I can’t believe I’ve never mentioned Megamind here. I actually had to do a site search to convince myself I hadn’t.
Anyway, I re-watched it recently and, boy, is it a gem of an animated movie about superheroes. I even got into a debate with my son about whether it’s a flat-out spoof of the superhero genre. I don’t know, but after thinking about it some more, I think it’s more in the line of a superhero fractured fairy tale. Showing my age there, I know, but there it is.
I say fractured fairy tale because in this story the villain becomes the hero who has to save the day. I’m not even sure that’s a spoiler because that’s pretty much how it was marketed. But it’s the way it all happens that makes for an absolutely charming story (another fairy tale thing) with characters that jump off the screen.
I was actually surprised at how much I started rooting for the “villain” to get the girl. Adorable.