Cinema de Gym: 'Megamind'
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 9:00PM Editor's Note: In Cinema de Gym, Kurt writes about whichever piece of whichever movie was playing while he cardio'ed. I wish my gym would play movies.
Kurt here with the first Cinema de Gym column to tackle an animated film. Megamind seems to be the lesser of at least two 2010 CG toons to pin the spotlight on the villain instead of the hero (the greater, of course, was Despicable Me, that darkly random Steve Carrell curio). As the titular swollen-headed baddie, Will Ferrell even has a henchman he refers to as "Minion," a la those adorable Tic-Tac Oompa-Loompas that Carrell bossed around. Of what I saw, Megamind offers some cozy glee, with handsome, colorful action setpieces, but it doesn't take long to tell that it's low on the animation totem pole, and unlike Despicable Me, no worries if it's not on your catch-up list.
It also stars the voice of Brad Pitt, and by the time I walked in, Pitt's character, Metro Man, had already been vanquished/defeated/pushed-aside-until-the-winding-down-of-the-second-act by Megamind, his vainglorious nemesis. The centerpiece of what I caught was a scene in which Megamind and the movie's Lois Lane, a reporter voiced by Tina Fey, stand on opposite sides of a catwalk encircling a syscraper-sized Metro Man monument, admiring the curvature of his literally cut-from-stone features. At one point, the two – well, she and a shape-shifted version of our villain – head downstairs in a glass elevator, scanning the whole height of that muscular marble man.
It was a fitting bit of star-gazing during this special week of Pitt adoration. On Tuesday I caught the impressively, refreshingly sophisticated Moneyball, and I'm happy to say I've never been more pleased with a Pitt performance (if ever he deserved an Oscar nom...). I didn't get to hear the superstar's voice in Megamind, but I did get a little Moneyball parallel, as Jonah Hill voices Fey's reporter's flatly-rendered fat sidekick.
It's no news to anybody that animated features have become a go-to arena for comedians, whose nimble vocals are ever-amenable to over-the-top, rubbery-bright concoctions. Hill, like Seth Rogen, has become a very obvious casting choice, while David Cross (who voices that fish-headed "Minion") is a wee bit sad in just how often he's schlepping it to the recording booth. But, I guess we've all gotta make bank, and on that note, I'd much rather see Ferrell continue to pad his well-padded sellout pockets while...not having to actually see him. In that way, animation is good for comedians, assuming those comedians are ones who rose to fame, got greedy, and proceeded to say yes to every lousy project that came down the pike. The filters of fantastical illustration and family-friendly restraint work small wonders, and Megamind is to Will Ferrell what Kung Fu Panda is to Jack Black: a colorful gift of funnyman palatability.
Conclusions?
1. In this age of the especially tireless questioning of authority, Villain is the new Hero, even in kids' flicks.
2. Brad Pitt insists on being in my life this week. Redirected from my old address, the new EW with Pitt on the cover just arrived mere moments ago. Hey, I'm not complaining.
3. In truth, it's probably best that David Cross stay in the recording booth.
4. With their animation ventures ripe for corruption, and with their tendencies to freely sign on dotted lines, it's only a matter of time before we see Ferrell and Black team up for Megamind vs. Kung Fu Panda.
What's your favorite animated performance from a comedian?
Reader Comments (6)
Strangely, I caught Megamind on TV last week. The second half of it, that is -- I also joined the show at that pivotal catwalk moment.
Anyway, my vote for best performance in an animated by a film goes to the prototype, Robin Williams in Aladdin. For a minute, though, I thought about singling out Joan Cusack's under-appreciated work in the second Toy Story.
More interesting: How many times there are when comedians are paid lots of money for completely unexceptional performances! Like the "meh" vocals by Whoopi Goldberg in The Lion King, Jason Alexander in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, even Steve Carell in the despicable Despicable Me...
Ellen Degeneres in "Finding Nemo"... NO COMPETITION!
I came to say Degeneres, but someone beat me to it.
Gru is dull voice acting? Not really. It's just that the character is a...deadpan sort. Agree on the other two, though. Morality questions? Well, I actually found Megamind to be the one more prone to criticism. At the end of Despicable Me, you get the sense that he might, just might, stop being a villain (and dedicate himself to raising his 200+ kids.) The end of Megamind pretty much confirmed that he's willfully continuing the "hero/villain" cycle.
Hands down, Ellen's turn in "Finding Nemo". If they gave Oscars for voice work, she should have won. (Actually, it's one of the few voicework turns I would give an Oscar to.) The scene where she pleads with Albert Brooks to stay brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it, lovely and understanded. (My sweetie laughed at me for "crying over fish". Next time I watch it by myself.)
Ellen in Nemo is a pretty unbeatable choice, but Patton in Ratatouille deserves a mention.