I - Simply Incorrigible - Blu-Ray

Movie: Just when it seemed like there were really enough animated movies for now, along comes a wonderful film that shows that even over stale waters, a real breath of fresh air can still blow here and there. "I - Simply Incorrigible" is without question one of the best animated films of 2010, and that's really saying something considering the oversaturation of offerings in recent months.

Gru has one very big dream: he wants to become the best villain the world has ever seen. Too bad no one really trusts him to do that. Neither his mother, nor the Bank of Evil, whose financial support Gru desperately needs, believe that he can still succeed in the very big coup. But Gru has the perfect plan: he wants to steal the moon with the help of a secret shrink ray. But no sooner is the device in his possession than it is stolen from him by the up-and-coming crook Vector. But Gru is not so easily dissuaded from his plan. With the help of the three orphan girls Margo, Edith and Agnes he wants to steal the shrink ray from Vector again. But to do so, he must first play adoptive father to the three girls - and that has unexpected consequences for the villain...

"I - Simply Incorrigible" is quite a wonderful film. The strong European influence is evident in both the script and the animation. In addition, the film actually does everything just right: it's funny, touching but never cheesy, full of original ideas, and entertains kids just as well as adults. There are the obvious gags, all of which work great. And there's more subtle, not-so-obvious humor that will appeal especially to adult audiences.

Lovely, ever-surprising ideas lift this work far above the average. The secret stars of the film are Gru's little yellow helpers, the Minions, for whom a wonderfully quirky art language has been developed by directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud. The Minions provide so many great laughs that it's almost impossible to spot all of their hilarious goings-on on first viewing, as there are often some very nice and funny things going on in the background as well. Already during his visit at the eDIT in Frankfurt for the theatrical release, Pierre Coffin, who also voiced many of the Minions himself, revealed that three new short films featuring the Minions were produced especially for the DVD and Blu-Ray exploitation of the film. So one can really only speak of luck for the film and the viewers that the makers have said goodbye to the original designs, which Coffin also presented during his visit, and have decided on this simpler, but much more appealing and especially funnier version of the Minions.

But the rest of the characters are absolutely worth seeing and loving as well. Especially little Agnes and her fondness for fluffy cuddly toys makes your heart swell again and again. The fact that the makers managed to make the three girls adorable and sweet, but not too overly cute, is another stroke of luck for the film. Because of that, especially the more emotional moments are never cheesy, but just beautiful. For instance, when one of the Minions is furtively happy to have gotten a peck from Agnes, it's just heartwarming and cute - but just not too saccharine.

The German dubbing can definitely be called successful. Although neither Oliver Rohrbeck comes close to the genius of Steve Carell and his interpretation of Gru, nor can the somewhat annoying nasal voice of Jan Delay in the long run to the original by Jason Segel ("How I met your mother") spoken Vector hold a candle. But overall, the makers of the dub have done a very good job of translating the wit and charm of the original version into German.

"I - Simply Incorrigible" is a wonderful movie treat with so many good laughs and enchanting moments that the movie works just fine even with multiple viewings. Just seeing Agnes get excited about her new fluffy unicorn or seeing the Minions get excited about Gru's plan to steal the moon makes the movie worth purchasing for home viewing. Therefore, applies: absolutely watch!!

Picture + Sound: On the Blu-Ray shows the amusing animated work from its best side. The picture can achieve the top rating in almost all areas, but especially in cleanliness, overall sharpness and color mixing. And also the sound can be heard with its many good effects, whereby the English DTS-HD Master Audio mix can convince even more than the already very good DTS mix of the German soundtrack. Very good!

Extras: The Minions are of course also the focus of the bonus material. Three new short films with the yellow little helpers are here to see. The viewer can watch in the short films, each just under 4 minutes long, how the Minions make Gru's house childproof, how Minions experience the first day at the new job or what happens when the yellow guys fight over a banana. Very funny and totally worth watching.

The Minions also drop in on the audio commentary from the two directors, which makes the already amusing commentary even more worth listening to. And finally, the viewer is given the option to watch the film in what is called Gru Control mode. Here, too, the Minions enter the picture again and again and get up to all kinds of mischief. Every now and then, this movie mode also offers short interview snippets, which then can even have something like an information content.

In addition to these extras, the Blu-Ray also has short documentaries about the making of the movie, the music and the international crew to offer, an interactive game, Miss Hattie's top secret cookie recipes, as well as a preview of the game to the film. An all-around great bonus package.

Conclusion: "I - Simply Incorrigible" is an endearing animated film, original in its making, whose characters and wry humor console over many a weakness in content. The Blu-Ray presents the film in top technical quality and also has quite a few amusing extras on board, including three new Minion short films. Absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp