Megamind - (November 5th, 2010): PG
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #1 with $46,016,833
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $88,822,635
Gross Revenue: $116,916,163
Budget: $130 million
Director: Tom McGrath
If the first weekend of May represents the beginning of the Summer Movie Season, then the first weekend of November clearly represents the beginning of the Holiday Movie Season, and interestingly enough, Paramount was able to lead both these weekends in with a movie involving the superhero genre. But where Iron Man 2 was focused on replicating the success of the original and faithfully adapting the superhero’s source material, Megamind sought to bring a comedic twist to traditional perceptions of a super-villain. From a marketing perspective, animated films always have a strong draw for audiences of all ages, especially when they come from a studio with DreamWorks’ impressive track record, but that didn’t stop Paramount and DreamWorks for pursuing an aggressive campaign. Trailers for Megamind were understandably attached to numerous family films, but leading up to its release, potential audiences spotted the titular character on everything from a billboard to a Happy Meal. Perhaps the most unique experiential marketing tool that the studios used to promote Megamind involved a rally that encouraged fans to dress up and join Will Ferrell in an attempt to set a world record for Largest Gathering of Superheroes. With over 1,500 hundred participants gathering on October 2nd, the rally not only grabbed national headlines, but it also set off “Megamonth,” a month-long promotion that included regional contests, marathons, and festivals…the overall effect brilliantly targeted fans of both animation and superheroes (two immensely large and loyal segments). As a member of both segments, I was understandably excited for Megamind.
Turning the traditional comic-book dynamic on its head, the central protagonist of Megamind actually identifies himself as a villain. Megamind (Will Ferrell) is a super-intelligent alien who relishes trying to take over the fictional Metro City and defeating his nemesis, the Superman-inspired hero Metro Man (Brad Pitt). Despite his intelligence, Megamind routinely fails in his attempted conquests, but one day, to his shock, Megamind actually manages to destroy his nemesis, and with the help of his trusty sidekick, Minion (David Cross), the villain begins wreaking havoc on Metro City. Though initially reveling in his success, Megamind quickly finds himself bored without a hero to fight, so he takes it upon himself to create a new nemesis, wrongly electing lonely cameraman Hal Stewart (Jonah Hill) to be a hero. Unfortunately, Hal decides to uses his new powers for evil, so, with the help of Lois Lane-inspired reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey). Megamind finds himself obligated to step into a new role, that of a hero.
In my opinion, a strong voice cast adds considerably to the quality of an animated film, and I truly enjoyed how the actors in this case helped bring life to the characters of Megamind. Tina Fey brought the perfect amount of sarcasm to her skeptical reporter, while David Cross’ exasperated loyalty as a second-in-command added an enjoyable dynamic, but the true standout performance was Will Ferrell, whose silliness and energy fully embodied the manic humor of Megamind himself…in my opinion, no other actor could have successfully played the character. I will admit that Brad Pitt felt a little underused in the film, but as his character does not play that large of a part in the narrative, this shortcoming is pretty easy to forgive. In addition to the voice cast, the biggest positive aspect of Megamind is its impressive animation, which is especially emphasized during some of the more complicated action sequences within the film. Of course, the film was released in 3D, and like many recent entries, the technology was underused…the tragedy is in the fact that it was largely unnecessary, because the visual effects were stunning enough on their own that it didn’t really matter if they jumped off the screen. With the solid voice work and the showcasing of the ever-improving quality of animation, Megamind had plenty of positive reasons to draw a strong audience.
However, despite these positive aspects, the biggest criticism that I have for Megamind is that the film itself should have been much better, and I largely blame this unfulfilled potential on the film-makers’ confusion over whether Megamind was intended for younger or older audiences. Let me clarify, one of the main reasons that current animated films are popular with a wide range of audiences is that they balance silly humor for children with the occasional clever joke that older movie-goers can chuckle at, but some of the best humor within Megamind is so complicated that I doubt most audiences will get the joke. When audiences have to work that hard for a laugh, the overall level of humor remains low, and when you consider the comedic talent of the voice cast, it’s pretty disappointing that I sat in the theater constantly waiting to laugh. Another example of the unclear positioning of Megamind had to do with the film’s soundtrack, which clearly catered to older movie-goers…I understand that Megamind himself is a villain, but it still felt a little inappropriate that the artists featured included AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, and Guns N’ Roses, especially when a majority of the audience is children. When it is this unclear whether Megamind is supposed to be silly or serious, it is difficult to know how to react to the film’s attempts as emotion; for instance, the protagonist’s attempts at romance with Roxanne seem so out of place that it just ends up coming across as awkward. Besides this unclear positioning, the fact remains that with the sheer volume of material available concerning the superhero and super-villain mythos, Megamind should have been more creative and engaging.
From a box-office perspective, Megamind has been performing incredibly well, taking the top spot its opening weekend with just over $46 million, outperforming the other big weekend release (Due Date) and setting the impressive tone for the Holiday Movie Season. While I don’t necessarily agree with all of the glowing reviews that critics have for this newest animated comedy, I don’t think that Paramount will have any trouble recovering the production budget. If DreamWorks plans to turn Megamind into a franchise, I hope that they will tweak future installments to make them funnier and more heartwarming. Megamind isn’t a bad movie, and Will Ferrell did provide some good laughs, but when you consider the quality of some of the more recent animated films, I still don’t think that there are enough elements that necessitate rushing to the theater for this film.
Overall Recommendation: Medium
