Nothing unexpected happens in Despicable Me. Well... maybe the whole theft of the moon is a little unexpected, but the basic outline of the story is very well-worn territory. It's a familiar story of how a cold-hearted character is warmed over by the love of some little kids. However, despite being a very familiar story, the execution in Despicable Me is done with so much confidence and sweetness that despite knowing exactly what's about to happen, you can't help but get caught up in the proceedings and feeling pretty good about things by the end.

I have to be honest, I was a little skeptical about Steve Carrell in an animated feature. It's one thing to be very funny on camera, it's quite another thing to pull that off just using your voice. Plus, Carrell is using an accent throughout, which is also kind of risky (especially when it's a faux-Russian Boris and Natasha accent). However, my fears were completely unfounded as Carrell puts in a solid performance filled with some great nuanced, understated comedy. Of course that wouldn't matter if the rest of the cast wasn't also excellent. In fact, the kids Carrell has to play off of are just as good, bringing just the right amount of sweet cuteness coupled with sincere genuineness. The dynamic between these characters is pitch perfect and provide the bulk of both the laughs and the heart warming moments.

As I mentioned, this is a very familiar story told with its own peculiar quirks. Carrell plays Gru, one of the world's great super-villains who some feel is losing his edge. As a part of his plan to prove his still among the best (or the worst, as the case may be) villains around, he adopts three little girls to be a key part of his nefarious plan. These little girls are not only adorable, but lonely. They are desperate for acceptance and love, and since Gru has seen fit to adopt them, they freely give him their love despite the fact that he's less than deserving of any sort of kindness on their part. It should come as no surprise that eventually the relentless, selfless love of those little girls that's so freely given wins over Gru and he comes to realize there are more important things in life than stealing the moon. As I watched this movie, I realized that God is actually a lot like a little girl.

I know, I know, that sounds like a weird thing to say, but it's true. God's love is relentless. God's love is unconditional. God loves us no matter how despicable we are. God's love is a lot like that of those little girls in this movie. Perhaps most importantly of all, God's love can truly produce change. It's been well said that God loves us just the way we are, but he also loves us too much to leave us the way we are. And like Gru, we really aren't all that deserving of God's love. We are truly despicable because of our sin. However, God didn't wait for us to change before he gave us his love; rather, he sent his son Jesus to die on cross and rise from the dead to pay the the price for our sin, to remove our sin, and he did so because he loves us. Through God's love, we can go from being despicable mes to being wonderfully his... which, by the way, is one of the best happy endings anyone can experience.

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