The superhero comedy/parody has kinda been done to death. We have had live action stuff like Defendor, Kick-Ass and Super, animated like The Incredibles and Despicable Me. Its not going to stop anytime soon either, as we all know, superheros are big business. The comedic spin was placed on them for a fresh slant, but now that has almost become a sub genre unto itself. The thing is, even though the market is a little over saturated, when the movies are consistently good, its hard to grumble. So far these "somedies"(No? no) have varied a bit in quality but have all been at the very least worth watching. Thankfully Megamind is no different, and is actually at the higher end of the quality spectrum.
As anyone who has seen the very spoilerific trailer should know, this one pays homage/parodies the Superman origin. But this time the baby alien placed in a shuttle to Earth by his parents turns out to be the bad guy. This is because he is joined in his exodus to Earth by another alien from a different planet, and this one IS the Superman archetype. As they grow up, little Megamind(Will Ferrel) is constantly over shadowed and embarrassed by the much cooler and more powerful Metroman(Brad Pitt)as he comes to be known, and so decides to be the baddest he can be. The two engage in a heated rivalry until, after kidnapping Roxanne Ritchie(Tina Fey) for probably the 100th or so time, Megamind finally succeeds in vanquishing his foe, and Metro City(or MetrOcity as he calls it) is his.
Again, if you have seen the trailer you know how this progresses, but just in case you haven't I won't go into too much more detail. The thing is, even without the spoilers, this is pretty predictable. The decision to focus on the villain is original, especially in an animated film, but after a while that kinda goes out the window and when new "cape" Titan(Jonah Hill) enters the fray, the plot is pretty much market out. But this is so well made you won't care. Its visually stunning, with flawless animation throughout. The script is top notch, and of course most importantly in a comedy, funny. At times hilarious in fact. This is helped along by excellent voice work from Ferrel and David Cross as Megamind's sidekick Minion, who get the majority of the giggles. Pitt also does a great job as the smug do gooder, but he's really not in it enough. Fey and Hill offer ample support and there are also funny voice cameos from the likes of Ben Stiller and Jk Simmons. Also, like the best of these movies, as well as being a comedy it also works as a proper super hero action flick, and those elements are balanced very well. The only place it falls down with slightly, especially when compared with films from rival company Pixar, is in the emotional impact. Its there, it just doesn't engage as much as it could. I guess its a very hard mix to get right and its certainly better to underplay it than to overdo it. Still, would have been nice to get more of an
Incredibles type vibe from the dramatic bits. The ending could also have used a bit more bite imo, but I realize there is only so much you can get away with in a movie aimed at the little uns.
In summing up, a bit predictable but a highly entertaining family film. If you like superheroes, and you like comedies(that are actually funny!), be sure to check it out.