14:32 Huh. So I didn't consider it until watching this video, but Roxanne's date with Megamind probably takes place like an hour or so after Titan just took her on a terrifying joyride and left her at the top of that tower. This woman thought she was going to die, went through a horribly traumatic experience, tried to relax with her boyfriend only to discover HE WAS A VILLAIN TOO and just to cap it all off she sees all the trash coming back from the rain. She's having one absolutely SHIT evening.

Also not a lot of people talk about how Roxanne was genuinely terrified of Hal / Titan , in her eyes Metroman was a hero and Megamind was a villain even if he wasn't that scary, she went through the "damsel in distress" scenario with them multiple times and she knew that Megamind would not hurt her, but with Titan it's different, Roxanne thinks she could die at any given moment, like when he lets her go mid flying, she wouldn't be as terrified if Megamind did that because she knows that Metroman or even Megamind himself would rescue her, but she didn't know that for a fact when it comes to Titan, he then puts her on top of a tower and you can see a real fear in her eyes (even if its just an animation) , and again she wouldn't be as scared if Megamind did that because she knows that no matter what she is safe with him.

When she first meets the Hal-Megamind and they discuss what makes a hero, those traits are all things she displays throughout the film.

Hal is canonically the "incel" stereotype. He doesn’t appreciate Roxanne for who she is, he doesn’t listen to her, and he doesn’t care about what she wants. That's not love at all, that’s lust at best. He almost killed her so he could be a "hero", he leaves her at the top of a super tall building, and actually attempts to kill her at the end before he's stopped. Through his eyes, he doesn't care about anything but getting what he wants, and he treats people accordingly. Even Megamind as a VILLAIN is better than him, Hal is despicable.

On Roxanne agreeing that Hal's a "Good guy" 100% was her talking down a dangerous person. You don't want to antagonize someone who poses a physical threat. Hal abducted her from her apartment and could cause her serious bodily harm.

14:58 I think in addition to her doubting her decision due to the hapy times they've shared, Roxanne is also taken aback by his quiet acceptance of her rejection. Especially after Hal's terrible example, she just saw a broken man, respecting her decision, going "oh, of course you wouldn't want me" and that gave her pause, because it was a glimpse into his real psyche and his goodness.

I never saw Roxanne as just some damsel in distress, she was literally the key person to changing megamind and had a mind of her own. I didn’t know people would just dismiss her like that, so weird. I for sure saw the movie as a romantic comedy. There is literally romance lol

14:58 I see this doubt as also a “when did this happen?”. For all she knew, Bernard was kidnapped on the way to their date and was replaced by Megamind. She was likely running through her memories of him to see when his behavior shifted- Bernard went from disinterested monotonous grump to someone she genuinely connected with.

I cannot imagine getting kidnapped, seeing the skeleton of someone I love flying at me, getting catfished by my kidnapper, finding out, realizing her friend faked his death, getting her boundaries crossed multiple times by two different men at the same time, trying to save the city, and Mega Mind is talking about how he never gets the girl. Like...my guy this is not the time?

I don’t know if I would really label her as a damsel in distress. Like yes she gets kidnapped a lot for the plot but she’s never actively in danger or felt threatened until later. Shes almost like a third wheel on a date she didn’t ask to join, or the tired roomie. She offers more to the story than “come save me!” And helps progress it forward in ways that couldn’t without her. Idk it really boils down her depth when she’s “damsel in distress.”

But otherwise yesss. Everything about this is so done so well

I love Roxanne. She’s one of the few perfect female characters (seemingly so) that I like. She is smart, intelligent, funny, brave, compassionate and kind, a bit of a wild card, but in a corny way. Her heroism to show up and do what she thought was right thing definitely inspired Metroman and Megamind . She was a great role model for me since I was a teen.

I would like to point out something that I think you missed: Megamind originally intended to give Metroman’s power to ROXANNE, specifically BECAUSE she has the conviction to do the right thing, the smarts to pull it off, and the courage to stand up to the bad guys (even when her safety is very much not guaranteed). Hal getting them was absolutely not the plan. (Also, I think he liked and admired her long before they started to connect.)

In thw tower scene I'm not entirely sure she actually believes Hal is a good guy. I always got the impression she was saying what she needed to to try and not die or be hurt

14:56 as a woman, i can say that she did not regret rejecting a killer (that’s what he was at that point). she did, however, feel sadden that the romantic feelings she felt for him were real, and regrets that he isn’t a good person (that’s his image, what he is known for). 16:14 at this point, Roxanne had already forgive Megamind cause he wasn’t a killer, but i’m pretty sure that she still felt betrayed by his lies so she didn’t stop him. But in that scenario, we can tell that she regretted rejecting him.

Listen, if this is a romantic comedy, and I think we all know it is, then she's not a side character. She's the leading lady, that's why it feels so different when you're watching it from her perspective. We're told at the beginning this is a heroes and villain story and then 1/4 of the way in it switches genres and it becomes apparent that this isn't a heroes and villains story this is a romantic comedy with a heroes and villains backdrop. That's why she's so well written and thoroughly flushed out, romanic comedies usually center heavily on the female mc. Megamind is basically Aladdin, one of the rare romance MMCs who is also the title character. It's hard to make people care about a romance when one of the characters has significantly less depth than the other. So, when a movie cares about portraying the romance, like when it's the main focus of the story, it's important that both characters are a lot further developed than your average side character. She was never a side character, she was the female romantic lead of a romantic comedy in disguise as a side character in a heroes and villains story.

14:38  I disagree with what is being said here. Yes, she looks conflicted, but I did not interpret it as her regretting her decision and thinking "Maybe he is a good guy after all, I'm sad to lose him" and instead as "Wow, the great guy I thought I was getting to know, turned out to be THE villain. Now I feel like I lost someone, but the person I'm missing never actually existed and now I feel even more alone." At least that is what I would be feeling: Betrayed instead of regretful. The regret would maybe come later

An important layer to add about her frequent kidnappings. She's a TV reporter. So while the sudden MIA from most jobs would get her fired, at her current role it's probably job security, with her boss maybe even pushing for her to keep things up. Heck, I even figured MetroMan and her had a little conversation to keep up the ruse because it allowed him to date freely, and her to argue for a higher pay, bc who wouldn't want their channel to be the one that has the signature damsel that at any moment could suddenly be part of mega minds next evil plot. BUT while this could be financially lucrative for Roxanne it could also be mentally draining bc 1) she can't date anyone else (though she might be using that as a shield against creeps like Hal) 2) She knows her success isn't based on being a good reporter, but on her role as a damsel. 3) She can't really say no. Regardless of what she wants, she's always going to be the target of megamind. So forget switching careers bc anywhere else would fire her for all the sudden "time off", and forget telling megamind you really need this day off for your mental health, bc at any moment you could be taken. Imagine the stress of never being able to plan things, no real days off, no vacations, no real control beyond what you can get from your company who wants to keep you as their star. And that's all not even counting the stress of having your life constantly threatened. Sure she's comfortable with it by the end, but those first few times would have definitely been PTSD creating stressful.

Showing the rejections of Hal/Tighten and Megamind back-to-back really highlights the difference in the two men's moral character.

Both characters are unhappy with the rejection, but only Megamind actually accepts it. While Tighten lashes out, both verbally and physically, Megamind leaves her alone the moment she indicates that she does not want him.

I think this is a great way to show that, even though both Hal and Megamind are both pretty immature guys, there is still a vast difference in their underlying emotional maturity; which is what allows Megamind to change for the better, whereas Hal cannot.

I like Roxanne

im honestly surprised people labled her as a side character. Besides Minion, She's more or less the movie's deuteragonist.

Yo imma be real, and this is in no way a diss to you, but when I'm a woman and ive always seen this movie in this perspective, its kind of crazy cause i never thought that men just didn't regard her as an important character- It's a lil apparent how men just dismiss women's presence on screen without noticing. Point is to me this wasn't revolutionary to watch as you're just describing to plot to me as I've always known it to be. But it was interesting that apparently this wasn't for many male viewers. Interesting.