misfortune to watch). If I fancy a spot of animation and I settle down in front of something by Dreamworks, I do so in the (reasonably) certain knowledge that I'll be able to enjoy something visually appealing voiced by big name talent, neither of which are necessarily a guarantee of a good time, but both of which definitely help.
That said? Before viewing, my expectations of Megamind weren't particularly high - blame it on Will Ferrell's name at the top of the poster, perhaps, or the fact that the animation in the trailers just looked that little bit too crude and lazy. Still, I've had a rough couple of days and was in the mood for some cute cartoons, and when I thought about Dreamworks animations I hadn't yet seen it sounded like the best of a mediocre bunch.
It's a shame, really, that Megamind and Despicable Me were released in the same year - given that they were both CGI animations with supervillains as the main protagonists, one of the pair was inevitably going to be an also-ran. Despicable Me was more kid-friendly and, thanks to the Minion characters, infinitely more marketable, which is presumably why it took the laurels. Having watched them both, though, I think Megamind might just about squeak it as my favourite of the two.
I liked a lot of things about Megamind, but my favourite thing about it its surprisingly mature take on romance - no love at first sight here for Ferrell's blue-skinned alien menace and intrepid reporter Roxanne Ritchie (voiced by Tina Fey), just a slow-growing mutual respect. Roxanne wasn't shy about calling out her geeky cameraman, either, when he grew too pushy. It was wonderful to see the creepy manchild not only fail to get the girl, but also to be called on his bs and bested by somebody with far better manners.
On a more superficial level, meanwhile, I really enjoyed the cheerfully ludicrous hair metal soundtrack and matching visuals; the opening few seconds of the climactic battle left me grinning like an idiot at our antihero's sheer showmanship. I might not enjoy listening to AC/DC, but they sent me to the moon a few scenes into Megamind just like they did when they opened Iron Man.
Way more fun than Avengers: Age of Ultron.
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