Even though he died several years ago, Jigsaw is still claiming victims. The most recent of which was a group of very young schoolchildren who accidentally took in a viewing of Saw 3D. Kids at Showcase Cinemas in Revere, Massachusetts expected to take in a showing of Megamind but were instead shown several minutes of murder and mutilation before the theater staff could rectify the mix up. One concerned father had this to say:

“He came and slept with us, and we thought we had gotten past that years ago. He said that he had a few nightmares.”

Then, his young son who was scarred by the shocking images told reporters:

“That movie really sucked. I mean c’mon, poor acting. Ridiculous premise. Gimmicky as all Hell. They should have stopped after Saw 2.”

(via Dread Central)

Megamind is going to suffer for being the second animated superhero movie. In fact, it follows a long line of Dreamworks being second to Pixar (fish, monsters although they did beat them to insects). I’m not saying it’s The Incredibles, but Megamind is the best Dreamworks animated movie and certainly the best animated movie this year.

This is a complex story with very sophisticated forward momentum. There are five and a half characters involved with heroics, villainry, romance and training. It’s about what makes people a hero or villain, and the answer is not just simply one is bullied and the other is revered. Many characters play alternate identities because they feel their original selves are inadequate. These are deep themes for any movie, let alone a genre movie, let alone a mass appeal movie.

Both sent to earth from the same planet Megamind (Will Ferrell) lands in a prison and grows up to be a villain, while Metroman (Brad Pitt) lands with rich folks and grows up to be a popular superhero.  They take turns kidnapping and rescuing reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey), but things start to break formula about 20 minutes in. Ritchi’s cameraman Hal (Jonah Hill) becomes much more than the generic Jimmy Olsen and Megamind’s Minion (David Cross) has a character arc too.

The film begins with irreverence for the tropes of superhero genre. Ferrell and Fey definitely contribute some knowledge of the genre, and Ferrell’s desperation is so engaging he has fun with the villain monologues.  It has something to say about hero worship, from children to grown-up society, even before it messes with the genre further. There’s some pop culture reference but it’s the smartest possible reference and it’s not the crutch of the movie’s humor.

The trailers are already giving away too much, so I don’t want to ruin it, but Megamind asks questions that have never been asked in a superhero movie before.  What does a villain do if he actually gets to be in charge? The answer isn’t a simplistic life lesson. It just sends the film in another deeper direction.

Ritchi, Hal and Megamind face real relationship issues, albeit with vague kid-friendly language. Ritchi may say she doesn’t want to “be with you” but the grown-ups know what she’s really talking about.  These feel like real characters, not caricatures with one-liners.

The classic rock soundtrack makes the movie feel relatable to our world. These are artists we’ve heard of, not cover versions or pop songs created just for the soundtrack. And it rocks, much better than the “Move It Move It” song from Madagascar.

Dreamworks Animation has released the first five minutes of their upcoming film Megamind starring Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, and Jonah Hill. The trailers seemed a little too The Incredibles-y to me, but this new footage has peaked my interest. Just the fact that Brad Pitt and not Steve Carell is voicing the film’s hero, Metro Man, is intriguing. Carell must have been busy on one of his fifty-thousand other projects.

Check out the prologue (which autoplays) after the jump…

(/Film)

_{Homeless Brad Pitt wants your fingernails.}

Another trailer for the Dreamworks animated film Megamind has dropped, and I still can’t help but feel like I’ve seen this movie before. Will Ferrell voices a supervillian who bumps heads with the aptly-named Brad Pitt-voiced superhero, Metro Man.

Dreamworks has given this yarn a different spin by focusing on the villain and his fish bowl-headed sidekick, voiced by David Cross, but my brain continues to scream The Incredibles!!! as I watch. The new trailer even reveals a plot twist that doesn’t help to differentiate itself from the Pixar movie. Somewhere on the set of “Parenthood,” Craig T. Nelson is shaking his head in disapproval while Bonnie Bedelia rubs his feet.

Check out the trailer after the jump…

Megamind — Trailer – Watch more Movie Trailers

Dreamworks’ has released a four minute trailer for its new animated feature, Megamind.

The film tells the story of an evil supervillain (Megamind) who is forced to deal with the consequences of his actions once his evil quest for power is finally realized. Luckily for Dreamworks, the trailer looks a lot funnier than what I just described.

Featuring the voices of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, David Cross, and Brad Pitt, the film hits theaters December 3^rd.

Watch the Megamind mega-trailer after the jump…

Megamind: Comic Con Footage – Watch more Movie Trailers

_{Stroke humor in its purest form.}

Dreamworks has released a full length trailer for their new animated film Megamind. It wants so very badly to be The Incredibles, but without the voice talent of Coach, a.k.a Craig T. Nelson, it’s pretty much S.O.L. They could have at least tried for Jerry Van Dyke.

The trailer plays out more like a teaser that pimps the voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, and Jonah Hill. I had to read the film’s official synopsis to get a firm grasp of the plot, and the major turning point isn’t even revealed in the trailer. Also, can we please put a cap on how many animated movies an actor can lend their voice to? Brad Pitt was a good get, but Jonah’s shuffled up to the microphone in his P.J.s far too many times recently.

Check out the trailer after the jump, and the synopsis so you can fill in the blanks. Megamind takes over theaters November 5, 2010.

Megamind trailer – Watch more Movie Trailers

From the studio that brought you “Shrek,” “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda.” “Megamind” is the most brilliant supervillain the world has ever known. And the least successful. Over the years, he has tried to conquer Metro City in every imaginable way. Each attempt, a colossal failure thanks to the caped superhero known as “Metro Man,” an invincible hero until the da Megamind actually kills him in the throes of one of his botched evil plans. Suddenly, Megamind has no purpose. A supervillain without a superhero. He realizes that achieving his life’s ambition is the worst thing that ever happened to him.  Megamind decides that the only way out of his rut is to create a new hero opponent called “Titan”, who promises to be bigger, better and stronger than Metro Man ever was. Pretty quickly Titan starts to think it’s much more fun to be a villain than a good guy . Except Titan doesn’t just want to rule the world, he wants to destroy it.  Now, Megamind must decide: can he defeat his own diabolical creation? Can the world’s smartest man make the smart decision for once?  Can the evil genius become the unlikely hero of his own story?