Despicable Me 3

Gru and his yellow Minions have returned for more animated mayhem in Despicable Me 3. This installment shows that this franchise hasn't lost its touch after seven years. 

Gru (Steve Carrell) and his wife, Lucy (Kristen Wiig), are agents of the Anti-Villain League. The biggest thorn on their side is Balthazer Bratt (Trey Parker), a former child actor who never outgrew his kid supervillain role from his 80's show, Evil Bratt. Gru and Lucy stop Bratt from stealing a large diamond, but he gets away again, which gets the two fired. All but two of the Minions walk out on Gru when he won't turn bad again. Bratt also makes off with the diamond in another heist. Gru also finds out he has a long-lost twin brother, Dru (also Carrell), who's a seemingly wealthy pig farmer in Freedonia.

Dru levels with Gru when they meet. Their late father was a legendary supervillain and Dru wants Gru to teach him the tricks of the trade. Gru decides to bring Dru along to steal back the diamond from Bratt. Gru wants to bring back the diamond to the Anti-Villain League and get his and Lucy's job back, but Dru doesn't know that. Bratt wants to use the diamond to bring one of his TV plots to life. The Minions get in their own adventures. What's a Gru to do?

Its story goes along nicely for 90 minutes. The writers find time for the characters to have their own adventures. Whether it's Lucy asserting herself as an adoptive mother, Gru and Dru bonding as brothers, or youngest daughter Agnes looking for a unicorn, the subplots are simple and to the point. There are some questions, like why the Minions walked out now instead of earlier, but they're minor.

Carrell has great chemistry with himself as Gru and Dru. They're both distinctive characters that have an actor between them. The Minions, who are still indistinguishable as usual, pull a catchy rendition of I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General at one point. Bratt is an entertaining villain who gets serious at the end. Of all the returning cast members, it was great to hear Julie Andrews as Gru and Dru's mother.

The visual design is still bright and colorful. Bratt's gadgets are a delightful array of weaponized 80's items, like a sonic keytar, a dye-pack rubix cube and an army of living dolls. My favorite bits are the scenes of Evil Bratt, complete with extensive special effects failures. Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams' score and the sound design is also appealing. 

Despicable Me 3 is still a nice summer matinee. It's fun, exciting and even meaningful. I just wonder what they'll do after the ending they pull. It's an unexpected twist except that it's not. But it's a way to go.