Image Credit: UniversalYes, those little pill-shaped yellow guys were cute. And yes, Steve Carell delivered some fine Russian-supervillain voice work. Still, it’s unlikely that Despicable Me would have opened as big as it did this weekend without the added bonanza of 3-D. With its expectations-beating, not-at-all-despicable $60 million opening, Despicable Me is just the latest animated movie to reap a box office windfall thanks in large part to the higher prices of 3-D tickets. Toss in Toy Story 3‘s staggering $340 million-and-counting haul — much of that from 3-D ticket sales — and it looks like this summer, as far as animated movies go, the 3-D train has left the station and is hurtling right toward you…in 3-D!
Personally, I took my two young daughters to an old-fashioned 2-D showing of Despicable Me. We’d seen Toy Story 3 in 3-D recently and, as much as my kids enjoyed it, they seemed to spend half the movie taking their ill-fitting 3-D glasses off and putting them back on, so I didn’t feel a great need to shell out an extra $3.50 per ticket to repeat the experience. Would we have liked Despicable Me any more in 3-D? Hard to say. The closing credit sequence, in which the little yellow minions tried to break through the plane of the screen into the third dimension, was clearly geared strictly for 3-D theaters. Otherwise, it didn’t seem like we missed much.
Some would argue that animation is the perfect medium for 3-D — not only can it enhance the visual experience, it can also serve as a kind of gateway drug for kids, hooking them on 3-D for years. Others will say 3-D is just a gimmick and that if 2-D animation was good enough for the likes of Walt Disney, Chuck Jones, and Hanna-Barbera back in the day (and is still good enough for Hayao Miyazaki now), it should be good enough for anyone. But what do you think? Are we heading quickly toward a future in which all animated movies will be in 3-D? Would you welcome that? Or, like my kids, are you perfectly happy to take in your animated flicks sans glasses?
I liked “Despicable Me” in 2-D. I do not think all films have to be shown 3-D to enjoy them.
I hope not. I’m sick and tired of everything coming out in 3D. Step Up 3D, Harry Potter in 3D (which might not be so bad, but I’m sticking to the 2D version), This movie, Last Airbender which apparently sucked, Clash of the Titans, Alice in Wonderland, I mean when does it end? Just because we can doesn’t mean we should.
I agree. I’m content without 3D glasses. Growing up in the 2000′s, I witnessed CGI movies replace traditional animation. 3D is not nearly as groundbreaking, but I could live with it if the extra charges weren’t so high and it didn’t require those pesky glasses. What about you?
Agree with other poster. 3d is been widely pushed by the industry powers, and a lot of us do not care. I watched TS3 in 3d, and the entire time I was thinking, ‘does this make the film better or more entertaining”?, the answer is NO.
If you are a person who saw Avatar in theaters, then YOU are the reason why we have so many 3-D movies.
I myself, didn’t given into the hype of the un-original movie and didn’t fall for the hype.
Not true, it is only the reason we have had abysmal rush job conversions Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender. The other movies you’ve seen this year were already in 3D and Dreamworks announced their intent to make all their toons in 3D long ago.
When they make 3d laptop screens, things will die down
Even though I’m perfectly content seeing movies in 2-D, I can certainly see how 3-D can enhance SOME moviegoing experiences. (But only when done right…none of that post-conversion junk.)
Still, while the higher ticket prices were DEFINITELY a factor, I like to think that the main reason “Despicable Me” and “Toy Story 3″ (and “How to Train Your Dragon” earlier this year) opened so well was because (gasp!) they were good and people liked them. (I’ve only seen “TS3″ out of that trio, but I believe they’ve all gotten pretty strong reviews.)
I actually like the 3D in animated features MUCH more than in live action films. The medium just lends itself to it. I am more of a fan of the type of 3D that creates more depth in a scene rather than when things pop out at you all the time(so cheesy!).
I will admit, that the glasses are annoying, and the cost is ridiculous – the original justification was that it was to pay for the camera, but the theaters have got to have recouped any losses they had regarding those purchases.
The technology is there, why not utilize it? Even if 2D was good enough for the classics, you will remember the quote from Walt Disney that appeared at the end of Meet the Robinsons:
Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
I feel I’ve been transported to the days of William Castle with all the 3D gimmicks used to cover lackluster storytelling. Sadly unlike Castle’s schlock, movies like Clash of the Titans wasn’t even fun to watch. Beyond this, one in ten people can’t even watch 3D due to vision problems and causing severe headaches. For my wife, her sister, and several of my friends watching 3D triggers migraines. You can keep Despicable Me in 3D, thank you very much. Until the current 3D madness is over I’ll be staying away from the theaters.
I would like 3D so much more if I didn’t have to wear 3D glasses over my perscription glasses.
I saw Despicable Me in 3-D. I spent part of the movie fighting with my glasses because they were too heavy. Very annoying.
I don’t mind if this continues, but they need to still offer 2D viewings too.
When I first used them I saw TS3 and then I came out of the theater with a minor headache. There were a few moments where you could see why 3-D was an option for Dispicable Me like the roller coaster part. However, even without the glasses it felt as if you could sense the motion of the coaster anyway.
Nope. If I want to see one of these movies, I only go to the 2-D version.
We saw both Avatar and Despicable Me in 2-D and enjoyed them both. The extra $$ at the box office just isn’t worth it to me.