Venues
Events
MediaFilm
Megamind: A Great Premise Fullfilled
And a list of our five favorite evil sidekicks
Minion and Megamind (Photo: Dreamworks)
| | More
It’s rare that a movie lives up to its great premise. It’s easy to come up with a great idea and fail miserably, or make a hit out of something that really doesn’t really need a premise. For instance, Titanic is interesting to watch because it’s about a boat sinking to the bottom of the ocean and lots of people died. Intrigued!
But a movie that sounds intriguing and is intriguing? Unless you’re Chris Nolan, it’s nearly impossible. That’s why Megamind came as such a shock to me. I knew the film was worth seeing when I heard about its plot—what happens when the bad guy (Megamind, voiced by Will Ferrell) beats the good guy (Metro Man, Brad Pitt)?—but I still didn’t expect it to be very good. Been burned way too many times by failed expectations (damn you, Matrix sequels) Last night, at an IMAX screening of the film, I was pleasantly surprised how original, funny and thoughtful it was, and how it successfully toed the line between being for both kids (a talking fish!) and adults (an extended Marlon Brando spoof!).
This is largely because one of the film’s best characters, who simply goes by Minion. Voiced by David Cross (by the way, if you’re not watching The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, please do), Minion is exactly that: Megamind’s sidekick, or lackey, or henchmen. They grew up together (sort of, considering Minion’s a fish with a mechanical body) and although Megamind’s the brains behind the operation, said operation wouldn’t work without Minion’s work.
That got me thinking about some of my other favorite animated evil sidekicks:
Sidekick(s): Ty Lee and Mai (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Working For: Princess Azula
Don’t let the awful M. Night Shyamalan keep you come from the movie’s source material. The Last Airbender, which ran on Nick from 2005-2008 for three reasons, is one of the greatest cartoons of all-time and probably the finest example of American anime. It also features some of the strongest and most developed female characters I’ve ever seen on TV, let alone from a cartoon, including the three ladies from the Fire Nation trying to, in the words of the Brain, take over the world. Mai, the one with bangs, and Ty Lee, the one who can paralyze opponents, both serve under Azula—or do they?
Sidekick: Iago (Aladdin)
Working For: Jafar
In The Return of Jafar, Iago revolts against his master, but that film’s not very good, so let’s focus on the original, where he’s all about serving Jafar and destroying the Sultan, Aladdin and whoever else gets in their way. If you’ve been force fed crackers for years, you’d want to things to change, too. Iago doesn’t say no to any of Jafar’s humiliating tasks, and he even seemed to enjoy dressing up as a flamingo and mimicking Princess Jasmine’s voice. No easy tasks when you sound like Gilbert Gottfried.
Sidekick: Harley Quinn (Batman)
Working For: The Joker
The back story of Harley came be found in the graphic novel Mad Love, but here’s a quick synopsis: Before donning the red and black suit, Harley was Harleen Quinzel, who slept her way to a psychology degree. She was a girl who loved a challenge, which is why she decided to accept an internship at Arkham Asylum, dealing with patients like the Scarecrow, Killer Croc and, you guessed it, the Joker, who she quickly fell in love with. Long story short, she soon became evil herself (meaning she fights Batman a lot) and thanks to her good buddy Poison Ivy, she’s immune to all toxins. Why does she hate Batman, though? Because the Joker hates Batman. Aw.
Sidekick: General Disarray (South Park)
Working For: Professor Chaos
If your name was Dougie and you wore huge glasses and had poofy red hair and freckles, you’d probably want to cause some disarray, too. The General met the Professor on a dock in the season six episode “Professor Chaos,” and since then, he’s shown up whenever Butter/Professor Chaos has needed him. Or to remind him that SIMPSONS DID IT! Speaking of…
Sidekick: Waylon Smithers (from The Simpsons)
Villain: Charles Montgomery Burns
Unlike the other names on this list, Smithers is actually a good guy. A very confused gay—I mean, guy! nonetheless. BUT outside of one instance (“Who Shot Mr. Burns?”), he’s never really told Burns that, although that tuxedo made out of greyhounds might look cool, it’s actually an awful, awful thing to do. He was even going to let Burns shoot Bart and Lisa! The things you’ll do for love…He’s on this list because he’s a good guy doing bad things for an evil person. At least if you’re bad, you have an excuse.