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Despicable Me 3

8/10

Stars: Voices: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Jenny Slate, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel, Julie Andrews, Pierre Coffin

Director: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda, co-director: Eric Guill

It’s a basic Hollywood commercial commandment.

If at first you succeed, then serve up a sequel.

Then, if audiences register profitable approval at the box office, it’s time for the threequel.

Here, serving up more of the same already proven zany animated antics, directors Coffin (a name that’s something a tad odd for a comic caper?), Balda and.co-director Guillon serve up more of the silly same in a gag-packed storyline that offers two Gru’s for the price of one when villain-turned-lawman Gru (voiced by Carell, allwas better heard than seen) teams up with his long-lost twin brother to pull off a huge diamond heist in one more mad mélange of laughs, pratfalls and continuous comic chaos.

The yellow yelling minions (currently reduced to advertising a British television company on the small screen) are back, too, battling the daffy villain, a resentful former TV child star who, cast-off by small screen fame, has turned to crime and (splendidly voiced by Parker of TV’s South Park fame), behaves badly enough to have youngsters cheering him on as a hoped-for role model.

It’s hardly boundary breaking but it does deliver enough silliness and slapstick to satisfy the young audience at which it is accurately enough aimed (Isabel, aged 10, will be more than happy to confirm this) while there is enough neatly-delivered idiocy to keep accompanying adults from sneaking into sleep.

And attractive 3D animation adds to the easy-to-enjoy no-strain-on-the-brain fun and almost certainly the Minions and their Gru-some masters will be back again, either in the cinema or as a small-screen series or both.

Because that’s Show Business.

Alan Frank

USA 2017. UK Distributor: Universal. Colour.
90 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: U.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 23 Jul 2017