Director: Tom McGrath

Starring: The voices of Will Ferrell, Tiny Fey, Jonah Hill, Brad Pitt, David Cross

Rated PG for action and some language.

95 minutes

For the second time this year (“Despicable Me”), we’re treated to an animated film about the trial and tribulations of a super-villain. In a sort of backhanded answer to Pixar’s “The Incredibles” (and I mean that in a positive way), Dreamworks, which earlier this year delivered spectacularly with “How to Train Your Dragon,” hits yet another animated adventure out of the park. “Megamind” is clever, fast-paced and fun, and looks fantastic in 3D.

Megamind (Will Ferrell) is the world’s most brilliant super-villain. Too bad he’s also its least successful. Though he’s tried every play in the book to conquer Metro City, the preening caped superhero Metro Man (Brad Pitt) has thwarted him at every turn. Then the utterly unexpected happens—Megamind is victorious and Metro Man is vanquished forever! However, it isn’t long before Megamind realizes that his identity as an evil super-villain is wrapped up in the ying/yang relationship of good vs. evil. So Megamind sets about creating his own nemesis, a new caped superhero to give his world purpose again.

It’s clear that the filmmakers behind “Megamind” know their comic book conventions by how often they giddily poke hole is and ultimately subvert them. Multiple superhero storylines find themselves co-opted here, though none more so than that of Superman. Drawing on the established mythology of Superman’s origins as well as more modern interpretations of his latter years (particularly that of Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ graphic novel “Kingdom Come”), the filmmakers set out to answer the question: what would the world look like if Superman was kind of an egotistical, self-important jerk and better yet, what would happen if Lex Luther won? This all sounds dark and heavy, and indeed, were this not a Dreamworks cartoon, doubtless would be. But since “Megamind” has been crafted to make you laugh, you can go in secure that, while familiar archetypes may be mixed and matched, it’s all in goofy, good-natured fun.

Ferrell is hilarious as Megamind, the sort of villain Dr. Evil would readily recognize. Other vocal standouts include Tiny Fey as a local reporter Megamind is continually kidnapping (and with whom he is smitten), Jonah Hill as her cameraman and unwitting recipient of Megamind’s plan to create a new superhero, and David Cross as Megamind’s second-in-command, Minion, an extraterrestrial fish.

As has become par for the course, the films that sell 3D best are all animated. “Megamind” is no exception, a graceful and impressive use of the technology that comes across as natural and restrained even as it clearly takes advantage of the eye-poking illusions younger audiences adore. Beyond the 3D, the film’s animated effects are superb. In another technical category, a soundtrack chock full of such artists as AC/DC, Ozzy Osborne and Guns and Roses might seem like the worst choice possible for a kid’s movie, but it works surprisingly well.

It is a truth universally recognized that evil is always more interesting than good. “Megamind” makes the most of this convention even as it brings it back around again in the end with a moral that both kids and adults can appreciate and embrace. 

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