School holidays: Despicable Me 3; Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul

Have you ever imagined a bikinied Mary Poppins in a pool? Nor have I. But you can hear it in Despicable Me 3.

Balthazar Bratt in Despicable Me 3.

The school holidays are upon us, but I’m going to start with a not-quite-PG question: have you ever imagined a bikinied Mary Poppins frolicking in a swimming pool with two muscle-bound young studs? Nor have I but it happens, at least in an aural sense, in Despicable Me 3.

Julie Andrews, 81, returns to this zingy animated series to reprise the role she started in the first instalment: feisty Marlena Gru, mother to supervillain turned villain-buster Felonius Gru (Steve Carell). Her appearance is brief but worth waiting for. It’s also crucial to the story as she, after shaking off the studs, admits to Gru that he is not an only child after all. He has a twin brother, wickedly named Dru Gru.

Discovering Dru gives Gru gives something to do, as the action opens with another unsuccessful attempt to apprehend the world’s No 1 villain, Balthazar Bratt (South Park co-creator Trey Parker), who sartorially and musically inhabits the 1980s and steals every scene he’s in.

As a result Gru is fired from the Anti-Villain League, along with his fellow secret agent and wife Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig). They have three adopted daughters and there’s a nice side story in which one goes hunting for a unicorn. Followers of this series will know Gru started out as a poacher before turning gamekeeper.

“You went from world’s worst villain to world’s worst agent,’’ Balthazar jeers, his shoulder pads jiggling as he and Gru limber up for a spectacular dance fight. Similar thoughts have run through Dru’s head which, unlike his brother’s, is lush with hair. He reveals their father was a super bad guy known as The Bald Terror. He still has all of his super bad guy vehicles, bodysuits and weapons.

He thinks he and Gru should go bad. The Minions, Gru’s multilingual henchblobs, agree. Meanwhile Balthazar, a former child actor whose show was axed when he hit puberty, vows to destroy Hollywood. That their paths will cross is expected, and a lot of fun to watch.

There are set pieces to amuse child and adult alike, such as Gru and Dru climbing Balthazar’s fortress wearing their father’s adhesive villain suits, or the Minions using then-and-now snapshots to show Gru that bad was better than good: him pushing down on a detonator versus him pushing down on a toilet plunger.

I have been a fan of Despicable Me from the outset and this third outing, directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, doesn’t let the side down. Even my 12-year-old, who considers himself too old for animated films, laughed along with me, particularly when Gru’s dog bites a butler. It’s suitable for younger children too, with no swearing (unless you happen to be fluent in minion) and no realistic violence.

Will Dru be an evil twin? That’s the big question. You will have to wait until the end to find out, but it’s only 90 minutes and worth it. And it sets up an ideal starting point for the fourth movie that is sure to follow.

Watch the Despicable Me 3 trailer.

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Jason Drucker as Greg in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul

There’s a Balthazar vibration in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, the fourth movie based on the bestselling children’s books by American author Jeff Kinney. Kinney has written the script with three-peat director David Bowers. But otherwise there’s a complete recast. The actors who have played pre-teen Greg Heffley and his best friend Rowley Jefferson simply became too old for the roles.

Greg’s parents have also been recast. Kinney has written 12 Wimpy Kid books, and will write more, so there’s a long way to go. A long way is also central to this story. Greg’s mother Susan (Alicia Silverstone) has planned a four-day family road trip to join her mother’s 90th birthday celebrations. She bans mobile phones and other screens for 12-year-old Greg (Jason Drucker, who is 11), older brother Roderick (Charlie Wright), infant brother Manny and even her husband Frank (Tom Everett Scott).

We open with a riotous adventure at a cheap diner during which Greg’s hand becomes stuck in what we call a nappy. The smartphone footage of this goes viral and he is branded Diaper Hands. He hopes to overcome this by diverting the road trip to meet and be filmed with his video game hero. He also upsets a big bearded man, who becomes the bad guy.

The acting is not notable but that won’t bother the under-12s target audience. Kinney has a real knack for showing how kids feel and how that changes dramatically as they age.

The highlight is the physical comedy, such as Roderick vomiting during a fair ride. There’s also a piglet, who does what piglets do. Adults will smile at riffs on Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and Psycho. All in all, it’s harmless fun.

Watch the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul trailer.

Despicable Me 3 (PG)

3.5 stars

National release

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (PG)

2.5 stars

National release