Review of ‘Despicable Me 4’, written by two little kids

A film critic must be able to receive criticism. And if you review children’s movies, chances are you’ll hear the same review a thousand times or two…

“It’s a movie for kids, not adults, and certainly not critics. Who cares what they think?”

Now I should say first of all: Yo careful. A good film critic knows much more about movies, even children’s movies, than a child. For one thing, they’ve seen a lot more of them. They can put a new film in historical context, analyze its themes, consider its visual style, and examine its vocal performances. Even if they are No Target audience of the film.

That being said…it is is It’s interesting to consider how a film works or doesn’t work for its target audience. And in the case of children’s movies, I live with two members of that target audience every day of my life. My eight and six year old daughters love going to the movies, although if I’m honest I think it’s mainly because the movie theater is the only place they can eat popcorn and drink ice cream before dinner. Still, when the invitation to a children’s movie Despicable Me 4 When it came time for the evaluation, I was much more curious about what they would think than what I would think.I have reviewed several Of these movies at this time; The odds that my opinion on this differed wildly from previous installments seemed slim.)

As we ate pizza after the screening, I quizzed my kids on their reactions to the film. What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation; as you’ll notice, it’s very lightly edited…

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Dad: And so, what do you think of the film?

6 years: My chair is wobbling.

Dad: You’ll be fine. Did you like the movie?

[6 Year Old gestures thumbs up]

Dad: You like me?

6 years: Yeah.

Dad: Which was your favorite part?

8 years: For a whole year I had a wobbly chair and a wobbly table, but it was fine.

6 years: My favorite part was when they turned the normal Minions into super Minions.

Dad: They were like the Minions of superheroes. How cute. Which one was the best?

8 years: The one who was good… eh…

Dad: Can I guess which one you liked the best? The one that was like a big rock guy that had really powerful burps that sent out giant shock waves. Like super burps.

8 years: [laughs] Yes. That was just like Mom.

Dad: Did you like Gru’s baby?

8 years: Gru’s baby was cute.

6 years: Yeah.

Dad: Did it remind you of anyone?

8 years: No?

Dad: Do you remember the movie? The Incredibles?

6 years: No.

Dad: It’s been a while since we’ve seen it. The Incredibles They are a family of superheroes rather than supervillains, but they have a baby named Jack-Jack who looks a bit like Gru’s baby and sometimes causes trouble like Gru’s baby. We’ll have to see it again.

6 years: [pointing at a nearby table] Someone is smoking!

Dad: It’s okay, they don’t bother us. Do you have any favorite scenes?

6 years: I liked it when he broke his sensei’s pinky toe! [Ed. note: One of Gru’s daughters takes karate lessons from a pompous sensei; wackiness ensues.]

Dad: You enjoyed it when children caused physical harm to elders, why am I not surprised?

Dad: What did you think of the bad guy? [Will Ferrell as Maxime Le Mal, a former classmates of Gru’s who wants to get revenge against him, and also has used mad science to turn himself into a human/cockroach hybrid]?

6 years: Whiten.

Dad: Blech, right? It was weird.

8 years: Cockroach man! How odd.

6 years: He liked cockroaches.

Dad: I admit I didn’t quite understand how he turned into a giant cockroach. Did he experiment on himself?

8 years: Yeah.

Dad: Was that how they explained it?

8 years: Probably.

Dad: Probably. I thought maybe it was a little scary for a kids movie. Too scary or was it good?

6 years: It was ok. It wasn’t my favorite part.

Dad: Isn’t that your favorite part? I was going to ask you… no, no, no, dude, you have to pick up the pizza. If you try to eat it without picking it up, you’ll eat the whole plate without even realizing it. [deep sigh] Alright. Did you like this more than the other? My favorite villain either Minions films?

6 years: I don’t remember them.

8 years: I don’t remember them, but this one was really good.

6 years: I have to say, I thought the Minions would be funnier. I did like it when the guy got stuck in the fridge for the whole movie though!

Dad: Do you mean the vending machine?

6 years: Yeah.

8 years: I think I liked it when… when… um… when I liked it… [long pause]

Dad: … Was there a part that you liked?

8 years: Yes, I don’t remember.

6 years: Was it when they took the wrong bag? [laughs hysterically]

8 years: Ah! I know something I liked!

Dad: Well, what was it?

8 years: When Gru’s baby kept popping balloons.

Dad: Oh yeah, you laughed a lot at that.

6 years: Every time Gru calmed down, his baby kept scaring him!

Dad: Yes, just when you’re relaxing, that’s when babies start crying. They don’t pop balloons, but they always find a way to freak out at the worst possible time. When you were babies, I always felt like every time I relaxed for even a second, like I laid you down and then sat up and put my feet up, that was the moment they’d say, “WAAAAAAA!” and I would have to go help you.

6 years: [laughs] It is funny.

Dad: Not to me. Not to me.

6 years: Do you have water?

8 years: I’m thirsty!

Dad: I have your waters, I have your waters… So does the school Gru went to as a child remind you of any place?

8 years: Hogwarts?

Dad: That’s exactly what I thought! I thought they wanted it to look like Hogwarts.

8 years: I do not think.

Dad: Do not you believe it?

8 years: It was a school for villains.

Dad: Sure, but on the outside it looked like it. We agree that we disagree on that. Did it make you want to watch the other one again? My favorite villain movies again?

6 years: You know the answer.

Dad: No, i do not do it. Tell me.

6 years: [screams at full volume directly in my face] YEAH!

Dad: Which was better: this or? Harry Potter [and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which we just watched for the first time a few weeks ago]?

8 years: [in posh English accent] Harry Pott-ah.

6 years: Uhh…

8 years: Harry Potter It is longer.

Dad: What is better: this or Ghostbusters?

6 years: Ghostbusters!

8 years: Ghostbusters. That is a difficult question.

6 years: What’s happening Matilda [the Musical, which we have watched countless times]?

Dad: Well, what about this or matilda?

6 years and 8 years simultaneously: Matilda.

Dad: Okay, let’s keep eating pizza, guys. How are you? Is it cake? or this?

6 years: Is it cake?!

8 years: Is it cake?clear.

6 years: I barely drank any water during the movie!

Dad: Well now you can drink it with your pizza.

8 years: matilda It’s like the best movie ever.

Dad: Is this the best movie ever? [To the 6 Year Old] What is your favorite movie of all time?

6 years: Wait, I want to ask you a question.

Dad: Wait, before I ask, can you answer?

6 years: Wait, I just want to ask you something first.

Dad: [sighs] Forward.

6 years: matilda either Pokemon?

8 years: Which Pokemon?

Dad: Matilda either detective pikachu?

[long pause]

Dad: That’s a tough question, isn’t it?

6 years: Wait, I have a question: Would you rather meet Ash and Pikachu or meet Matilda and Miss Honey?

8 years: Ash and Pikachu.

Dad: Wow, this is getting pretty elaborate. But I still want to know: What’s your favorite movie?

6 years: All over the world?

Dad: Yeah.

6 years: I have to say…

8 years: In fact, I want to meet Violet and Matilda.

Dad: If you could rewatch any movie right now, which one would you choose?

8 years: Oh, I know. Hogwarts!

Dad: You mean Harry Potter?

8 years: Harry PotterYeah.

6 years: That’s not what I would choose.

Dad: What would I do? you choose?

6 years: Minions 4!

Dad: Minions 4? Are you referring to the movie we just saw?

6 years: Yes. It was good.

Dad: Really? I watched you the whole time and I didn’t see you laugh much.

6 years: You’re crazy.

8 years: She was probably mentally laughing. She didn’t want to bother anyone else.

Dad: That’s right? Did you think it was funny, but you didn’t laugh out loud because you didn’t want to bother anyone?

6 years: Um, that’s a good question. Is that a good answer? Dad, look. Beep, beep, beep!

Dad: What are you doing?

6 years: Beep beep beep!

Dad: You guys are weird.

Dad: When the movie started, you both complained that the sound was too loud. Did it stay too loud the whole time or was it okay once you got used to it?

6 years: It was very noisy.

8 years: It was fine once I got used to it.

6 years: Once I got used to it, I liked it. [to sister] Oh! Quick question: Would you rather meet Detective Pikachu and the person who didn’t believe in Pokémon? orrrrrr Would you rather meet Harry Potter?

8 years: Harry Potter! You already know the answer.

Dad: Were there any good inventions in this movie? Generally in My favorite villain There are all kinds of silly gadgets in the movies.

6 years: I was very impressed with how they made the giant…uh…

Dad: Cockroach?

6 years: Cockroach, yes.

Dad: That was kind of disgusting.

8 years: The guy really liked cockroaches. He said so.

Dad: That’s true. Well, I guess I was saying that cockroaches are very resilient and hard to kill.

6 years: Ants die if you step on them.

Dad: What did you think of the villain’s reason for hating Gru?

6 years: Which was the reason?

Dad: It doesn’t matter.

6 years: Oh! I’ll tell you my least favorite character.

Dad: I want to hear this: Who was your least favorite character?

6 years: My least favorite character was the bride.

Dad: You mean Gru’s wife. [voiced by Kristen Wiig]The red-haired woman?

6 years: Yes. Don’t wait! I mean the enemy’s girlfriend. [voiced by Sofia Vergara]?

Dad: Ah, okay, the woman with the big glasses. Why was it your least favorite?

6 years: Because she didn’t care about anything!

Dad: You’re right. Most of the time when she was shown, she was angry at what the other characters did.

6 years: And also when they were singing, she was just putting on lipstick. I was like, “Eh.”

Dad: You’re right. That was his character.

6 years: She wasn’t that funny.

8 years: Ah! Now I remember what I was going to say!

Dad: For like 10 minutes?

8 years: Yeah.

6 years: I meet another one of my least favorite characters!

Dad: Well, wait, I want to hear what your sister has to say before she forgets again. Go on. Tell me.

8 years: That’s when the guy at the cash register turned into a cockroach.

Dad: Did you like that?

8 years: He was acting very strange! It was stupid. [looking under pizzeria table] Hey! The table has pipes underneath it!

Dad: What do you think was the lesson or message of the film?

8 years: Um… family first.

Dad: Family first, that’s a good message.

6 years: What does “Family First” mean?

8 years: It means that family is the most important thing.

6 years: My leg is stuck!

Dad: Is your leg stuck? I think we’re going to have to amputate it.

6 years: Oh, I got it out.