Despicable Me 2 | |
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Directed by | |
Written by | Cinco Paul Ken Daurio |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Edited by | Gregory Perler |
Music by |
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Production company | |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 98 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $76 million [2] |
Box office | $971 million [3] |
Despicable Me 2 is a 2013 American animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to Despicable Me (2010), it was directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and written by the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. It stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, and Ken Jeong. The film follows retired supervillain Gru as he is recruited by secret agent Lucy Wilde to investigate the theft of a powerful mutagen by El Macho, a supervillain who seeks to achieve world domination.
Development of Despicable Me 2 began in 2010 following the success of the original film, with the directors, producers, and writers returning. Production was underway by February 2012, with the majority of the cast returning to voice the characters, along with new cast members, while animation services were provided by Illumination Mac Guff in France. Al Pacino was cast as the voice of El Macho, recording all of his dialogue, but left in May 2013 over creative differences; Bratt was brought in to replace Pacino, and used him as an inspiration after finding imitating his voice impossible. Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams returned for the sequel's music.
Despicable Me 2 debuted in Australia on June 5, 2013, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 3. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its humor and animation. It earned $971 million worldwide, becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 2013 and the most profitable film for Universal Pictures at the time. It was nominated for two awards at the 86th Academy Awards, and received numerous other accolades. A sequel, Despicable Me 3 , was released in 2017.
A mysterious aircraft steals a highly potent mutagen known as PX-41 from a secret laboratory in the Arctic Circle. Silas Ramsbottom, director of the Anti-Villain League (AVL for short), sends agent Lucy Wilde to recruit former supervillain Gru, who is forcibly brought to their headquarters and asked to help them track down the culprit and recover the mutagen. However, Gru refuses, claiming that he is now a legitimate father and owner of a jelly-producing business. Later, Doctor Nefario, Gru's friend and assistant, quits to accept a more villainous job offer; this causes a reluctant Gru to decide to work with the AVL after all. He and Lucy are then stationed at a shopping mall, with a cupcake store as their front.
Gru immediately suspects that Mexican restaurant owner Eduardo Pérez might be "El Macho", a supervillain who supposedly died by riding a shark into an active volcano with two hundred fifty pounds of dynamite strapped to his chest. They later break into Eduardo's restaurant during the night, but find no evidence. Meanwhile, Gru's three adopted daughters, Margo, Edith and Agnes, who dream of having a mother one day, believe that Gru will fall in love with Lucy. Gru denies it, saying his relationship with Lucy is only professional.
Despite holding Eduardo as his prime suspect, Gru agrees to pursue other leads, including the shop of wig merchant Floyd Eaglesan, where Lucy discovers traces of the mutagen. After witnessing Eduardo's son, Antonio, woo Margo, Gru renews his focus on him, who in turn invites the family to his Cinco de Mayo party. Lucy helps Gru escape a blind date gone wrong and the duo begin to form a bond. The AVL arrests Floyd after finding an nearly-empty jar of the mutagen in his shop. Ramsbottom then closes the investigation and reassigns Lucy to Australia, leaving Gru heartbroken.
At Eduardo's Cinco de Mayo party, Gru follows him and discovers that he is indeed El Macho. Having faked his death and with Doctor Nefario now at his side, El Macho has kidnapped most of Gru's Minions and mutated them into indestructible and savage beasts through his usage of the stolen mutagen, intent on using them to conquer the world. He offers Gru the chance to team up with him, but the terrified Gru leaves with the girls. Suspicious, El Macho sends one of the mutated Minions, Kevin, after them.
Lucy, having decided to disobey orders and return home to Gru, arrives at the party right after Gru leaves. Realizing that Gru and Lucy are working for the AVL, El Macho kidnaps her, which is witnessed by Nefario as he then informs Gru of the situation. Gru infiltrates El Macho's fortress with a pair of disguised Minions, but the mutated Minions see through his ruse and attack them. Meanwhile, Kevin breaks into Gru's house and attacks Margo and Agnes. They lure him to Gru's lab, where Nefario arrives with an antidote to reverse Kevin's mutation. Lacing Gru's jelly with the antidote, Nefario, the girls and the surviving Minions hurry to Gru's aid and, together, they cure the mutated Minions. El Macho then threatens to murder Lucy by sending her into the volcano where he previously faked his death and uses the mutagen himself to battle Gru, but is defeated by him and Nefario.
Gru attempts to free Lucy from the rocket she is tied to, but El Macho's pet chicken, Pollito, activates it. Lucy accepts Gru's invitation for a date and they jump into the ocean before the rocket enters the volcano. Following a total of one hundred forty-seven dates, Gru and Lucy get married, with the latter becoming the girls' mother.
Additionally, Elsie Fisher voices Agnes, the youngest of the three girls, [4] [13] Dana Gaier voices Edith, the middle of the three girls, [4] [13] Moisés Arias voices Antonio Pérez, El Macho's son and Margo's love interest, [14] [15] Nasim Pedrad voices Jillian, Gru's irritating matchmaking neighbor who wants Gru to date her friends, [16] [17] Kristen Schaal voices Shannon, Jillian's superficial friend, [17] and Pierre Coffin voices the Minions. [17] According to Coffin, he lent his voice to eight hundred ninety-nine of them. [18]
Other cast members include Chris Renaud as additional Minions [17] and an Italian waiter, [17] Vanessa Bayer as a flight attendant, [17] and Nickolai Stoilov as the Arctic lab guards. [17]
Development of Despicable Me 2 began following the unexpected financial success of Despicable Me (2010). [19] In June 2011, Universal announced that the sequel would be released on July 3, 2013. [20] Chris Meledandri, CEO of Illumination Entertainment, confirmed in February 2012 that they had started working on the film. [21]
In October 2011, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Javier Bardem was negotiating to voice a villain, named El Macho, [22] but the negotiations failed. [23] By February 2012, Al Pacino had joined the cast to voice the villain. [24] In April 2012, producers confirmed that Steve Carell, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher were returning to reprise their roles. Kristen Wiig, who voiced Miss Hattie in the first film, voices Lucy Wilde, an agent of the Anti-Villain League who recruits Gru to track and take down a tough, Mexican villain named El Macho. Steve Coogan joined the cast as Silas Ramsbottom, the head of the Anti-Villain League. [4]
In May 2013, producers announced that Al Pacino had left the film over creative differences about how his character should come to life. [10] [25] At the time of his departure, Pacino's character had already been fully voiced and animated. [26] Chris Renaud, co-director of the film, commented on Pacino's departure: "So we don't want an unhappy actor, and we want something that is well realized on all sides. If you don't see eye to eye, sometimes it's easier to (part company) and move on from there." [25] Benjamin Bratt, who had already been considered before Pacino, [25] stepped in to voice Eduardo. [8] Chris Meledandri, producer of the film, admitted that he was not "aware of any of the major animated films of the last 15 years that has brought an actor in at such a late stage". [26] Due to the finished animation, Bratt had to match his timing exactly to the character's mouth movement. [27] Initially, during his five-day recording, [26] he tried to imitate Pacino's voice, but found it impossible, saying "no one can out-Al Pacino Al Pacino". He ended up only using Pacino as an inspiration, and resolved to go with his own interpretation of the character. [28] His work was commended by Variety , saying: "You'd never guess he wasn't the filmmakers' first choice." [15]
The animation was developed in Paris, France by Illumination Mac Guff using Autodesk Maya, over 400 to 650 artists worked on the sequel, in contrast of the team of 100 artists the first film required.
One of the biggest challenges for the animation team was creating visual effects (such as water and jelly), which led to the crashing and replacement of some of the studio's drives. [29]
Following the success of the predecessor's music, the composers, Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams collaborated again for the music of Despicable Me 2. [30] [17] The soundtrack to the film, titled Despicable Me 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on July 2, 2013, through Back Lot Music. [31] The album featured eight songs and 16 score tracks, combining for 24 tracks in the album. [32] The songs consisted of three original and five incorporated tracks, and two of the songs were already featured in its predecessor. [17]
Williams' original song "Happy" was the only single from the album, released five months after the film's release, on November 21, 2013. It was accompanied by a 24-hour music video upon release, a first for any film, [33] which received a viral response, contributing to the song's global success. [34] It topped the charts in over 19 countries, became the best-selling song in United Kingdom and United States, with over 1.5 and 6.45 million copies sold in 2014, [35] [36] and was nominated for Best Original Song at the 86th Academy Awards. [37]
The soundtrack additionally debuted at US Billboard 200 in number 86, [38] while also featured at the Independent Albums (number 19) and Top Soundtracks (top-three) charts. [38] It also listed in Official Charts Company's Compilation Chart (number 48) and Soundtracks Chart (number 8). [39] A single "Just a Cloud Away" released on March 25, 2022, eight years after the film and soundtrack release. [40]
In March 2013, a blimp dressed to appear as a Minion, named "Despicablimp", in which Universal and Van Wagner Communications owns an American Blimp Corporation A-150 model, traveled through the United States for a 20,000-mile-long (32,000 km) tour to promote the film's release. As one of the largest airships in the world, it measured 165 feet (50 m) in length, 55 feet (17 m) in height, [41] and weighed 8,000 pounds (3.6 t). [42] Universal Pictures partnered the film with licensing and promotional partners valued at an unprecedented $200–$250 million in the next three years. [43] One of the partners was McDonald's, which included in its Happy Meals various Minion toys, some of them unique to a specific country. To take advantage of banana-loving Minions, Chiquita ran various sweepstakes, [44] and a Minion, voiced by Pierre Coffin, performed the song "Chiquita Banana" in the film. [17] Thinkway Toys released various toys and figures, [45] and Hasbro made special games. [44] The campaign featured 600 toy brands. [46] As a promotional tie-in, Despicable Me: Minion Rush was released. [47]
Despicable Me 2 debuted on June 5, 2013, at Event Cinemas in Bondi Junction, Sydney, Australia, [48] followed by a premiere on June 12, at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. [49] In the United States, the film's premiere took place on June 22, at the Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, [50] [51] and was released in theaters on July 3. [20] It was digitally re-mastered into IMAX 3D format and released in select international IMAX theatres. [52]
As with the first film, which did not have a theatrical release in China, the film's distributor Universal Pictures had troubles releasing the sequel. [53] When it was reported in July 2013 that the film had been denied a theatrical release in China, then the second-largest film market in the world, some analysts attributed this to the protection of locally produced animation. [54] [55] There were also rumors that the film's release was banned in China because the film's minions too much resembled former Chinese president Jiang Zemin. [56] China's Film Bureau was "furious" about the negative comments, stating that the film was not submitted for censorship approval. [57] In fact, there was reportedly a "commercial conflict" between Universal and Edko Films, the film's local distributor, over which titles are to be imported. [58] Edko had decided that the film "would not do well in China and decided against using one of the precious quota slots for the film." [57] In December 2013, a few weeks after the Universal Pictures' announcement that it would open a Beijing office, it was reported that Despicable Me 2 would be theatrically released in China on January 10, 2014. [56]
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released Despicable Me 2 for digital download on November 26, 2013, and on Blu-ray and DVD on December 10. Physical copies contain an audio commentary; behind-the-scenes featurettes; characterizations of Gru and the evil Minions; deleted scenes; an overview of Gru's equipment; short films Puppy, Panic in the Mailroom, and Training Wheels; and a visit in Illumination Studios Paris. [59] A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version was released in 2017. [60]
Despicable Me 2 earned $368 million in the United States and Canada and $602.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $970.8 million. [3] It was the third-highest-grossing film of 2013. [61] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $394.5 million, placing it third on their list of 2013's "Most Valuable Blockbusters". [62] With a budget of $76 million, [2] the film is the most profitable film in the 101-year history of Universal. [63]
In the United States and Canada, Despicable Me 2 was released with The Lone Ranger on July 3, 2013, [64] leading into the Independence Day holiday weekend. [65] [66] It earned $35 million on its first day, including $4.7 million from Tuesday night previews. [67] The film made $24.5 million the following Thursday, the third-highest-ever total for the holiday behind Spider-Man: Far From Home ($25.1 million in 2019) and Transformers ($29 million in 2007). [68] Despicable Me 2 debuted earning $142.1 million across 3,957 theaters, and grossed $82.5 million on its three-day opening weekend. [67] Its second-weekend earnings dropped by 56 percent to $43 million, [69] and followed by another $25 million the third weekend. [70] Despicable Me 2 completed its theatrical run in the United States and Canada on January 16, 2014. [71]
Worldwide, on its first weekend, Despicable Me 2 opened only in Australia with $6.66 million, [72] ahead of Monsters University (2013) which opened on the same weekend. [73] The film set an opening-day record in Latvia. [74] In total, it opened at number one in 67 territories, [75] and set opening-weekend records among animated films in Latin America, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, [76] and Lebanon, [77] as well as opening-weekend records among all films in South Africa and Venezuela. [76] In Japan, it topped the box office ($3.3 million) beating Elsyium (2013). [78] [79] The film remained in the first position at the box office for two consecutive weekends during July 2013. [80] [81] The film's largest openings occurred in the United Kingdom ($22.5 million), China ($15.4 million), and Mexico ($14.9 million). In total earnings, its largest markets were the United Kingdom ($72.2 million), China ($53.0 million), and Mexico ($47.7 million). [3]
The film has an approval rating of 75% based on 186 professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.7/10. Its critical consensus reads, "Despicable Me 2 offers plenty of eye-popping visual inventiveness and a number of big laughs." [82] Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [83] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. [67]
Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "Steve Carell's Slavic inflections as Gru do the trick, as before. Wiig's clever hesitations and comic timing help save the day." [84] Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review, saying "The new edition doesn't quite catch that inspired spark." [7] Stephen Whitty of The Star-Ledger gave the film three stars out of four, saying "Not only a fun cartoon but—that rare thing—a sequel which actually improves on the original." [85] Soren Anderson of The Seattle Times gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "It's fun. It's cheerful. It's lollipop colorful. Best of all, it features lots of minion mischief, which guarantees plenty of laughs. But what it doesn't have is an edge." [86]
Stephen Holden of The New York Times gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "It is consistently diverting and so cute you'll want to pet it. Yet it is also weightless and lacks a center." [87] Tirdad Derakhshani of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "If you're looking for quality prepackaged, predigested Hollywood family fun this summer, you could do a lot worse than Despicable Me 2." [88] Alonso Duralde of TheWrap gave the film a negative review, saying "The minions are still wacky scene-stealers—and once again, we don't get nearly enough of them—but Gru and his daughters have been blanded down to bad-sitcom level." [89] Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film two stars out of four, saying "With its predecessor having made a whopping $540 million globally, it's no wonder that Universal saw fit to order a sequel. But it's not enough just to trot out legions of minions and cobble together a plot. Audiences deserve more imagination and inventiveness than this wan recycling." [90] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a 'C' grade, saying "By the end, every child in the audience will want his or her own monster-minion toy. Adults will just regret the way that Despicable Me 2 betrays the original film's devotion to bad-guy gaiety." [91]
Tom Russo of The Boston Globe gave the film a positive review, saying "The scope of the 'toon espionage-adventure goings-on is surprisingly limited. But the filmmakers so clearly love working on these characters, their creative joy is infectious." [92] Stephanie Merry of The Washington Post gave the film three stars out of four, saying "The animation is beguiling, particularly when Lucy drives her car into the ocean, transforming it into a submarine that scoots around sharks and fish." [93] Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying "While not quite as charming or unique as the original, Despicable Me 2 comes awfully close, extending co-directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin's delightfully silly sensibility to a bit larger universe." [15] Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film three stars out of four, saying "It's a credit that the writing can be so funny in the moment, that it takes time to realize there's no cohesive story, zero dramatic tension and nary a practical lesson for either the characters in the film or the people watching in the theater." [94]
Mary Pols of Time gave the film a positive review, saying "As a sequel it stands level with the first film, and may have the edge on it." [95] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three stars out of four, saying "Co-directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, who do Minion voices expertly, never let up on the laughs. A fart joke in 3-D may not be three times as wacky, but the high spirits of Despicable Me 2 are irresistible fun." [96] A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club gave the film a 'C' grade, saying "What's missing—and this was the crucial component of part one—is a little sour to undercut the sweet. Like its protagonist, a bad guy gone boringly good, Despicable Me 2 has no edge. It's fatally nice and insufficiently naughty." [97]
At the 86th Academy Awards, Despicable Me 2 received nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. [98] Among the film's nominations include ten Annie Awards (winning one), [99] a British Academy Film Award, [100] two Critics' Choice Movie Awards, [101] and a Golden Globe Award. [102]
Following the box-office take of Despicable Me 2, it enabled any additional Despicable Me film to improve the franchise's success. [103] Minions (2015) is a prequel focusing on the Minions, [104] and Despicable Me 3 (2017) is a sequel centering on Gru and his twin brother Dru. [105] The pictures each earned more than $1 billion, respectively becoming one of the highest-grossing films of 2015 and 2017, [106] [107] but polarized critics. [108] After Minions sequel Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) being delayed twice from an original 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, [109] [110] Despicable Me 4 is scheduled for release in 2024. [111] The Rise of Gru enjoyed successes critically and commercially. [112]
Steven John Carell is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in the sitcom The Office, in which he also worked at several points as a producer, executive producer, writer, and director. Carell has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award for The Office. He was recognized as "America's Funniest Man" by Life.
Despicable Me is a 2010 American animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The first feature film from Illumination Entertainment, it was directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin and produced by Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy, and John Cohen, from a screenplay by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, which was in turn based on an original story "Evil Me" by Sergio Pablos. Despicable Me stars the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, and Julie Andrews. The film follows Gru, a longtime supervillain who adopts three orphan girls to use as pawns in a villainous scheme but reluctantly develops an emotional attachment to them.
Illumination, formerly known as Illumination Entertainment, is an American animation studio founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007 and is a division of Universal Pictures, a division of Comcast through its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal; Meledandri produces the films, while Universal finances and distributes them. The studio is best known for creating the Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets, and Sing franchises, as well as the adaptations of Dr. Seuss' books The Lorax and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!; and Nintendo video games, starting with The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The Minions, characters from the Despicable Me series, are the mascots of the studio.
Christopher Meledandri is an American film producer and founder and CEO of Illumination. He previously served as President of 20th Century Fox Animation, and has worked as the producer for the film series of Ice Age, Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets and Sing. In 2021, he joined Nintendo's board of directors after working with the video game company on The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Pierre-Louis Padang Coffin is a French film director, voice actor, and animator best known for co-directing four films in the Despicable Me franchise and being the primary voice of the Minions, which won him the Kids Family Award at the 10th Seiyu Awards.
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem is an animated simulator ride attraction located at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Japan, and Universal Studios Beijing, as well as upcoming to Universal Studios Singapore. The attraction is based on Universal Pictures and Illumination's animated film Despicable Me (2010) and its franchise. While it is an opening day attraction in Beijing, it replaced Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast in Florida, T2-3D: Battle Across Time in Hollywood, Back to the Future: The Ride in Japan and Madagascar: A Crate Adventure in Singapore.
Despicable Me is an American media franchise created by Sergio Pablos and Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. It centers on a former supervillain turned secret agent named Gru and his yellow-colored Minions. The franchise is produced by Illumination and distributed by its parent company Universal Pictures.
Minions is a 2015 American animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is a prequel to Despicable Me (2010) and the third installment overall in the film series of the same name. Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and written by Brian Lynch, Minions stars the voices of Coffin as the Minions, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Steve Coogan, Jennifer Saunders, and Geoffrey Rush as the narrator. In the film, the Minions search for their replaceable evil master after accidentally killing all of those in history.
Despicable Me 3 is a 2017 American animated comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to Despicable Me 2 (2013), and the third main and fourth overall installment in the Despicable Me franchise. It was directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by production and character designer Eric Guillon, and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, from a screenplay by the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. It stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Jenny Slate, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel, and Julie Andrews. In the film, Gru teams up with his long-lost twin brother Dru to stop Balthazar Bratt, a former child actor of the 1980s, from destroying Hollywood after his show was canceled years ago.
Minions are an all-male species of fictional yellow creatures that appear in Illumination's Despicable Me franchise. They are characterized by their childlike behavior and their language, which is largely unintelligible.
The Secret Life of Pets is a 2016 American animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Yarrow Cheney, and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, from a screenplay written by Brian Lynch and the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. The film stars the voices of Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Kevin Hart, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Coogan, and Albert Brooks.
Kyle Balda is an American animator and film director, best known for co-directing the Illumination films The Lorax (2012), with Chris Renaud; Minions (2015) and Despicable Me 3 (2017), with Pierre Coffin; and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), with Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val. He previously worked as an animator for Industrial Light & Magic before moving to Pixar where he worked on three of their films.
Felonious Gru, alternatively spelled as Felonius Gru and typically referred to simply as Gru, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Despicable Me film series. Voiced by American actor Steve Carell, he has appeared in all five films in the series. Gru is a grouchy, quick-witted and cynical former supervillain, who serves as a secret agent in order to fight other supervillains.
Minions: The Rise of Gru, also known as Minions 2, is a 2022 American animated comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to Minions (2015), a prequel to Despicable Me (2010), and the fifth entry overall in the Despicable Me franchise. The film was directed by Kyle Balda, co-directed by Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val, and produced by Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy and Chris Renaud, from a screenplay written by Matthew Fogel, and a story by Fogel and Brian Lynch. It features Steve Carell reprising his role as Gru and Pierre Coffin as the Minions, along with Russell Brand and Julie Andrews reprising their respective roles as Dr. Nefario and Gru's mother. New cast members include Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, and Alan Arkin. Additionally, Will Arnett and Steve Coogan reprise their roles as Mr. Perkins and Silas Ramsbottom. In the film, an eleven-year-old Gru plans to become a supervillain with the help of his Minions, which leads to a showdown with a malevolent team, the Vicious 6.
Despicable Me 4 is an upcoming American animated comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. It will serve as the sequel to Despicable Me 3 (2017), the fourth main installment, and the sixth installment overall in the Despicable Me franchise. The film is directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Patrick Delage, produced by Chris Meledandri and Brett Hoffman, and written by Mike White and Ken Daurio. It stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Miranda Cosgrove, Chloe Fineman, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Coogan.
Lego Minions: The Rise of Gru was a Lego theme based on the film of the same name. It is licensed from Universal Pictures and Illumination. The theme was first introduced in March 2020. It was eventually discontinued by the end of December 2022.
Gru is resolute in his belief that 'El Macho' has adopted the guise of Eduardo Pérez, the owner of Salsa & Salsa restaurant in the Paradise Mall.
One could speculate that (Chinese authorities) are saying, 'OK, enough American animated movies this summer,'" Cain said. "Animation is an important area for China domestically.
Universal Pictures' Despicable Me 2 has been denied a release in mainland China, with commentators seeing the decision as part of the country's attempts to dampen enthusiasm for imported animated features.