Universal Pictures have unveiled a promo poster for Illumination Entertainment’s Despicable Me 2.

Despite not being released until July 3, 2013, directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud are already hard at work on the follow-up to last years surprise animation hit, which has since grossed an estimated $543M at the worldwide box office and boasted the voice talents of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig and Julie Andrews.

Apart from that, details are thin on the ground, but it’s safe to say this will be one of 2013′s most anticipated releases.

Check out the promo poster below:

Source: Collider

American director, Neil LaBute, has cast four of the lead roles for the upcoming film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Crooked House with some of the finest English and Irish actors, Variety reports.

Now signing on to the project are Dame Julie Andrews, Gemma Arterton, Gabriel Byrne, and Matthew Goode, a great mix of classic talent and upcoming stars.

The film is set in 1947 in London. The lead character, Charles Hayward (most likely to be played by Goode) is told by his fiancé, Sophia (most likely Arterton), that the two cannot be wed until the murderer of her grandfather is found. As such, Hayward makes it his business to discover Sophia’s grandfather’s murderer.

Andrews is perhaps most likely to play the role of Sophia’s great-aunt, with Byrne either playing Sophia’s father or uncle. As is natural in Christie’s novels, everyone has a motive, and it is up to Hayward to find the killer before any more lives are taken.

The book has been adapted by the writer of the incredibly popular ITV series, Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, and Tim Rose Price. The budget is set at about $20 million, and shooting is set to start this summer here in the UK. With such a stellar cast now attached to the project, there’s even more reason to expect it to be a success, with so much talent in the cast and crew alike.

LaBute has currently been working in London as director of the play, In a Forest, Dark and Deep, starring Matthew Fox (Lost) and Olivia Williams (An Education), which started in March and will run through until the start of June. Hopefully being in London for the past two months has given him a chance to already start thinking in detail about how he’s going to bring the script to life.

This is the third Mini Movies that Universal have made for Despicable Me and it’s just as good as the other two! We’ve already had Banana where we get to see just how much The Minions love fruit, then it was all about the Home Makeover where Gru’s mansion is turned into a child friendly home and today is Orientation.

In this video, we get to see how the Minions learn to work in Gru’s factory but also discover what hazards they may have to overcome!

If you missed it, last week’s Banana videos is here and Home Makeover and can watched here. You’ll love them!

Last week, Jon put up the first Mini Movie from Despicable Me and thousands of you out there came to the site to watch it. Now, Universal have released another called Home Makeover where we get to see what happens when the Orphanage send someone round to make sure that Gru’s house is fit for Children! Don’t worry, there are plenty of Minions to enjoy!

If you missed it, last week’s video was called Banana and is excellent Click here to check it out but only after you click play on the video below. We think you’ll like!

Keen to ride the wave of positive momentum from the release of their Steve Carell starring animation Despicable Me Universal have given us a sneak peek of a new Mini-Movie.

It all sounds like the Pixar shorts, and is set to be included on the forthcoming Blu-ray/DVD pack.

Titled Banana, this footage showcases the movie’s popular yellow tictac shaped minions, and in Gary’s review of the film he included a couple of clips Universal were keen to put out showing off their new creations. You can read the review and watch those clips here.

Here’s the clip,

This summer has seen the continual rise and dominance of the CG animated feature film. Disney-Pixar’s Toy Story 3 has made over $400 million at the US domestic box office to date – a phenomenal amount, and the results over here are not too shabby either (in fact, it’s now the UK’s second highest grossing film of all time behind James Cameron’s Avatar!)

But it’s not just this studio that has seen a success with an animated feature this summer.  Universal Pictures have made almost $250 so far off Despicable Me (another thoroughly impressive figure, considering that it didn’t come from the house of the mouse) – you can read our full review here.

Having seen the film myself a couple of days ago at the European Premiere courtesy of Sky Movies HD, I can report that this one too, manages to present a thoroughly engaging world, which (like Toy Story 3 before it) is just as entertaining for adults as it is for young children.

The story follows a mean supervillain named Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) who plans to use three orphan girls as a means of enabling him to take that one step closer to world domination (by stealing the moon!) His wicked lifestyle suddenly takes a drastic change the worse (or best, depending on your disposition) when he finds that he’s looked upon as a father figure by the girls, and that a maybe the life he’s been leading is not the way forward in finding happiness and contentment.

It’s a charming and beautifully told story of how the absence of love in a person’s childhood can be remedied in adult life and that void in the heart can be filled, sometimes in the most unusual circumstances. In the case of Gru, he life has taken that initial turn for the worse mainly due the lack of support and interest displayed be his own mother, hilariously portrayed by Julie Andrews (who is the type of character that Mary Poppins would have beaten to death with her brolly, if their paths were to cross).

The film also marked the first time I set foot on that red carpet, or yellow in this case (matching the colour of Gru’s fantastic little army of scatterbrained minions), for the European premiere at The Empire on Leicester Square.

Having grown up watching footage and seeing images from many of the premieres that have taken place in London’s cinema capital, it was nice to finally be on the other side, although I was under no illusions that every time both myself and my girlfriend passed the lenses of the cameras pointing at our direction, it was a good time for the photographers to stop what they were doing and take a quick peek at the shots of Russell Brand they had snapped.

The Empire was, unsurprisingly, teeming with excited kids, all having their photos taken with life-size replicas of Gru’s little minions and being caught up in the thrill of having the opportunity to be amongst the stars and flashing lights. I could only imagine myself at that ages attending the premiere of, say, The Empire Strikes Back and having to receive immediate medical attention from St John Ambulance crew, owing to the overwhelming effect of a replica C3-P0 extending his hand out for me to shake.

Being seated in the cinema with 3D glasses perched on head, ready to view the film and being surrounded by all those kids who are buzzing with anticipation, really does remind you of that same excitement you felt yourself at that age and in similar surroundings. It was also magical to hear all the “ooh’s” and “aah’s” filling the room when the 3D kicks in.

If Hollywood can keep churning out family films to the same standard of Despicable Me, I’d to tempted to give up on all it’s mainstream live action features (and with the exception of perhaps one of two films this summer, who could blame me) and opt for the more simple and satisfying delights of 3D wonders like this.

The October episode of The Family Show on Sky Movies is a Despicable Me Special in which host Craig Stevens bring viewers all the excitement from the film’s European Premiere in London’s Leicester Square, as well as interviews with the star-studded cast including Steve Carrel and Miranda Cosgrove.

Steve Carell gets animated in Despicable Me, out in cinemas this week and we’re giving you the chance to win a prize pack and a family pass (2 adults, 3 children) to your local Apollo Cinema to enjoy the film.

We reviewed the film here, and to check out all the trailers and posters for the film to get you in the mood click here.

More details of Apollo Cinema’s nationwide locations are available here: http://www.apollocinemas.com/ and here’s what you could win.

All you have to do is answer the following question using the form below

Which US TV Sitcom does Steve Carell star in?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close on Thursday the 21st of October  at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Despicable Me is the new animated movie from Universal Studios and the same producer who was behind the Ice age movies. It’s a film that has promised the same quality level set by Pixar and also to offer  some really interesting characters with the introduction of the ‘Minions’ that are no doubt going to be very popular with young and old.

In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences and  flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of Minions, we discover Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) in Universal’s new 3-D CGI feature, Despicable Me. Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad.The world’s greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes

Despicable Me is an excellent film for both children and adults. I was thoroughly entertained with the story, the characters, the animation, the 3D and the humour and it is by far the closest any studio has come to matching the quality of Pixar films and if it wasn’t for Toy Story 3, Despicable Me would be my choice for best animated movie in 2010 and it’s a film that probably put some of the biggest smiles on my face this year.

The humor of Despicable Me ranges from silly, very funny, subtle and darkly adult orientated. All are going to love the Minions humour with their slapstick and banter they have with each other, kids are going to enjoy the sillier jokes and fart gags and adults are going to enjoy the adult themed quips like one aimed at the Lehman bank or background jokes which are not obvious but are incredibly funny whn noticed, it adds a real sense of humour to the story and added to my enjoyment of it.

The vocal casting is spot on with the talents of Steve Carrell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig and Danny McBride. All deliver wonderful lines from an entertaining script and it never felt like the stars were hired for their name rather than their ability.

Despicable has got it so right. Steve Carrell’s Gru is delivered with almost effortless deadpan humor and villainy, the young girls are voiced without annoyance, Gru’s nemesis and younger upcoming villain called Vector, voiced by Jason Segel, is wonderfully energetic, Russel Brand lends his voice to Gru’s invention creating partner Dr. Nefario perfectly and the brilliant Will Arnett voices Mr. Perkins whose the President of The Bank of Evil that funds anything to do with evil plans in the world. All the characters work well together and I found them all highly entertaining which really benefits the movie.

At the films heart is the three young girls who are taken in by Gru and their story is important to give an emotional anchor to balance out the films zany events of Gru trying to conquer the world as the greatest ever villain. The girls anguish of living in a horrid orphanage and trying to find a family who will take them in and give them love is emotionally charged and with Gru being the latest to adopt them for his own benefit it adds an enjoyable relationship story to the proceedings. Despite being clueless at parenting and having numerous dangerous objects littered around his house (as well as his vast hidden lair under his home!), the bond that grows between the unlikely family is touching and is well handled as Gru slowly learns that the girls mean more to him than succeeding as a villain and the conclusion will no doubt bring a tear to some eyes.

The thing everyone will love from Despicable Me is the Minions, they are some of the greatest character creations i’ve enjoyed in many years and you could probably watch another 90 minutes of the little yellow guys in a film on their own. They are likely to get a bigger role in the planned sequel coming in 2013 or get their own spin off, it’s inevitable. Despite saying very little they have more personality than the new labour leader and provide more laughs than most comedy films I’ve seen this year.

The 3D is used to perfection, I would say it showed some of the best examples of 3D I’ve seen this year with notable scenes being a roller-coaster ride that Gru and the girls take during their bonding session. It’s shown in first person perspective so you get the feeling your riding it and with the added effect of 3D it elevates the scene into something beautifully crafted and enthralling as scenery flashes past you as you dive into the screen and twist around upside down and it really works well. The 3D is used effectively throughout giving layers of depth and to every scene and adds another plus to the quality of the film. A scene showing the size of Gru’s secret lair is a great example of the layers of depth as the camera pans downward showing the journey of Gru traveling down in his lift, its that shows all the activity taking place around him with minions working in different sections and its a real show off of the technology and skill of the animators.

Another exceptional use of 3D was during the closing credits so make sure you stick around for them. The glorious Minions get their own moment as they play a little game of “Who can come furthest out of the screen”, with the aid of a measuring tape they take turns in using a variety of items to leap off the screen in 3D coming further and further out at you, it’s so incredibly effective and hilarious and worth the entrance fee alone and if there are any 3D doubters who have yet to be convinced, I think Despicable Me may well be the film that converts you as to what 3D can offer.

Overall it’s not perfect but it’s an excellent example of adult/child friendly animation that works very very well. Funny, enjoyable and an utter success.

Despicable Me is out on 15th October.

THE MINIONS!

The US got Despicable Me ages ago and we’ve heard wonderful things about the movie, especially about the minions who have found their way into my post! Despicable Me is a 3d animation by Universal Pictures and features voices from Steve Carell (The 40 Year Old Virgin), Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Russell Brand (Get Him to the Greek) and Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins).

In a happy suburban neighbourhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbours, hidden deep beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by an army of tireless, little yellow minions, we discover Gru (Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad. One of the world’s greatest super-villains has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.

Unfortunately we’ve still got ages to wait as Despicable Me isn’t released in the UK until 15th October. In the meantime, here’s a couple of new posters for the movie. If you’ve missed the trailers for it, you can check it out here.

Despicable Me, the debut animation release from Illumination Entertainment, opened in America this past weekend to a huge $56.4 million, surpassing all expectations.

With international releases set to build up over the next few months, not to mention the subsequent home entertainment sales, it could end up as one of the biggest sleeper hits of the year, with a box office total to match.

It’s unsurprising to hear, then, that discussions on Despicable Me 2 have since been initiated. According to Deadline, Chris Meledandri, along with writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, are hard at work on the sequel to this unexpected hit film.

Universal, I’m sure, will be chomping at the bit to build on this momentum with Despicable Me 2, and there’s news of two new shorts based on the yellow tic-tac shaped Minions. Riding this wave, there are plans afoot to develop Ricky Gervais’s Flanimals as well as Dr Suess’s The Lorax and the eagerly awaited Addams Family animation which has Tim Burton’s name stitched into its fabric.

The success of Despicable Me is a sure sign of Universal’s first shot at competing with the animation heavyweights, Pixar and Dreamworks. Sony Pictures have tried, but none of their releases have received the same amount of adoration and box office clout films such as Up! and Shrek have enjoyed.

I, for one, can’t wait to see Despicable Me. Combing critics reaction with the love it’s attracting among American cinema-goers, it’s sure to be one of the best animation films of 2010.

Reported by Jamie Neish

It’s only 8.15am and the news online has been buzzing already. Not only do we get to see the first trailer for Little Fockers, we also have the red carpet arrivals video from the Twilight: Eclipse world premire and no sooner had I posted that than a new clip for Dreamworks new animation, Despicable Me is release on Empire.

The movie has a voice cast which includes Steve Carell, Julie Andrews, Kristen Wiig, Danny Mcbride, Jason Segel, Russell Brand and Miranda Cosgrove, is directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud and is released in the UK 15th October.

Check it out below:

We’ve had a few trailers already for Despicable Me but Universal Studios have released another for their new animation.The movie is directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud and has a voice cast which includes Steve Carell, Julie Andrews, Kristen Wiig, Danny Mcbride, Jason Segel, Russell Brand and Miranda Cosgrove.

It’s scheduled for release 15th October.

Synopsis: In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) in Universal’s new 3—D CGI feature, Despicable Me. Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle—ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad. The world’s greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.

I’m loving the poster campaign for the new Universal Studios movie, Despicable Me. They’re focusing around different holidays including Easter & Mothers Day and using that in their posters. Clever marketing in my opinion. Obviously a couple of these posters don’t really work in the UK as our Mother’s Day is at a completely different time of year. In fact I think im slow off the mark as these must have come out a couple of weeks ago, and the Easter one much earlier!

If you’ve not seen the trailer for Despicable Me, you can check it out here. Despicable Me is directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud and has a voice cast which includes Steve Carell, Julie Andrews, Kristen Wiig, Danny Mcbride, Jason Segel, Russell Brand and Miranda Cosgrove.

Synopsis:

All these new posters have come from IMPA and thanks to /Film for the heads up.

Here’s another Shrek Forever After clip to feed your ogre addiction until the film splats onto the silver screens in 3D.

Returning to this profitable well in Dreamworks latest fairy-talespin are the usual suspects – Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas. Also returning are John Cleese and Julia Andrews and Justin Timberlake and there’s a new clip available tonight which you can see below.

It’s all about the Pied Piper being a bounty hunter and there’s a whole load of dancing ogres and talking heads as Cameron Diaz and director Mike Mitchell talk about how great this film is.

After its premiere at the Tribeca film festival Shrek Forever After had pretty toxic reviews but as always an open mind is being kept until we see this one.

Moviefone unleashed this one into the wide world, and thank God they did.

Get ready to shield yourselves from celebrity cameos and anachronisms galore as the Shrek franchise hits the skids and slides to an end with Shrek Forever After, or as this new poster puts it – The Final Chapter.

Riffing on It’s a Wonderful Life the fourth film in the Shrek series has the regular cast returning and, if this poster is to be believed, there’ll be an Ogre Vs. Witches face off to liven things up.

Here’s the trailer we posted a while ago, and it gives a fairly good indication of what Messrs. Dreamworks, Myers, Banderas and Murphy have in store for us, take what you will from that statement.

Click on the image below to see this one,

I’m going to resist the opportunity to trash the moribund third film in this series and instead clear my mind of prejudice, justified though it is, and smile politely as I present to you four new stills from Shrek Forever After.

Cashing cheques and taking names this time, Mike Myers returns as the verdant ogre along with Cameron Diaz’s Fiona with Puss-in-Boots and Donkey, played by Antonio Banderas and Eddie Murphy respectively, and there’s the regular host of celebrities voices in the mix but… are any of you really looking forward to this one?

Animation, both CG/3D and traditional hand drawn, has had an amazing few years with Pixar and Disney leading the way, with Dreamworks and the others (finally) running them a close second.

With the stellar Princess and the Frog and Up wowing audiences, and How to Train Your Dragon coming up soon with fabulous word of mouth, does the world need another Shrek movie? I’m as willing as the next person to enjoy a Shrek movie, if it’s any good of course, but cast and crew really need to pull something pretty special out of the hat this time around.

Credit to Yahoo Movies for all of this, and if this isn’t enough to push you over the edge then please check out the trailer here.

A brand new trailer for Universal Studios’ Despicable Me has been released courtesy of Apple. It’s the latest animation to be released in 3d but let’s face it, if it’s an animation these days we might as well just tell you when it’s in 2d!

Despicable Me is directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud and has a vice cast which includes Steve Carell, Julie Andrews, Kristen Wiig, Danny Mcbride, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove.

This new trailer gives us a much better idea of what we can expect from the movie. In the previous trailers, we got to see Gru (Carell) going up against is arch enemy but in this one we get to meet the three little kids who end up on his door step.

I’ve embedded the new trailer below or you can head over to Apple to view in HD. Despicable Me shout be with us 15th October this year.

Synopsis: In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) in Universal’s new 3—D CGI feature, Despicable Me. Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle—ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad. The world’s greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.

It happens every night, I’m literally about to head off to bed, got my PJ’s on and my teddy under my arm and a brand new trailer will come out…. but we do it for the love of the fans guys, for you, remember that!

Here’s a brand new trailer for Dreamworks’ Shrek Forever After, the fourth and final installment of the Shrek franchise. The movie has all the regulars back including Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas. This time, Justin Timberlake, Jane Lynch and Julie Andrews come along for the ride.

Shrek Forever After is released 9th July. You can view the trailer below or head over to Yahoo to view in HD.

We’ve seen a few teasers for Universal’s Super-Villain CG comedy Despicable Me, and now there’s a new trailer in town.

It’s a simple affair, with the army of lemon tic-tac inspired minions of super-villain Gru, and with the other trailers already seen the slightly silly world is building nicely.

There’s a whole plot to steal the moon, and a group of three orphans who plan to stop Gru, voiced by the always fun Steve Carell and the rest of the voice cast make this one to watch.

The Times had this trailer, via FirstShowing which is embedded below.

Here’s the brand new international trailer for Universal Pictures’ latest 3d animation fest, ‘Despicable Me’. We posted the domestic trailer a while back and we’ve just got our hands on the international version. Check it out below after the synopsis.

Despicable Me is directed by Chris Renaud & Pierre Coffin and features the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Danny McBride, Miranda Cosgrove, Jack McBrayer, Mindy Kaling, Jemaine Clement and Julie Andrews. It’s released 15th October 2010.

In a happy suburban neighbourhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbours, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world.  He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) in Universal’s new 3-D CGI feature, Despicable Me.

Gru delights in all things wicked.  Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way.  Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen – a potential Dad.

The world’s greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.