In what might be the most hilarious opening sequence of any animated flick this year, Megamind(voiced by Will Ferrell) and his superhero rival Metro Man(Pitt) are born in a fashion befitting the Man of Steel on two separate dying planets. They're enemies straight out of the crib, as their dual escape pods crash land on the complete opposite side of the tracks in Metro City. Metro Man gets a nice, nuclear family to raise him like a gentleman. Megamind lands in a prison yard, raised by thugs and criminals, taught to despise authority. He also uses this time to build up his already oversized brain, making him a technological genius. His powers could be used for good, but what fun would that be?
Megamind grows up to be devious, villainous terror, with a bulbous blue head that makes him look like a Smurf about to pop. Metro man, all decked out in white with his cape blowing in the wind, is his constant nemesis. Their rivalry only gets worse with the addition spunky reporter, Roxanne Ritchi(Fey), a whip smart Lois Lane-type often the target of Megamind's kidnapping schemes. Metro Man is worshipped as Metro City's shining protector, while Megamind jealously watches and plots his next dastardly deed. With neither truly getting the upper hand on the other, Megamind decides it's time to break out the big guns, or "big gun" in this case. When his plan finally succeeds, killing Metro Man once and for all, it's literally a whole new world.
Screenwriters Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons have the most fun with Megamind ruling Metro City like a crazed monarch hopped up on pop rocks and soda. He remakes the city in his own image, and there are genuinely funny sight gags such as a variation on the iconic Obama "Hope" image. But it's no fun being a supervillain without a superhero to do battle with. This is the age old comic book question: "What does a supervillain want to rule the world for anyway"? Without a foil, Megamind gets bored, and so he needs to create a new heroic adversary. He chooses Hal(voiced by Jonah Hill)Roxanne's nerdy, infatuated cameraman to power up and train into Metro City's new defender of justice, Tighten. But when Tighten turns out to be a homicidal maniac, Megamind is the only one left who can stop him.
If the story sounds vaguely familiar it's because we saw something similar just a few months ago in the superior Despicable Me. Megamind has that film beat in terms of animation, though. The presentation is gorgeous, in particular in the larger scale sequences when Megamind and Metro Man are duking it out. Brad Pitt and Tina Fey's voice acting is top notch, as you'd expect. Will Ferrell didn't do much for me. I think he's reached the point where even his voice is a little overdone. I actually liked Jonah Hill the best. Some people might think that's crazy and find him to be a little annoying, but that's sorta the point of the Tighten character. He's supposed to be annoying. He's like the nerd you knew in school who grew up into a musclebound jerk, but still has that same voice that drove you nuts. You're supposed to hate him.
The only thing holding them back is the lackluster script. There just aren't a lot of big jokes to be had. Megamind isn't a particularly funny character. He's sortof sad and pathetic. David Cross mines the most humor voicing Megamind's loyal sidekick, aptly named Minion. A fish attached awkwardly to a robot body, Minion is the deliverer of many of the film's pratfalls. There just needed to be more.
2010 has been a ridiculous year for animated films. Any other year and maybe Megamind would be the greatest thing since sliced Kryptonite. Ok, maybe not. It's impossible not to compare it to the amazing stuff we've seen before, unfair though that may be. Megamind gets the sweeping, Golden Age tone of superhero theatrics just right, and the blaring hard rock score(expect plenty of Guns 'n Roses) is a definite hit. If only the writing were a bit tighter, and if the jokes flew as fast as Metro Man swooping in to rescue a damsel in distress, this could've been a a much more thrilling ride.
