Culture Wikia
Advertisement
This article is about the superhero film. For the video game, see Megamind (video game). For the short film, see Megamind: The Button of Doom.

<templatestyles src="Module:Infobox/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Megamind
Poster showing primary characters; from left to right: Metro Man, Minion, Megamind, Roxanne and Titan
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTom McGrath
Written by
  • Alan Schoolcraft
  • Brent Simons
Produced by
  • Lara Breay
  • Denise Nolan Cascino
Starring
Edited byMichael Andrews
Music by
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • October 28, 2010 (2010-10-28) (Russia)
  • November 5, 2010 (2010-11-05) (United States)
  • December 3, 2010 (2010-12-03) (United Kingdom)
Running time
96 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$130 million[4]
Box office$321.9 million[4]


Megamind is a 2010 American computer-animated superhero comedy film directed by Tom McGrath and released by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation. It features the voices of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, David Cross, and Brad Pitt.[5]

The film tells the story of a super-intelligent alien supervillain, Megamind, who after a long-lasting battle one day actually destroys his foe, the much-loved superhero Metro Man. Having Metro City for himself, Megamind finds out that his villainy has no purpose, and thus creates a new superhero to serve as his nemesis. His plan backfires, as he ends up creating instead a new supervillain. With Metro City spiraling out of control, Megamind attempts to set things right and discovers his newfound purpose—as a superhero.

Megamind premiered on October 28, 2010, in Russia, while it was released in the United States in Digital 3D, IMAX 3D and 2D on November 5, 2010.[6] With a budget of $130 million, the film grossed over $321 million worldwide,[4] becoming one of DreamWorks Animation's lowest-grossing CG animated films of the 2010s.[7]

A short film, titled Megamind: The Button of Doom, was released on February 25, 2011, on the Megamind DVD and Blu-ray.

Plot[]

Megamind and Metro Man are life-long rivals in Metro City. Both are alien orphans sent to Earth from their dying planets near to their end because of a nearby black hole, but raised in far different circumstances, with Metro Man becoming a superhero defending the city from Megamind's villainous plans that he executes with the help of his henchman Minion, a fish-like creature he was given by his mother, who lives and acts from inside a mechanical gorilla-like suit.

Megamind escapes from prison through a holographic disguise, kidnaps reporter Roxanne Ritchie, and lures Metro Man to a copper-lined observatory. Metro Man collapses and reveals copper to be his weakness, allowing Megamind to kill him with a solar-powered death ray. Megamind quickly takes over the city, but finds that with no one to challenge him his life has no meaning.

Megamind prepares to destroy the recently opened Metro Man museum, trying to forget the city's former hero, but when he sees Roxanne wandering inside, he takes on the holographic disguise of Bernard, the museum curator (temporarily dehydrating the real Bernard into a small cube). Megamind finds himself attracted to Roxanne, and from her, gets the idea of creating a new hero to fight. In his lab he creates a serum from Metro Man's DNA to give his target superhero powers, but it is accidentally injected via his defuser gun into Hal Stewart, Roxanne's dimwitted cameraman when she enters the lab. Megamind finds Hal is easily coerced, and using a hologram of "Space Dad", trains him to become a superhero. Hal takes the name "Tighten", misunderstanding Megamind's suggested "Titan". Meanwhile, Megamind continues to see Roxanne using the Bernard disguise.

Feeling Hal is ready, Megamind schedules a date for the two to fight. However, on the night before Megamind has a falling out with Minion, while Hal sees that Roxanne has no feelings of him as she prepares for a date with Bernard, leaving him dejected. While on her date with Bernard, Megamind's disguise falters, and she leaves him, causing Megamind to also misplace his invisible car and the defuser gun.

The next day, after Titan fails to appear, Megamind seeks him out. He learns, to his horror, that Titan has become a villain instead, having gone on a crime spree the previous night, after Roxanne rejected him (revealing that he had become a hero only to woo Roxanne). Titan suggests an alliance with Megamind, but the latter instead goads him into fighting, revealing all of his disguises and manipulations, which infuriates Titan. After eventually realizing he is now fighting for his life, Megamind traps Titan in a ball of copper, but it fails to do anything, much to his shock. Megamind manages to escape, and Titan begins terrorizing the city. Megamind finds Roxanne and asks her to take her to Metro Man's secret lair to find out answers. There, both are surprised to find Metro Man alive; he feigned his death (and his weakness to copper) as he wanted to retire and take up music. He refuses to help, but reminds Megamind a hero will always emerge to challenge evil.

Feeling responsible, Megamind turns himself into the authorities and is imprisoned, while Roxanne tries to appeal to Titan directly, but instead ends up captured. Titan challenges Megamind to a fight, threatening Roxanne. Megamind appeals to the warden to let him free, and is surprised to see that the warden was Minion in disguise.

Megamind and Minion use holographic disguises to trick Titan into believing that Metro Man is back, but Titan sees through it based on Megamind's odd pronunciation patterns. Titan attacks Megamind, and during the fight, he finds his invisible car. He recovers the defuser gun and shoots Titan with it, reverting him to human form.

Hal is arrested for his crimes, while Megamind is treated as a hero by the city and Roxanne. In disguise in the crowd, Metro Man congratulates his former foe.

In a mid-credits scene, the original Bernard is rehydrated while Minion is doing the laundry. When Bernard complains that this has been the worst day of his entire life, Minion knocks him out with the Forget-Me-Stick (which was used on Hal) to help him forget the misery he's been through.

Cast[]

<templatestyles src="Multiple image/styles.css" wrapper=".tmulti"></templatestyles>

Will Ferrell (in costume), Tina Fey and Jonah Hill at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con
  • Will Ferrell as Megamind, a big blue head-shaped alien who is a supervillain. He is a spoof of Lex Luthor, Brainiac and The Leader[8] while his "Space Dad" persona is a parody of both the physical resemblance of Jor-El as played by Marlon Brando in the 1978 film Superman and Brando's voice as Vito Corleone in The Godfather.[9] The DVD commentary notes that his costume and showmanship are purposely evocative of Alice Cooper.
  • Tina Fey as Roxanne Ritchie, a TV news reporter who becomes Megamind's love interest. She is a spoof of Lois Lane.[10]
  • Jonah Hill as Hal Stewart / Titan,[11] Roxanne Ritchi's hapless, dimwitted but nerdy cameraman who has unrequited feelings for her. His motivation throughout the film is to get her back to his apartment with him. Given powers by Megamind to become a superhero named Titan (which Hal misspells as Tighten) he instead becomes a supervillain. The name Hal Stewart refers to Hal Jordan and John Stewart of the Green Lantern Corps.[12]
  • David Cross as Minion, a talking fish who has been Megamind's sidekick and best friend since childhood. His costume is evocative of Ro-Man from Robot Monster.
  • Brad Pitt as Metro Man, Megamind's former nemesis. He is a spoof of Superman.[10] The DVD commentary notes that his costume and showmanship are purposely evocative of the late Elvis Presley.
  • J. K. Simmons as The Warden, the no-nonsense head of Metro City Prison.
  • Ben Stiller as Bernard, a museum curator whom Megamind impersonates to win Roxanne's affections.
  • Christopher Knights as Prison Guard
  • Tom McGrath as Lord Scott / Prison Guard
  • Jack Blessing as Newscaster
  • Justin Theroux as Megamind's Dad
  • Jessica Schulte as Megamind's Mom

Production[]

File:Tom McGrath (4840304838).jpg

Director Tom McGrath promoting the film at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International

The film was written by Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons.[13] It was first titled Master Mind, and then Oobermind.[14] It was suggested that Ben Stiller would be cast as Megamind,[15] and later Robert Downey Jr.[16] but Will Ferrell was ultimately given the role, due to "scheduling conflicts" for Downey.[5][17] Lara Breay and Denise Nolan Cascino were the film's producers, and Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld were the executive producers.[14] Justin Theroux and Guillermo del Toro worked as creative consultants on the film. Del Toro only came on board three weeks before the end of production,[18] but went on to have a more substantial role in subsequent DreamWorks Animation films. The opening of the film, where Megamind is falling to his apparent death, was del Toro's idea.[19]

Music[]

Main article: Megamind: Music from the Motion Picture

Megamind: Music from the Motion Picture is a soundtrack to the film of the same name, composed by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe, and released on November 2, 2010 by Lakeshore Records.[20][21]

Release[]

Megamind premiered on October 28, 2010 in Russia, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 5, 2010.[22] It was supposed to be released in Japan on March 12, 2011, but because of the earthquake and tsunami a day before, the Japanese release was cancelled.[23][24]

Marketing[]

Megamind was promoted at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, with Tom McGrath, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, and Will Ferrell, who was dressed as Megamind.[25]

Home media[]

Megamind was released on both Blu-ray Disc and DVD on February 25, 2011, accompanied with an all-new short titled Megamind: The Button of Doom.[26] The Button of Doom also had its television premiere on Nickelodeon, which was aired on February 26, 2011. It was the seventh-best-selling DVD of 2011 with over 3 million units sold.[27] The film made a total of $75 million in DVD and Blu-ray sales.[28] As of November 2012, 5.6 million home entertainment units were sold worldwide.[29]

The film was released on Blu-ray 3D in March 2011 exclusively as a part of Samsung 3D Starter Kits,[30] and on September 11, 2011, exclusively at Best Buy stores.[31]

In July 2014, the film's distribution rights were purchased by DreamWorks Animation from Paramount Pictures and transferred to 20th Century Fox;[32] the rights are now owned by Universal Pictures.

Reception[]

Box office[]

Megamind opened to $12.5 million on opening day, and earned $46 million over the three-day weekend, taking the No. 1 spot and averaged $11,668 from around 7,300 screens at 3,944 theaters. The opening was a bit higher than fellow DreamWorks Animation film How to Train Your Dragon, which earned $43.7 million back in March 2010. It was the fifth-highest opening for an animated feature in 2010. In its second weekend, it repeated at No. 1 and dropped 37% to $29.1 million for a $7,374 average from 3,949 theaters, and bringing its 10-day cumulative total to $88.8 million. On its third weekend, it fell 45% to $16 million and finished second to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, averaging $4,237 from 3,779 theaters. Over Thanksgiving weekend, it held well with just a 22% drop to $12.6 million and slid to third place behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Tangled (it earned $17,304,307 over the five-day Thanksgiving period). Following Thanksgiving, the film fell a sharp 61% in its fifth weekend to $4.9 million and finished in sixth place.

The film closed in theaters on February 24, 2011 (a day before it was released on DVD and Blu-ray), earning $148.4 million in North America, and $173.5 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $321.9 million.[4] The final gross was on the low end for a DreamWorks Animation film, but was still a box office success since it beat its $130 million budget. It is the sixth-highest-grossing animated film from 2010 worldwide, behind Toy Story 3 ($1.063 billion), Shrek Forever After ($753 million), Tangled ($591 million), Despicable Me ($543 million), and How to Train Your Dragon ($494 million), the highest-grossing film worldwide in both Ferrell's and Fey's careers,[33][34] as well as the fifth-highest-grossing computer-animated superhero film, behind Incredibles 2, The Incredibles, Big Hero 6 and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Critical response[]

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives a score of 72% based on 179 reviews and an average rating of 6.65/10. The site's consensus states the film "It regurgitates plot points from earlier animated efforts, and isn't quite as funny as it should be, but a top-shelf voice cast and strong visuals help make megamind ' a pleasant, if unspectacular, diversion."[6] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on reviews from 33 critics.[35] Audiences polled by Cinemascore gave Megamind a grade of "A−" on a scale from A+ to F−.[36]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three out of four stars, stating "This set-up is bright and amusing, even if it does feel recycled from bits and pieces of such recent animated landmarks as The Incredibles with its superpowers and Despicable Me with its villain."[37] Stephen Holden, of The New York Times, positively wrote in his review, "Visually Megamind is immaculately sleek and gracefully enhanced by 3-D."[38] Entertainment Weekly reviewer Owen Gleiberman graded the film a B+ and wrote, "...too goofy-surreal to pack a lot of emotional punch, but it's antically light on its feet, with 3-D images that have a lustrous, gizmo-mad sci-fi clarity."[39] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone commented, "What this raucous 3D animated fun house lacks in originality (think bastard child of The Incredibles and Despicable Me) it makes up for in visual and vocal wit."[40] In a mixed review, Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Just as Megamind struggles to find his center, at times, so does the film."[41]

The main point of criticism was the unoriginality of the film. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "You have seen all this before".[42] Justin Chang of Variety said: "Though enlivened by some moderately clever twists on the superhero-movie template, Megamind never shakes off a feeling of been-there-spoofed-that."[43] Claudia Puig of USA Today even asked: "Do we really need Megamind when Despicable Me is around?".[44]

Accolades[]

Award Category Name Result
38th Annie Awards[45] Animated Effects in an Animated Production Krzysztof Rostek Nominated
Character Animation in a Feature Production Mark Donald Nominated
Anthony Hodgson Nominated
Character Design in a Feature Production Timothy Lamb Nominated
Storyboarding in a Feature Production Catherine Yuh Rader Nominated
Writing in a Feature Production Alan J. Schoolcraft, Brent Simons Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2010[46] Best Animated Film Nominated
2011 Kids' Choice Awards[47] Favorite Buttkicker Will Ferrell Nominated
The National Movie Awards[48] Best Animated Movie Nominated
The Comedy Awards[49] Best Animated Comedy Movie Nominated

Video games[]

Several video game tie-ins published by THQ were released on November 2, 2010 to coincide with the film's release. An Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version is titled Megamind: Ultimate Showdown, while the Wii version is titled Megamind: Mega Team Unite and the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS versions are both titled Megamind: The Blue Defender. All three versions of the game have been rated E10+ for fantasy violence by the ESRB.[50]

Comic books[]

DreamWorks Animation and WildStorm produced a 32-page full-color comic book titled The Reign of Megamind, which was released in July 2010 exclusively at the Comic-Con convention.[51] A full version of the comic is also available on the Megamind website.[52]

Ape Entertainment released under its Kizoic label five full-color comic books based on the film. A 52-page prequel titled "MEGAMIND: Reign of Megamind" was released in October 2010. It features two stories titled "The Reign of Megamind" and "MINION 2.0". The stories show Megamind and Minion's biggest failures in their attempt to defeat Metro Man. In 2010 and 2011 followed a mini series of four 32-page books. The comic book #1 features a story titled "Can I Have This Dance", #2 features "Bad Minion! Bad!", #3 features "Megamutt" and #4 features "A Sidekick's Sidekick".[53]

Legacy[]

Possible sequel[]

In April 2011, DreamWorks Animation's CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, commented that the studio did not have plans to produce future movie-genre parodies like Shark Tale, Monsters vs. Aliens, and Megamind, saying that these films "all shared an approach and tone and idea of parody, and did not travel well internationally. We don't have anything like that coming on our schedule now."[54]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Megamind". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  2. "Megamind (2010) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  3. "Megamind (2D)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Megamind". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  5. 5.0 5.1 SuperHeroHype (August 16, 2009). "Ferrell, Pitt and Hill to voice Oobermind". Superhero Hype!. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Megamind (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  7. Fritz, Ben (January 3, 2011). "'Megamind' less than a mega-success overseas". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  8. Greydanus, Steven D. (November 11, 2010). "'Megamind' a Clever Spoof". National Catholic Register. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  9. Boucher, Geoff (November 7, 2010). "Will Ferrell channels Brando in 'Megamind'? 'Yes, I do, isn't that weird?'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Wilkins, Alasdair (July 22, 2010). "Megamind asks the great superhero question: what if Lex Luthor killed Superman?". io9. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  11. ""Megamind" screenplay". Screenplay Explorer. December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  12. Knolle, Sharon (June 17, 2011). "A Moviefone Salute to Guys Named Hal". Moviefone. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  13. Alex Amelines (August 17, 2009). "DreamWorks reveals voice-cast for Oobermind". One Huge Eye. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Skott Stotland (May 28, 2009). "Master Mind" becomes "Oobermind". Bam! Kapow!. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  15. Christopher Campbell (April 3, 2007). "Ben Stiller is a Master Mind". MovieFone. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  16. Debruge, Peter (May 27, 2009). "DreamWorks animates its output". Variety. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  17. Will Ferrell Replaces Robert Downey Jr. in DreamWorks Animation’s OOBERMIND Retrieved May 3, 2013
  18. Carnevale, Rob. "IndieLondon: Megamind - Tom McGrath interview". Your London Reviews. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  19. Eisenberg, Eric (November 3, 2010). "Exclusive Interview: Megamind Director Tom McGrath". CinemaBlend.com. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  20. Jagernauth, Kevin (October 22, 2010). "'Megamind' Soundtrack Features Elvis Presley, George Thorogood & Lots Of Hans Zimmer". The Playlist. Archived from the original on March 9, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  21. "Megamind". Lakeshore Records. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  22. DreamWorks Animation (September 7, 2010). "Shrek Forever After Becomes DreamWorks Animation's Biggest International Release Ever". DreamWorks Animation. Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  23. Segers, Segers (November 3, 2011). "Tangled, Megamind Releases in Limbo in Japan". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 13, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  24. Segers, Frank (March 13, 2011). "Japan's Earthquake Pushes Down International Box Office 60% From Last Year". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 9, 2013. Although DreamWorks Animation’s Megamind had been listed on some overseas schedules as a March 12 opener in Japan, distributor Paramount said the film did not premier in the market on the weekend. Furthermore, said Andrew Cripps, president of Paramount Pictures Int’l., the 3D animation title --winding an overseas campaign begun in October of 2010 -- "will not release there."
  25. Y Thompson, Luke (July 22, 2010). "Comic-Con #3: The 'Megamind' Panel". Deadline. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  26. Calonge, Juan (January 4, 2011). "Megamind Blu-ray Announced". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  27. Top-Selling DVDs of 2011 Retrieved May 3, 2013
  28. Megamind (2010) Retrieved July 18, 2018
  29. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dreamworks-animation-reports-third-quarter-2012-financial-results-176837331.html
  30. Calonge, Juan (March 24, 2011). "Samsung 3D Starter Kit Now with Megamind 3D Blu-ray (Update)". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  31. Peck, Aaron (September 20, 2011). "Megamind – 3D (Blu-ray)". High-Def Digest. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  32. Chney, Alexandra (July 29, 2014). "DreamWorks Animation Q2 Earnings Fall Short of Estimates, SEC Investigation Revealed". Variety. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  33. "Will Ferrell Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  34. "Tina Fey Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  35. "Megamind". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  36. Steven Zeitchik (November 8, 2010). "Company Town: 'Megamind' orchestrates a box-office win". Los Angeles Times.
  37. Ebert, Roger (November 3, 2010). "Megamind :: rogerebert.com". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun Times Media Group.
  38. Holden, Stephen (November 4, 2010). "Animated Ambiguity, Featuring a Big Head". The New York Times Company. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  39. Glieberman, Owen (November 3, 2010). "MegaMind Movie Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  40. Travers, Peter. "MegaMind Film Review". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  41. Sharkey, Betsy (November 5, 2010). "Movie review: 'Megamind'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  42. Phillips, Michael (November 4, 2010). "Heroes and villains: A wash of color can't perk up tired plot lines". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  43. Chang, Justin (November 1, 2010). "Megamind". Variety. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  44. Puig, Claudia (November 6, 2010). "Villainous hero Megamind: Been there, animated that". USA Today. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  45. "38th Annual Annie Nominations". The Annie Awards. Archived from the original on December 17, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  46. "The 2010 WAFCA Award Winners". The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association. December 6, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  47. Nickelodeon (February 10, 2011). "Expect the Unexpected as Jack Black Hosts Nickelodeon's 2011 Kids' Choice Awards Airing Live From Los Angeles on Saturday, April 2, at 8pm ET". PR Newswire. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  48. "The King's Speech wins three National Movie Awards". BBC. May 11, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  49. "Nominees". The Comedy Awards. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  50. DreamWorks' Megamind: The Video Games Archived November 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
  51. Goellner, Caleb (July 16, 2010). "'The Reign of Megamind' Comic Coming to Comic-Con (Exclusive)". Comics Alliance. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  52. "The Reign of Megamind". DreamWorks Animation. Archived from the original on November 21, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  53. "Megamind". Ape Entertainment. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  54. Lieberman, David (April 26, 2011). "DreamWorks Animation Pins Hopes On 'Kung Fu Panda 2′ After 1Q Earnings Fall Short". Deadline. Retrieved September 17, 2012.

External links[]

Template:DreamWorks animated films Template:Tom McGrath

Advertisement