Megamind starring Will Ferrell

At my work, we recently had a movie day after an overnight camping trip; a nice relaxing day for the kids (and teachers). We watched two movies that day and the first one was entitled Megamind, an animated feature with actor Will Ferrell voicing the lead role.

Description:

The film begins with the main character, an evil villain named Megamind, explaining his early life as an alien from a far off galaxy being sent to Earth as his home planet slowly dies. Along his trek to Earth, the young Megamind encounters another young extraterrestrial on his way to Earth, a youth who will become Metroman, Megamind's lifelong rival. The story covers the two as they grow up and continually but heads, with the good Metroman repeatedly victorious over the evil Megamind.

After one particular battle, Megamind believes he has finally killed Metroman and is surprised at his own feelings over the matter. After finally killing his superhero foe, Megamind finds himself sad and alone, not realizing his need for Metroman. Through all of this, Megamind finds himself in love with a young television reporter named roxanne, but can only get close to her by using a device that changes his appearance to match anyone he chooses. To combat the loneliness, Megamind injects a young man, and his love interest's co-worker, with a drug that will give the recipient the powers of Metroman. Megamind eventually learns that Metroman never actually died but instead had staged his death to get away from the popularity and media attention that comes with being a superhero. Megamind, over the course of these events, realizes the good inside him and his hitherto unacknowledged need for others in his life.

Review:

Megamind provides a good amount of humor for both kids and adults; a nice quality for materials for tweens. It has some pretty hilarious moments and some during which the teachers were laughing, some during which the kids were laughing and plenty combining the two. One recurring trend that I found especially hilarious was Megamind's propensity to place an awkward cadence to his pronunciations, often stressing the wrong syllabus (Will Farrell's various attempts at saying 'Metroman' were quite funny). This movie did well to walk the line between staying appropriate for kids and at the same time not "dumbing down" the humor to any degree. While the plot was a little bit cliched and obvious and could have been more challenging or interesting without losing the children, it was a pleasant experience and one that I would recommend for kids and adults alike.

P.S.

Here is a photo of me and the kids at my work enjoying Megamind!