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TV reporter Roxanne Ritchi (voiced by Tina Fey) gets fake-tortured by the villainous Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell) in the 3-D animated action-comedy “Megamind.” |
“Megamind” is both farce and fantasy, a vivid 3-D animated comedy filled with zany characters, switched identities, reversing roles and surprise plot entanglements.
Then come the standard jokey pop culture references and other derivative material that suffocate the story’s originality and diffuse its intelligent exploration of the roots of villainy and the dangers of pigeonholing young students.
“Megamind” begins as an odd nod to the introduction of 1978’s “Superman.” Two baby aliens a white one with Aryan fine features and a blue one with a bulbous head and pointy chin are dispatched to Earth from a dying planet.
The white baby crash lands in a mansion. The blue one winds up in a prison. The two grow up as fierce rivals, with the handsome alien easily besting the blue one for human attention and appreciation.
Eventually, the entitled alien grows up to become muscular superhero Metro Man, the beloved protector of Metro City and a man who speaks with Brad Pitt’s commanding voice.
The blue alien reluctantly becomes the villainous Megamind, voiced by Will Ferrell.
He doesn’t want to be a villain. But the superhero role has already been filled, and Megamind has been rejected by society on the basis of his appearance and awkward social skills.
What else can he do but use his intellectual gifts for the one thing at which he can excel: being bad. (Read more…)