Despicable Me 4

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Despicable Me 4
Despicable Me 4 Theatrical Release Poster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Chris Renaud
Written by
Produced by
Starring
Edited byTiffany Hillkurtz
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures [1]
Release dates
Running time
95 minutes [2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100 million [3]
Box office$467.2 million [4] [5]

Despicable Me 4 is a 2024 American animated comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to Despicable Me 3 (2017), the fourth main installment, and the sixth overall installment in the Despicable Me franchise. The film was directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Patrick Delage (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Chris Meledandri and Brett Hoffman, and written by Mike White and Ken Daurio. It stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Sofía Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Renaud, Madison Polan, Dana Gaier, Chloe Fineman, and Will Ferrell. The film sees reformed supervillain and secret agent Gru (Carell) relocate his family to a safe house when his old rival Maxime Le Mal (Ferrell) seeks revenge. Subplots deal with Gru's family adjusting to their new lives, teenage neighbor Poppy Prescott (King) trying to follow in Gru's villainous footsteps, and a group of Gru's Minions (Coffin) becoming superheroes.

Contents

Development on a fourth main Despicable Me film began in September 2017. It was officially confirmed in February 2022, with Renaud, Delage, and White attached as director, co-director, and writer, respectively. Production was underway by June 2022. Most of the main voice cast was announced in January 2024, with Hoffman and Daurio revealed as co-producer and co-writer, respectively. Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams returned from previous installments to compose the score and write original songs and themes, respectively.

Despicable Me 4 premiered at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on June 9, 2024, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 3. The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $467.2 million worldwide, making it the sixth highest-grossing film of 2024.

Plot

Anti-Villain League (AVL) agent Gru attends a reunion at his school Lycée Pas Bon where he reunites with his rival Maxime Le Mal, who has a feud with Gru for stealing his talent show act when they were younger. Maxime reveals he has enhanced himself with cockroach parts to make himself overpowered and so he can conquer the world, but Gru has him arrested with the help of the AVL. Maxime escapes prison with the help of his girlfriend Valentina and reveals his invention that turns people into human-roach hybrids, which he plans to use specifically on Gru's biological infant son Gru Jr.

Silas Ramsbottom visits the Gru household to inform them of Maxime's escape, and that the AVL will have to relocate the Gru family to a house in another town named Mayflower under new identities until Maxime is captured. Most of the Minions are taken in by the AVL, where Silas selects five of them—Dave, Mel, Gus, Tim and Jerry—to be augmented with powers under an initiative called the Megaminions, but the initiative is called off after the group causes collateral damage in a city.

In their new well-off residential town, Gru and his family meet their neighbors the Prescotts and their teenage daughter Poppy. Poppy, an aspiring villainess, recognizes Gru from his former career as a villain and threatens to blow his cover unless he helps her pull a heist to steal Lycée Pas Bon's mascot, a honey badger named Lenny, so she can be enrolled there. The pair, with the help of three Minions and Gru Jr., successfully steal Lenny from the school. The school's elderly principal Übelschlecht identifies Gru via security cam footage and contacts Maxime to inform him about Gru's whereabouts using a tracker in Lenny's collar.

The next day, while Gru and Lucy are away at tennis practice with the Prescotts, Principal Übelschlecht visits the house to interrogate the girls about Gru's whereabouts. Gru and Lucy rush back home after being called by Margo and they fight Übelschlecht. Lucy also contacts the AVL who in turn calls the Megaminions out of retirement to stop Maxime. In the chaos, however, Gru Jr. leaves the house and is spotted by Maxime and Valentina who proceed to kidnap him.

With the help of Poppy, Gru meets up with Maxime at a building where he reveals he has transformed Gru Jr. into a roach hybrid and fights him off with Gru Jr. Gru's encouraging words to his son manage to break Gru Jr. free from his state and attack Maxime instead. Maxime falls to the ground where he is further squashed by the Megaminions and the aid of other animals and insects, who arrive in turn to arrest him and Valentina.

Gru and his family return to their home, where Dr. Nefario reverses Gru Jr.'s transformation. Gru later visits Maxime in prison to talk and settle their differences. The pair then performs "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" for the prisoners, including all of Gru's past adversaries, while Poppy is shown to have enrolled in Lycée Pas Bon.

Voice cast

Additionally, John DiMaggio, who had previously voiced one of the former henchmen of Wild Knuckles in Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) and a Scoutmaster in the Minion Scouts animated short, voices Karl, a bus driver who works for the AVL transporting the remaining Minions to their new destination. Laraine Newman voices Melora, a salon customer who was accidentally burned by Lucy, and Romesh Ranganathan voices Dr. Nefario, Gru's gadgeteer who provides inventions for him and his Minions. Ranganathan replaces Nefario's long-time actor, Russell Brand.

Non-speaking cameos at the end of the film include Gru's neighbor, Fred McDade, his mother Marlena, and his twin brother Dru, as well as several villains from previous installments: Vector, his father Mr. Perkins, El Macho, Balthazar Bratt, Scarlet and Herb Overkill, and the remaining members of the Vicious 6; Belle Bottom, Jean-Clawed, Svengeance, Stronghold, and Nun-Chuck.

Production

Development

Development of Despicable Me 4 began in September 2017, with longtime Despicable Me and Illumination writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio writing early drafts of the script. [7] The film was officially confirmed in February 2022, with veteran Despicable Me director Chris Renaud, Patrick Delage, and Mike White attached as director, co-director, and writer, respectively, and a July 3, 2024, release date announced. [8] [9] Production was underway by June 2022, with Steve Carell starting his voice recording after a "couple of sessions". [10] Most of the production was done during the COVID-19 pandemic. [11]

In January 2024, it was announced that Carell, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Pierre Coffin, and Steve Coogan would return to reprise their respective roles as Gru, Lucy Wilde, Margo, Edith, the Minions, and Silas Ramsbottom, while Will Ferrell, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman, and Madison Polan (replacing Nev Scharrel) would join the voice cast, respectively voicing Maxime Le Mal, Poppy Prescott, Valentina, Perry Prescott, Patsy Prescott, and Agnes. [12] [13] That same month, it was announced that The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) executive producer Brett Hoffman and Daurio had been added as co-producer and co-writer, respectively. [14]

Animation

According to film director Chris Renaud, some of the characters who appeared in previous films had their character rigs and surfaces updated for this sequel. Fred McDade, who had not appeared since the first film was recreated from scratch as his character model was too old. The sequence where Poppy plays with an arcade machine originally started out as an animation test for the character, but the filmmakers liked the sequence so much that it was added to the final cut of the film. [11]

Music

In March 2024, Heitor Pereira was announced to be composing the film's score, returning from the previous installments. [15] Pharrell Williams was also confirmed to be returning to co-compose the score with Pereira as well as to write new songs. [16] The original soundtrack was released on June 27, 2024, by Back Lot Music. [17]

Marketing

The first trailer for the film was released on January 28, 2024, during the 2023–24 NFL playoff championship games. [18] The trailer features the songs "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses and "Maneater" by Hall & Oates, as well as in television showings, "Through the Fire and Flames" by DragonForce. CBR reported that the trailer showcased "the struggles of welcoming in a new member of the Gru family" and included the debut of Will Ferrell's Maxime Le Mal. [12] Screen Rant 's Brennan Klein observed that Gru's tumultuous relationship with his son, Gru Jr., contrasted with the good relationship with his adopted daughters. [19] An additional trailer was revealed on February 11 during Super Bowl LVIII, being narrated by Jon Hamm, who previously voiced Herb Overkill in the 2015 spin-off film Minions , and featuring cameos by Ferrell and Steve Carell. Ryan Gajewski of The Hollywood Reporter said the trailer appeared to "tout the benefits of modern technology but feature strange images supposedly generated by AI," enjoying the Renaissance-era-inspired poses of Ferrell and Carell in the trailer. [20] On April 10, at CinemaCon, Universal displayed a clip of Gru and Poppy trying to steal a honey badger. [21] Brennan Kline of Screen Rant appreciated that the clip solidified the "important element" of Gru's domestic family man status in the sequel. [22]

The second trailer was released on May 7, 2024. [23] Writing for TheWrap , Drew Taylor called the trailer "Minions-heavy" and pointed out one of Pharrell Williams' new original songs featured in the trailer. [24] Collider noted the "devastating consequences" of enlisting a small group of Minion volunteers for an experiment that gave them superpowers. Journalist Diego Peralta pointed out a sequence in which one of the super-powered minions destroys a part of their base with laser vision and said that villains Maxime and Valentina "are more dangerous than any threat Gru has faced before." [25]

On June 8, 2024, Illumination released a parody teaser for the film in which Steve Carell announces the Megaverse, a parody of shared universes such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Extended Universe, by claiming that Illumination would release 100 years' worth of films, television series, and stage productions starring the Mega Minions. [26] Illumination also published a website for the Megaverse. [27] Some of the fake productions noted on the website include Mega Minions: The Tax Write-Off and an untitled Mega Minions spin-off series with a "story to be determined based on rigorous market testing and ad hoc decision-making." [27] [ non-primary source needed ] The stunt was praised[ by whom? ] for its lampooning of current Hollywood affairs such as the cancellation of Warner Bros. films like Batgirl, Scoob! Holiday Haunt and Coyote vs. Acme and the 2022 DCEU film Black Adam , as well as the mixed reception to Disney's live-action remakes of their classic animated films and many of Marvel's recent productions, such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Secret Invasion . [26] [ failed verification ]

Release

Theatrical

Despicable Me 4 premiered at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on June 9, 2024, [28] and made its French premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 13. [29] The film was theatrically released in Australia on June 20, [30] and in the United States on July 3. [8]

Home media

As part of Universal's long-term deal with Netflix, the film will stream on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix for the next ten and returning to Peacock for the remaining four. [31] [32]

Reception

Box office

As of July 19,2024, Despicable Me 4 has grossed $242.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $224.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $467.2 million. [4] [5]

In the United States and Canada, Despicable Me 4 was projected to gross $100–125 million from 4,030 theaters in its five-day opening weekend. [33] [34] The film made $27 million on its first day and $20.4 million on its second. [35] [36] It went on to debut to $75 million over the traditional three-day weekend, along with a total five-day gross of $122.6 million, topping the box office. [37] The film made $43.6 million the following weekend, remaining in first place. [38]

Internationally the film opened in different countries with different dates, with Australia being the earliest country to release it. The film opened big in multiple countries, and in some it settled franchise records, though in many countries that it opened prior to its US release date, the film opened second behind Inside Out 2 , slowing its international climb. [39]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 55% of 150 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10.The website's consensus reads: "Fast paced and teeming with slapstick gags, Despicable Me 4 is as overstuffed as a piñata but full of enough candy to give audiences an enjoyable sugar rush." [40] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 52 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [41] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale (same as the first two films), while those surveyed by PostTrak gave the film an 82% positive score, with 63% saying they would definitely recommend it. [36]

Variety admitted the film is entertaining but found the plot overcrowded with useless characters: "One thing is absolutely certain: We haven't seen the last of these characters, even if we might prefer that a few of them sit out the next sequel—like the Mega Minions, who aren't nearly as cute as they sound." [42] A similar appraisal can be found in Screen Rant [43] or in The Hollywood Reporter , noting, for example, the underdeveloped role of the villain in the midst of the various plot lines: "Running a brisk 95 minutes, Despicable Me 4 doesn't leave enough time for Maxime to enact his plans in a way that packs an emotional punch." [44] ABC News commented: "Should a review of a 'Despicable Me' movie be a thoughtful analysis or just a list of the funny stuff the Minions do in it? As much as I might believe in the value of film criticism, I kind of suspect that even the finest points of assessment would be dismantled about as fast as a Minion can say 'Bello!'" [45]

Possible sequel

Renaud mentioned that Despicable Me 5 is "possible" if a fresh story can be crafted for the franchise's future. [46]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Carell</span> American actor and comedian (born 1962)

Steven John Carell is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Michael Scott in the NBC 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Renaud</span> American filmmaker (born 1966)

Chris Renaud is an American filmmaker, designer, storyboard artist, and voice actor. Best known for his work at Illumination, he has directed the company's animated films such as the first, second, and fourth films in the Despicable Me franchise (2010–present), the first two of which he co-directed with Pierre Coffin, The Lorax (2012), The Secret Life of Pets (2016) and its sequel The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019). He also voiced the Minions in the first two films in the Despicable Me franchise and Norman in The Secret Life of Pets franchise, the former which he co-created with Coffin. He has received nominations for two Academy Awards for the Ice Age short film No Time for Nuts (2006) and Despicable Me 2 (2013).

<i>Despicable Me</i> (film) 2010 Illumination film

Despicable Me is a 2010 American animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The first feature film from Illumination, 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, and a story by Sergio Pablos. Despicable Me stars the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Meledandri</span> American film producer

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. Meledandri also collaborates with Illumination's corporate sibling DreamWorks Animation on reviving the Shrek franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Coffin</span> French animator and voice actor

Pierre-Louis Padang Coffin is a French animator, director, producer, writer, and voice actor. He is 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. He also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Despicable Me 2.

<i>Despicable Me 2</i> 2013 Illumination film

Despicable Me 2 is a 2013 American animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to Despicable Me (2010) and the second installment in the Despicable Me franchise. The film 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.

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<i>Minions</i> (film) 2015 Illumination film

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.

<i>Despicable Me 3</i> 2017 Illumination film

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), the third main installment, and the fourth overall installment in the Despicable Me franchise. The film 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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gru</span> Fictional character

Felonious Gru Sr., alternatively spelled as Felonius Gru and typically referred to simply as Gru, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Despicable Me franchise. Voiced by American actor Steve Carell, he has appeared in all six 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.

<i>Minions: The Rise of Gru</i> 2022 Illumination film

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, Will Arnett, Steve Coogan, and Julie Andrews reprising their respective roles as Dr. Nefario, Mr. Perkins, Silas Ramsbottom, and Gru's mother Marlena. New cast members include Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, and Alan Arkin. 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.

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 14, 2020. It was eventually discontinued by December 31, 2022. A theme based on the next film in the Despicable Me franchise, Despicable Me 4, later launched in May 2024.

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