Animation Heads: Megamind

Hey folks, Jackson, Kyle, and Anthony here. And we’re the animation heads! Today we’ll give you our thoughts on Megamind.

Megamind is a 2010 animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation. It was released in the United States in Digital 3D, IMAX 3D and 2D on November 5, 2010. With a budget of $130 million, the film grossed over $321 million worldwide, becoming one of DreamWorks Animation’s lowest-grossing CG animated films of the 2010s. An animated series, Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City, was announced in 2022 for Peacock.

Though he is the most-brilliant supervillain the world has known, Megamind (Will Ferrell) is the least-successful. Thwarted time and again by heroic Metro Man (Brad Pitt), Megamind is more surprised than anyone when he actually manages to defeat his longtime enemy. But without Metro Man, Megamind has no purpose in life, so he creates a new opponent, who quickly decides that it’s more fun to be a bad guy than a hero.

Jackson’s Thoughts:

Dreamworks’ subversive superhero masterpiece is an adventure of a watch, Spinning the idea of a bad guy going good with the character of Megamind being thrown into the identity of villany, only to eventually win against his hero and find existential dread on the other side, this film is great. Stellar voice acting, engaging writing and character development, thjs film has everything you’d want in an animated film about a bad guy-turned-good.

Score:

8/10

Kyle’s Thoughts:

Megamind is a villain redemption film that is centered around the character study of the titular character: Megamind. The animation is impressive for its time, and the comedy was well placed and aimed. While true, this film is mostly comedic, its serious scenes or beats are quite on point for the respective character studies in the film. I personally love Megamind, however, I think the antagonist was a little lackluster, and didn’t really reflect the protagonist exactly. Titan did match Megaminds soulless desire to have a romance with Roxan, and Titans stealing also showed the villainy that came from selfishness, which is quite comedic actually, that the selfish desire to make Titan made Titans selfish nature prominent and dangerous. Ultimately, everything in the film was extremely well placed, despite its cast that near pales in comparison to its protagonist.

Score: 

9/10

Anthony’s Thoughts:

Every now and then, you come across a film that you may have not liked the first viewing, but have grown to appreciate more with every viewing. Megamind is one of those films for me. The biggest shift in opinion comes from the themes that the story contains. When you think about it, a film from the villain’s point of view with him not only winning but finding himself bored after the fact has not been done much, especially in the animation world. And the direction it goes with each of its characters is intriguing as well. I love how all of these characters have been forced into stereotypical roles that they spend the movie desperately trying to break out of. Metro Man is the hero, Megamind is the villain, Roxanne is the damsel in distress, Fish is the villain’s sidekick, and Hal is the nerd after Roxanne. The spin they put on each of their motives is what makes them watchable. I still do not think the humor is top-notch, especially for DreamWorks standards. The animation is good, but not awe-inspiring like How to Train Your Dragon. Overall, it is a good DreamWorks film worth watching. Lesson to be learned: opinions always change!

Score:

7/10