He’s so devoted to Gru, he’s willing to pass out in order to please him. Otto gets to participate in the movie's physical comedy alongside everyone else: When Gru tells the Minions that they’re going to play “the quiet game”, none take it more seriously than Otto, who holds his breath until he turns red, and topples over. Otto is not just likable-he’s lovable.ĭespite being a great deal wider than the other Minions, Otto’s size is never brought up, not even for the kinds of cheap throwaway jokes that so much other animation relies on. He’s sweet, funny and replete with an unyielding desire to help. As the hero of Rise of Gru, he receives an entire character arc of his own, complete with tough losses and major victories. In just one movie, he manages to become the absolute star of the entire Despicable Me franchise. Otto, however, is the exception to the rule. These portrayals can have damaging effects on viewers of all kinds and all ages-especially younger ones, like all the kids eating up Despicable Me movies. In a 2005 report on the impact of body weight representations in animation, researchers found that “the overriding tendency was for cartoons to provide positive messages about being thin and negative messages about being overweight.”įat characters are also often the bad guys-think of Disney villains like Pete, the Queen of Hearts, and Ursula. Heck, I’m still not over the moment in Disney’s Chicken Little when chubby Runt falls down a hill, letting out a grotesque burp each time he hits the ground, while his other, thinner friends are silent.Īt least one psychological study proves I’m not just being sensitive. But as someone who’s been overweight all their life, these types of portrayals leave a nasty, lasting impression. These are, for the most part, comedies-animated ones at that, where the suspension of disbelief is required by design. While the film is largely considered to be a masterpiece, it visualizes a dystopian future where everyone has become so fat they can’t walk on their own two legs. Fat characters with better defined personalities, like South Park’s Eric Cartman, still are the subject of frequent fat jokes.Įven Pixar, which has done a good job including fat characters over the years, went this route with Wall-E. Peter Griffin and his son Chris are both slobby dopes there’s an entire scene where Stewie follows around fat people with a tuba, soundtracking their every step. When fatness is involved, it threatens to overwhelm a character’s entire personality.Ĭonsider Family Guy, which makes a joke out of weight at every opportunity, using fat people as quick, throwaway gags. Protagonists are usually varying degrees of remarkably thin, and when larger characters do appear, they’re kept to the sidelines or mocked for their size. “What does that have to do with anything?” “He’s a Minion! Who cares?!”īut it’s a rare thing to see fat characters, or body diversity of any kind, in mainstream animation. In fact-and it truly blows my mind to say this-Otto is the best fat character in a major animated film since the iconic Shrek.
#OTTO MINION WITH BRACES FULL#
Otto has a tuft of hair, a mouth full of braces, and, most excitingly, he’s fat.
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