It’s an if-it-ain’t-broke-then-don’t-fix-it approach that works just fine if you’re simply looking to take another ride on the rollercoaster.

Yes, Despicable Me 3 is unwieldy, but it mostly works, as co-directors Pierre Coffin (who also voices the Minions) and Kyle Balda never lose sight of the film’s emotional center, packing the rest with as much humor as they can manage.

Thanks to the charming nature of the characters and their genuine good heartedness, Despicable Me 3 manages to be an entertaining enough film to feel like a decent continuation of the previous two chapters.

The third Despicable Me film chronologically is also the third-best in terms of quality. But it has just enough energy and flashes of inspiration to suggest it’s a franchise that could run and run.

Despicable Me 3 will certainly keep the younger elements of its audience happy, with its dose of aspartame-rush hyperactivity. But for everyone else it may prove decent rather than captivating.