I was so impressed with Lady Eboshi! It's so unusual for characters to be allowed to be that ambiguous - and never to have that ambiguity settled one way or the other. She's probably my favorite character in that movie.
I think if they had done the plot differently, the romance plotline would have worked: after all, a family of choice can add new members, and I can see why the girls might want an adult more emotionally accessible (and emotionally mature) than Gru in their lives.
It could actually have been touching to see Gru realize that he can't be everything to his girls - I think that would have been painful for him - and trying to find adults that can help them in the areas where he's lacking, teachers or mentor figures or what have you.
But I don't think the filmmakers really thought it through. Their thought process seems to have been "The girls need someone thoughtful and nurturing! Sounds like a mother!" and then apparently assumed that Gru's love interest Lucy, being a girl-person, could naturally fulfill this vision of motherhood, despite the fact that it seems rather at odds with her character and we never see her interact with the girls.
I think if they had done the plot differently, the romance plotline would have worked: after all, a family of choice can add new members, and I can see why the girls might want an adult more emotionally accessible (and emotionally mature) than Gru in their lives.
It could actually have been touching to see Gru realize that he can't be everything to his girls - I think that would have been painful for him - and trying to find adults that can help them in the areas where he's lacking, teachers or mentor figures or what have you.
But I don't think the filmmakers really thought it through. Their thought process seems to have been "The girls need someone thoughtful and nurturing! Sounds like a mother!" and then apparently assumed that Gru's love interest Lucy, being a girl-person, could naturally fulfill this vision of motherhood, despite the fact that it seems rather at odds with her character and we never see her interact with the girls.
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