Despicable Me: Difference between revisions

** Though she's not really the girls' parent, Ms. HattyHattie certainly counts as an abusive guardian.

{{quote| '''Minion:''' Hello, I am Gru. Back to work, ''back to work!''}}

* [[Adult Child]]: Gru and Vector are not true adults, Gru has [[Freudian Excuse|FreudianExcuses]]s and Vector still toys with his superweapons. Gru will become a true adult after the movie.

* [[Adult Fear]]:

** {{spoiler|Having your children kidnapped by a villain obsessed with [[Everything's Squishier Withwith Cephalopods|fish and squids]].}}

** Gru doesn’t want to be a villain. He wants to be the ''number one supervillain''. Doctor Nefario assures him he is still number one when he talks to him. His minions are there only to give him the attention his mother denied him in his childhood.

** Vector neitherdoesn't wantswant to be a villain, either. He wants to be the number one supervillain. His attempts to get attention are even more pathetic, see [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]] and [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]].

* [[Bad Boss]]: [[Benevolent Boss|Gru is a subversion.]] He may test his inventions on his minions, but he remembers their names and treats them relatively well -- and apparently pays them enough that they have pocket money to spare.

* [[Bamboo Technology]]:

* [[Becoming the Mask]]: Gru as the girls' adoptive parent.

* [[Bigger Bad]]: Although Vector is presented as Gru's primary antagonist, the ''true'' villain of the film is arguably {{spoiler|Vector's father, Mr. Perkins, who finances his exploits and obviously has a great deal of control over him.}}

** If you know Spanish, even a few words, you'll know what Gru actually calls Miss Hattie when he tries to flatter her. {{spoiler|She later buys a Spanish-English dictionary and finds out he says, basically, "Your face looks like a donkey's." A ''male'' donkey's.}} Bonus in that he actually asked her if she spoke Spanish implying that he knew what he was calling her.

*** In the Latin American dub (the one used in Mexico) what he says is that {{spoiler|"She has the figure of a Tololoche". She later claims to have investigated the word.}}

** The minions' language seems to be mostly nonsense, but every time they give someone something, it sounds as if they say "para tú," which means "for you" in Portugese. There's also a scene near the beginning of the movie (the one with the water cooler) where a minion says "espera" (Wait,"wait" in Portuguese and Spanish).

* [[Bland-Name Product]]: At the end when {{spoiler|there is a ginormous dance recital turned party in Gru's lair, a minion is shown at a DJ booth that is labeled '"Gru-Ray Disc'" complete with a similar logo.}}

* [[Book Ends]]: The television anchor reporting on the theft of the pyramid ''and'' the return of the moon.

* [[Break the Cutie]]: When the girls have fulfilled their dreams of being adopted, they start to enjoy their exciting new home all until a down-in-the-dumps Gru, disappointed to find them annoying and suspecting that they do not fit in with his plan,Dr. Nefario {{spoiler|givescalls themMiss awayHattie to dotake itthem himselfback. The little girls beg Gru for this not to happen, but (convinced by Nefario) lets them go. They HATE''hate'' Ms. Hattie and would like to be with Gru instead.}}

* [[Brick Joke]]:

* [[Calling Your Attacks]]:

{{quote| "FREEZE RAY! FREEZE RAY! FREEZE RAY!"}}

* [[Card-Carrying Villain]]:

* [[Catch Phrase]]:

* [[Chain of People]]:

** Occurs earlier in the movie on a smaller scale {{spoiler|while Gru is stealing the shrink ray}}. Although it was kind of accidental here.

* [[Cheerful Child]]: Played straight with Agnes. Mostly averted with the offbeat, macabre Edith and the cynical Margo.

{{quote| '''Agnes:''' I hope their house is made of gummy bears. *[[Beat]]* I'm just saying it would be nice...}}

* [[Cool Car]]: Gru's giant smoke-spewing and road -hogging airship/tank makes Hummers look inconspicuous and eco-friendly.

* [[Creative Closing Credits]]:

{{quote| '''Minion #1:''' Hey, I can hear ''[[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Twilight]]'' in the next theater! Team Jacob rules!<br />

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: Believe it or not, {{spoiler|Gru. The trailers make him out to be an exceptional villain, but in the film, he's kind of incompetent and far too nice, to be an effective villain.}} It takes {{spoiler|Vector kidnapping the kids}} for his true potential to show up. Dr. Nefario lampshades this quite a few times.

{{quote| '''Vector''': Oh, look at you, a little tiny toilet for little tiny turbaby to-AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUGGH! CURSE YOU, TINY TOILET!!}}

* [[CyclopsCyclopean Creature]]: Some of the minions.

* [[Dance Party Ending]]: {{spoiler|In-canon, even. Interrupting an excerpt from Swan Lake... with what? Something contemporary? A gratuitous rap remix? One better: ''Disco''. Which Gru turns out to be adept at.}} It's the [[Bee Gees]]' song ''You Should Be Dancing'', complete with Gru mimicking [[John Travolta (Creator)]]'s moves from ''[[Saturday Night Fever]]''.

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]:

** [[Word of God|The filmmakers say]] that Vector's technology was meant to look like an iPod in contrast to Gru's cold warCold War-era aesthetic.

** The bank boss' look. He's basically Dilbert's boss, shoved into a rebar-reinforced suit and given brains and malice. Well, ''more'' malice.

** Vector [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AustinPowers[Austin Powers|wears a loud, ridiculous orange suit, has a dorky hairstyle and glasses, does hip-thrusts when he's excited...]]

* [[Do Not Call Me "Paul"]]: Victor... Er, Vector

* [[Establishing Character Moment]]: We first see Gru cheerily walking down the sidewalk, when -- oh no! A child's ice cream has fallen off its cone! Thinking quickly, Gru distracts the boy by whipping out a balloon, making an adorable inflated puppy from it -- all the while smiling and making sure the boy is watching -- and handing it to the tyke, who cuddles it. [[Mood Whiplash|And then Gru]] [[For the Evulz|pops it with a hairpin]].

* [[Everything's Even Worse Withwith Sharks]]: The living room floor in Vector's villain lair is a giant tank with a shark in it.

* [[Everything's Squishier Withwith Cephalopods]]: [[Crowning Moment of Funny|"SQUID LAUNCHER!"]] {{spoiler|It also makes a surprisingly effective grappling hook.}}

** Gru's archnemesis, Vector, strongly resembles [[DextersDexter's Laboratory|Mandark]].

** Miss Hattie strongly resembles [[Harry Potter (Franchise)/Characters|Dolores Umbridge]] in both [[Tastes Like Diabetes|appearance]] [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|and]] [[Jerkass|in]] [[Soft -Spoken Sadist|personality]].

** Gru also shares many characteristics with Anton Ego from ''[[Ratatouille]]''. Both characters are pale, brooding, wear black clothing, have long thin limbs, have long pointed noses, and [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold|are villainous characters who turn out to be good guys all along]] by the end of their respective films. Critics have pointed out similarities between Gru and [[Batman|The Penguin]] and [[Austin Powers|Dr. Evil]] as well. Also [[Phineas and Ferb|Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz]]. See [[Fan Nickname]].

** The personalities of the Minions are very similar to those of [[Raving Rabbids (Video Game)|The Rabbids]], but their appearance hews a lot closer to [[MegamanMega Man Legends|Servbots]].

** Gru's mom looks almost exactly like Granny from ''[[Hoodwinked]]'' -- they even both know martial arts!

* [[Fat Bastard]]:

* [[Foil]]: Vector and Gru. {{spoiler|Gru was a smart kid motivated by [["Well Done, Son" Guy]] from his indifferent mother, who became a supervillain [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold]] because of his desire to become an astronaut and go to the moon. He struggled to get where he is, is legitimately talented, and likes to make friends, with the Minions, Nefario, and eventually the girls, functioning as a sort of [[True Companions|family]]. Vector, on the other hand, is a spoiled rich kid who became a supervillain because he was tired of being a nerd. He doesn't have any real goals except to enjoy himself and win at all costs, even going to the length of kidnapping the girls. He has no real talent, presumably getting all the money he uses to buy his nifty toys from his Dad's bank, no non-aggressive contact with anyone in the film other than his father, and no one else is ever invited into his house.}} Even their houses play off each other; while Gru lives in a normal (though, admittedly, slightly large and foreboding) house with a secret lair underneath, Vector's house just screams "look at me! Look at me!"

* [["Friend or Idol?" Decision]]: {{spoiler|Gru, when he gives up the shrunken moon to Vector to get the girls back. Though Vector went back on his word, it's actually a good thing that Gru chose the girls over the moon}}.

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]:

** Just what exactly is in that baby bottle?

** The scene after {{spoiler|Gru and the minions steal the Shrink Ray,}} Gru actually runs out of the house in his underwear, points back at the door and screams, "We did it!"

** The way Vector [[Gun in My Pocket|acts while wielding]] the Shrink Ray seems a bit...[[Compensating for Something|over-enthusiastic]].

** [http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/198/0/5/Find_The_Minion_Kiss_by_Damon1515.jpg This]{{Dead link}}. And one smacks the other away a second later. The same two minions can be seen kissing in the background of another scene...except it's the ''other'' who starts it.

* [[High -Speed Missile Dodge]]: Gru pulls this off very impressively. Not only are the missiles in question heat-seeking, but he ''jumps over'' them and even runs '''on top''' of one.

* [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold]]: Gru runs on this trope.

* [[Karma Houdini]]:

* [[Licked Byby the Dog]]: Sort of. When he shows up to adopt the girls, Edith and Margo look less than excited when they see him. Agnes, however, scampers across the room to cling to his leg.

* [[Lucky Translation]]: the scene with the cookie robots, which actually are boogie robots, is rendered very well in the Italian dubbing of the film. They have been renamed "Bisco robots", where "bisco" is short for "biscotto" (cookie), and then revealed as Disco robots, a joke that works as well, if not better, as the original English language pun.

* [[Minion Withwith an F In Evil]]: The minions. They enjoy firing the missiles, and it seems that they're not the sharpest knives in the drawer. They also happily adapt to pretty much any situation.

* [[Morally -Bankrupt Banker]]: Mr. Perkins.

* [[Never Mess Withwith Granny]]: Gru's elderly mother takes martial arts classes, and manages to kick a punching bag (along with the martial arts instructor) across the room!

* [[Never Trust a Trailer]]:

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Various villainous schemes are described by a [[Large Ham]] talking head on [[MSNBC]] with abrupt camera pans...[[Countdown Withwith Keith Olbermann|wonder who that could be...]]

* [[No Endor Holocaust]]:

* [[Only Sane Man]]:

** Also Margo among the three orphans.

* [[Papa Wolf]]:

* [[Parental Bonus]]:

** One can only hope that the kids in the audience didn't get the [[The Godfather (Film)|Godfather]] reference.

* [[Product Placement]]:

* [[Punishment Box]]: orphans who disobey Miss Hattie get put in the Box of Shame.

* [[Punny Name]]: Gru speaks with a 'Russian' accent. [http[wikipedia://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRU |The GRU]] is also one of Russia's intelligence agencies. When the girls find out about Gru's underground hideout he admits he's not a dentist, but instead a secret agent.

* [[Punch Clock Villain]]: All the minions are this.

* [[Raised Byby Wolves]]: Just look at the 'living quarters' Gru made for the girls at first. {{spoiler|Two dog dishes and some newspapers, people.}}

** So many, many things were introduced and then subsequently forgotten in this movie like Gru's mother's kung-fu skills and the anti-gravity serum. There are dropped Chekhov's Guns littered throughout.

* [[Sealed Room in Thethe Middle of Nowhere]]: {{spoiler|By the end of the film Vector ends up trapped on the moon, as he was caught near it as it was returning to its normal size and orbit.}}

* [[Sequel Hook]]:

** There are tons and tons of dropped [[Chekhov's Gun|Chekhov's Guns]] in the movie.

* [[Shout -Out]]:

** Margo wears a shirt with [[Dr. Seuss|the Lorax]] on it, which also counts as a very [[Early -Bird Cameo]] for Illumination Entertainment's next film (at this point they haven't even figured out what [[The Faceless|the rest of the Once-ler]] looks like).

{{quote| '''Edith:''' When we got adopted by a bald guy, I was thinking it'd be more like ''[[Annie (Theatre)|Annie]]''.}}

** There's also the scene {{spoiler|after the girls are taken away}} wherein Gru wakes up to find several toys (including a [[The Godfather (Film)|disembodied head]]) in his bed and screams.

** Gru's logo looks suspiciously like the ''[[Re BootReBoot]]'' logo. This coupled with the fact that the cookie bots' hats look like the security guards' hats makes it look like more than a coincidence.

** The shot of Gru {{spoiler|falling off Vector's escape pod}} looks suspiciously similar to Luke Skywalker's escape from Bespin.

** The scene in which Gru wins the stuffed toy unicorn for Agnes at the amusement park is a reference to ''[[Darkman]]'' and the pink elephant.

* [[Shown Their Work]]: While Gru is listing the rules, instead of lifting three fingers for the third one, he lifts two and the thumb, that's the russianRussian way of counting.

* [[Sigil Spam]]: Vector's and Gru's logos are everywhere on their houses and equipment. Incidentally, [https://web.archive.org/web/20131127121031/http://www.vsmileshop.com/ take a look at the V-smile logo].

* [[Scenery Porn]]:

* [[Sink -or -Swim Fatherhood]]

* [[Stepping Stones in Thethe Sky]]: Pulled off by Gru, {{spoiler|on a [[Macross Missile Massacre|bunch of heat-seeking missiles]].}} In [[Bullet Time]].

* [[Take That]]:

* [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill]]:

* [[Toilet Humor]]:

{{quote| '''Edith:''' "Yes! My pancake is shaped like a dead guy!"}}

{{quote| '''Vector''': {{spoiler|he punched my shark?!}}}}

* [[Used to Be Aa Sweet Kid]] / [[Freudian Excuse]]: {{spoiler|Adult Gru's desire to shrink the Moon and steal it as a supervillain stems from his childhood desire to be an astronaut and go to the Moon.}}

* [[Weird Moon]]: As depicted in [http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID15166/images/despicable_me_movie_poster_02-550x874.jpg this poster], the moon is unnaturally large compared to its size in real life.

{{quote| '''Margo''': Four boxes of Mini-Mints, two Toffee-Totes, two Caramel Clumpies, and... fifteen boxes of Coconutties.<br />

'''Vector''': Exactly! I'd like to see somebody else order that many cookies! Not likely! Name one person who would order more cookies than me!<br />

{{quote| {{spoiler|'''Vector''': [[Lampshade Hanging|Un - pre - dictable!~]]}}}}

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