"Despicable Me" soundtrack unworthy of its own title

It's about time someone starting rooting for the bad guy. This fall, animation is all about super-villain rivalry, from Will Ferrell's upcoming rivalry with Brad Pitt's character in November's Megamind, to one of the most anticipated animations of the year, Despicable Me. Steve Carrell, the voice of Gru, teams up with the likes of Jason Segal (Gru's nemesis Vector), Russell Brand (Gru's right hand man Dr. Nefario) and the one and only Julie Andrews (Gru's mother) for one pretty awesome kids comedy. But that's not what has me all excited. As a music fiend, this listener is giddy about the soundtrack.

Animations have come a long way since the scored Disney animations of Lion King's past. Nowadays, animators are pulling out the heavy-hitters for not only the multi-million dollar mega stars chosen to do voiceover work, to the geniuses handpicked to render works of auditory art on the soundtracks. This go-round, the Despicable Me tracklisting features ten songs, all some variation of Hip-Hop, disco, soul and everything in-between. Not to mention that four of the tracks, "Despicable Me," Fun, Fun, Fun," "Prettiest Girls," and "Rocket's Theme" were all written and produced by one of the hottest, most diverse artists in the business: Pharrell Williams.

Alongside Pharrell's tracks sits a groovy Robin Thicke tune called "My Life," "You Should Be Dancing," a Bee Gees classic, Destinee and Paris and much, much more. With great grooves for Gru and his friends to kick it too, Interscope has done a fantastic job of  placing unlikely genres where an audience least expects it.