Gru

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Gru
Despicable Me character
Gru from DM4.png
Artwork of Gru from Despicable Me 4 (2024)
First appearance Despicable Me (2010)
Created by Sergio Pablos
Designed by
Voiced by Steve Carell
In-universe information
Full nameFelonious Gru Sr.
GenderMale
Occupation
Weapon
Family
  • Marlena Gru (mother)
  • Robert Gru (father)
  • Dru Gru (twin brother)
SpouseLucy Wilde (wife)
Children
  • Margo Gru (adopted daughter)
  • Edith Gru (adopted daughter)
  • Agnes Gru (adopted daughter)
  • Felonious Gru Jr. (biological son)

Felonious Gru, typically referred to as Gru, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Despicable Me franchise. He first appeared in Despicable Me (2010) and has appeared in all six films in the franchise. He is voiced by American actor Steve Carell. Based on a Dracula-like concept character pitched by animator Sergio Pablos, he was shaped by directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin into a character more like a James Bond villain.

Contents

Gru is a grouchy, quick-witted, and cynical supervillain and the boss of the Minions, who also serves as a secret agent in order to fight other supervillains. His adoption of three orphan girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes propels his story arc from malevolent supervillain to reformed parent.

Characteristics

Felonius Gru [1] is a supervillain whose ambitions include masterminding evil deeds, such as stealing the moon. He is bald, slim, has a beak nose and wears a black coat. Despite his wicked intentions, he is largely inept and often resorts to petty acts of villainy. [2] His suburban home is built above a secret lair, inhabited by his Minions. [3]

In Despicable Me , Gru is preoccupied with being the greatest villain of all time. His ambitions are influenced by his mother, who sometimes ridicules him. With the help of his genius inventor Dr. Nefario, he is able to employ a variety of weapons to carry out his wicked plans, such as his Insta-Freeze Gun or his Shrink Ray. [4] In addition to his Minions, Gru has a small, sharp-toothed dog named Kyle. [5] His prickly, quick-tempered personality softens after adopting three orphan girls, Margo, Edith, and Agnes. [6] [7]

Gru's family is extended in subsequent films. In Despicable Me 2 , after being recruited as an agent by the Anti-Villain League (AVL), he meets Lucy Wilde, who becomes his love interest. [7] In Despicable Me 3 , he meets his long-lost evil twin brother, Dru. [8] In the fourth Despicable Me film, he is the biological father of a baby named Gru Jr. [9]

Concept and creation

Development

The character that would become Gru was conceived by animator Sergio Pablos, who pitched the idea for "Evil Me" centred around an evil mastermind named Groo. He envisioned him as a Dracula-like character, but the directors of the first film, Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, later opted for a more sleek character that would echo "the world of James Bond", with Auric Goldfinger being cited as a particular influence. Originally Gru was much more evil than in the final film and the creative team struggled to get his character right. Coffin said that eventually they found ways to make him "evil but very charming". His "ogre-like henchmen" evolved into silly child-like characters named Minions, which helped to make Gru more likeable to audiences. [10] [11]

Voice

Gru's distinctive accent, described as "quasi-Russian" by A. O. Scott [12] and "halfway between a Russian mafioso and a crazed Nazi" by Roger Ebert, [13] was largely a product of his voice actor Steve Carell's experimentation. [14] According to Despicable Me producer Chris Meledandri, the voice Carell eventually settled on was conceived as "halfway between Ricardo Montalbán and Bela Lugosi". [14] Carell tested different voices with his children, before choosing the one that made them laugh. [15] He also had some influence in shaping Gru's character. When Meledandri expressed concerns about the extent of Gru's villainy at the start of Despicable Me and asked the directors to make him less despicable, Carell argued that his villainy was necessary for the emotional impact of his relationship with the three adopted girls to work later in the film. [16] Carell said that he could relate to his character, because he thought that Gru cared about being a good parent, and he felt that this made him "a good role model". [17]

Appearances

Despicable Me films

At the beginning of the first film (2010), Gru is an ambitious supervillain who constantly seeks approval from his mother. He is undermined by his rival, Vector, who steals the Great Pyramid from Giza. With the intention of becoming the greatest villain, he plans to steal the moon by using a Shrink Ray. To further his evil plan, he adopts three orphan girls, who eventually reform his character. [18]

In the second film (2013), Gru leaves his villainous past behind to care for his adoptive daughters. He spends his time launching a range of jams and jellies, which causes Dr. Nefario to resign. Gru is recruited by Lucy Wilde, an agent at the Anti-Villain League, to help uncover a supervillain at a local shopping mall. Eventually he discovers that the supervillain is a Mexican restaurant owner named El Macho. [19]

In the third film (2017), he and his wife, Lucy, are fired from their jobs at the Anti-Villain League due to failing to stop a supervillain named Balthazar Bratt. Gru learns that he has a twin brother named Dru. Along with Lucy and the girls, he meets Dru at his mansion and they form a brotherly relationship, in which Dru attempts to drag Gru back into a life of villainy. [20]

In the fourth film (2024), Gru and his family, which includes his baby son named Gru Jr., are forced to move to a new town and assume different identities after a villain named Maxime Le Mal, who has harboured a high school hatred for Gru, escapes from prison. [21]

Minions spin-off films

Gru's yellow henchmen star in their own spin-off film titled Minions (2015). The film acts as an origin story for the Minions and is a prequel to the events of Despicable Me, but Gru makes an appearance as a young boy destined to become a supervillain. [22]

Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) serves as an origin story for Gru and continues events from the previous film. At the age of 12, Gru auditions to become a member of a group of villains named the Vicious 6, but his ambitions do not go to plan and he is forced to outsmart them. [23]

Analysis

The use of flashbacks to characterise Gru in Despicable Me was compared by Variety to those used in Pixar's 2007 film Ratatouille to characterise Anton Ego. [24] Gru was cited by Katy Marriner, writing in Screen Education, as one of the premier examples of a protagonist in an animated film who reforms themself, in contrast to the traditional animated film protagonist who remains heroic throughout. [25] Gru was psychologically analysed by Nofika Dewi of Universitas Pamulang  [ id ], who found that his rude and ambitious qualities represented his Id; his villainy and tenaciousness represented his Ego, while his competence as a parent and bravery were part of his Super-ego. [26] Gru was interpreted as a Russian stereotype in a 2017 study suggesting that elements of his characterisation had been designed to support anti-Russian sentiment in the United States. [27]

References

  1. ↑ Morgan, Chris (September 19, 2022). "20 facts you might not know about 'Despicable Me'". Yardbarker. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Despicable Me". Empire. October 1, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  3. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (October 14, 2010). "Despicable Me – review". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Despicable and mighty proud of it movie review (2010) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  5. ↑ "'Despicable Me 3': Watch Gru's pet piranha-dog get a star turn in new mini-movie (exclusive)". Yahoo Entertainment. November 20, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  6. ↑ Huddleston, Tom. "Despicable Me". Time Out Worldwide. Archived from the original on April 25, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Here's What Happened in the Despicable Me Movies So Far". SYFY. July 5, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  8. ↑ Levine, Nick (March 15, 2017). "Watch Gru meet his twin brother Dru in the new 'Despicable Me 3' trailer". NME. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  9. ↑ Ide, Wendy (July 14, 2024). "Despicable Me 4 review – Baby Gru Jr enlivens another brush with villainy". the Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  10. ↑ Amidi, Amid (September 25, 2017). "The Humble Roots Of The Mega-Hit Franchise 'Despicable Me'". Cartoon Brew . Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  11. ↑ Edwards, C. (October 1, 2014). "Directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin on Creative Choices and Challenges in 'Despicable Me' Films". Cartoon Brew .
  12. ↑ Scott, A.O. (July 8, 2010). "Lunar Toons and Cookie Capers". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  13. ↑ Ebert, Roger (July 7, 2010). "Despicable Me movie review & film summary". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  14. 1 2 Aldama, Frederick Luis (2019). "Very ¡Macho!: Sonic Legacies of Mexican Animated Villains". Latinx Ciné in the Twenty-First Century. University of Arizona Press. p. 345. ISBN   9780816537907.
  15. ↑ "This is how Steve Carell came up with Gru's voice". Digital Spy. June 24, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  16. ↑ "'Despicable Me' turns Universal into a digital animation film player". Los Angeles Times. July 20, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  17. ↑ "In defense of Gru: Steve Carell says his 'Despicable Me' character is a good dad". TODAY.com. June 18, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  18. ↑ French, Philip (October 16, 2010). "Despicable Me – review". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Despicable Me 2 movie review & film summary (2013) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  20. ↑ Pulver, Andrew (June 26, 2017). "Despicable Me 3 review – aspartame-rush animation that is starting to run out of steam". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Despicable Me 4". Empire. July 2, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  22. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (May 21, 2019). "'Minions' Sequel Gets A Gru-vy Title; Pic Bows In 2020". Deadline. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  23. ↑ Ide, Wendy (July 2, 2022). "Minions: The Rise of Gru review – another serving of funny goofball nonsense". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  24. ↑ Debruge, Peter (June 9, 2010). "Despicable Me". Variety . Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  25. ↑ Marriner, Katy (2011). "Not So Evil after All: The New Breed of Animated Villain". Screen Education (61): 16–25. ISSN   1449-857X . Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  26. ↑ Dewi, Nofika (2015). "Psychological analysis of the main character Gru in Despicable Me". Universitas Pamulang. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  27. ↑ Khrebtan-Hörhager, Julia; Avant-Mier, Roberto (September 8, 2017). "Despicable Others: Animated Othering as Equipment for Living in the Era of Trump" . Journal of Intercultural Communication Research . 46 (5). Routledge: 441–462. doi:10.1080/17475759.2017.1372302. S2CID   148815247 . Retrieved October 13, 2020.

Further reading

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