…the laughs are aplenty, including cheeky nods to “Finding Nemo”, “Star Wars”, and a “Pink Panther”-inspired closing credits sequence. The secret sauce of the film remains grumpy Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and his permanent state of impatience and irritation, which powers the franchise.

Have we seen better animated films? Without a doubt, yes. Have we seen a better film in the same franchise? Definitely. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that this too is 1.5 hours of silly fun with a filling of marshmallowy niceness.

The film is enjoyable, but forgettable; amusing, but not profound. In a scene where Gru and Dru arrive outside Bratt’s island tower, Gru takes charge while ordering Dru to sit and wait for him. The latter objects to being a silent spectator to all the fun and defies his brother’s orders. But this is exactly what is expected of the audience – sit through the film and enjoy the madness of these cartoons.

Just like those fun, fast and furious re-runs Bratt never gets tired of, it’s easy to warm up to the feel-good fervour of Gru and his ever expanding family every single time.

Though lacking the warmth of the original, if you don’t mind too many Grus, guns, bubblegums and robots, this colourful, cutesy film can be a fun one time watch.

The animation is the standard bearing distinctive. And the pacing is break-neck so you just have to hold on tight and sit upright for the exciting and reasonably thrilling joyride. This film may not measure up to the first two issues on most fronts but as a standalone it’s still affective and rousing!

Much like the Ice Age movies, the Despicable Me franchise will last a dozen more sequels, but unlike the case in those films there is some real effort being put into making these films entertaining. It’s been eight long years since the first movie, but Gru and his Minions haven’t aged a bit. On the down side the secondary characters, like Gru’s children don’t have a lot to do in the main story and you wish they grew up over the years. The sub plot with Lucy trying to become the kids’ adopted mother may strike a chord with people in a similar situation, but it’s an unwelcome distraction from the relentless fun between Gru and Dru.