I was not quite so keen on seeing Megamind. Tina Fey is a treat, and I thought it would be fun to have Brad Pitt return to the land of animated films (I think the last time he did was Sinbad, a decade or so ago) but I am over Jonah Hill and Will Ferrell just depresses me. He showed how good he could be with Stranger Than Fiction, yet routinely does his Step-Brothers kind of dogshit. But my daughter was hip to see this one, and lord knows I watch a lot of crap for her sake. So off he went to the movies.

So the fact that I felt the need to even write a mini-review already tells you that I either really liked it or fucking hated it. Fortunately it is the former and not the latter. Because, contrary to popular opinion, I much prefer enjoying a movie than not. Sure, bad reviews are more fun to write, but ultimately I would like to not feel like I wasted my money. In this case, I think it was well spent, and I would urge anyone to see it before it leaves theaters as well.

Unfortunately it is difficult to give a synopsis of this film without getting into spoilers, so I’ll stick with the bigger picture. Right off the bat the film tackles the huge questions of nature versus nurture and racial inequality. Two capsules are fired from two different planets each involved in a galaxy-wide catastrophe: one contains a handsome white infant, while the other contains a large-headed blue humanoid. The white kid lands at a posh mansion and becomes the frat boy douchebag superhero Metroman, while the blue kid lands at a prison for the criminally gifted, but does not actually become a supervillain until he goes to school with Metroman, and is continually ignored and put down by the other normally-hued kids. Make what you will of all that commentary.

And as these things go, events unfold in such a way that Megamind learns that his destiny is not written in stone, but that he can remake himself into any image he chooses. When a much worse for the city foe named Tighten (he’s sort of dumb like that) shows up, it becomes up to Megamind to make the choice to do what is right, a stark contrast to the bill of goods he sold himself when he shrugged off his self-esteem and donned a black cape.

Now, all that probably sounds pretty preachy, and it is, as films aimed at kids tend to be. However, this film was smart enough to throw in lots of music and jokes that the parents would appreciate, and tons of easter eggs for comics fans. For instance, every time Megamind does something correctly (be it good or evil) we are treated to music such as Highway to Hell, Crazy Train, and Welcome to the Jungle. And the Tighten joke itself (he meant Titan) is one that would go over most kids’ heads.

But the real meat of the movie, for me, were the references. In addition to the obvious Superman stuff at the beginning, when Megamind pretends to be Tighten’s father he does an obvious Brando impersonation. Megamind’s minion is a fish in a bowl set atop a mechanical body that is very reminiscent of the alien in Robot Monster. Roxanne Ritchi, the Lois Lane-type character portrayed by Tina Fey, has a cameraman named Hal who wears a Watchmen smiley face button like The Comedian, which is a reference and a precursor to future events in the film. There is a really funny Karate Kid joke, and in the beginning, when baby Megamind is being put into his capsule, there is a large screen blinking the word PANIC. Maybe I am reading a Douglas Adams reference into that, but I like it so I am sticking with it.

The trivia page on IMDb also has a lot of stuff about references to comics, but I won’t repeat them here because I cannot verify them, but I am sure you comic geeks will notice them in the film (Rog, I am looking at you).

In the end, I think if you have a kid this is a good movie to take them to, one that will entertain while teaching them a good listen about how to be confident in themselves and not let other people dictate who they are or should be. But even if you don’t have a kid it is just a damned good time at the theater.

And if nothing else has persuaded you yet, Justin Theroux and Guillermo Del Toro are listed as creative consultants to the film, and word is Del Toro lent a hand in the editing department. That is a pretty strong pedigree as far as I am concerned.