Despicable Me (franchise)

Despicable Me is an animated media franchise produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures, consisting of four feature films, fifteen short films, and additional merchandise. It centers on Gru, a reformed super-villain (who later becomes a father and secret agent), his yellow-colored Minions; his three adopted daughters, Margo, Edith and Agnes, Dr. Nefario, and his wife, Lucy Wilde.

The franchise began with the 2010 film of the same name and its 2013 and 2017 sequels Despicable Me 2 (2013) and Despicable Me 3 (2017). A prequel featuring Gru's Minions, titled Minions, was released in 2015. A sequel to Minions titled Minions: The Rise of Gru will be released in 2022.

It also includes a ride attraction, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Studios Japan. It is the highest-grossing animated film franchise in box office history, and the 15th highest-grossing film franchise of all time. The film series has grossed $3.7 billion to-date.

Despicable Me (2010)
Despicable Me, the first film in the series, and the first film from Illumination, was released on July 9, 2010. It was directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, based on an original story by Sergio Pablos and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. The film stars Steve Carell as the voice of Felonious Gru, Miranda Cosgrove as Margo, Dana Gaier as Edith, Elsie Fisher as Agnes, Jason Segel as Vector, Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario and Julie Andrews as Marlena Gru, Gru's mother. It tells the story of Gru, a super-villain who adopts three girls, Margo, Edith and Agnes, from an orphanage to try and steal a shrink ray from Vector (otherwise known as Victor), his rival, to shrink and steal Earth's moon. Despicable Me received positive reviews, and grossed over $543 million worldwide, against a budget of $69 million, launching a new franchise.

Despicable Me 2 (2013)
A sequel, Despicable Me 2, released on July 3, 2013, was once again directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Steve Carell, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher reprise their roles as Felonious Gru, Dr. Nefario, Margo, Edith and Agnes respectively. Kristen Wiig, who voiced Miss Hattie in the first film, voices Lucy Wilde, an agent of the Anti-Villain League who recruits Gru to take down a new villain. New cast members include Benjamin Bratt as Eduardo; Bratt replaced the previously cast Al Pacino. Steve Coogan voices Silas Ramsbottom, lead director of the Anti-Villain League (AVL). The sequel was met with generally positive reviews and grossed more than its predecessor with over $970 million worldwide.

Despicable Me 3 (2017)
A third film, Despicable Me 3, was released on June 30, 2017. The film was directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, and co-directed by Eric Guillon. Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, the writers of the first two films, returned to write the screenplay for the third film. Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Steve Coogan reprise their roles as Felonious, Gru, Lucy Wilde, Margo, Edith, and Silas Ramsbottom respectively (with Julie Andrews reprising her role as Marlena Gru, and Pierre Coffin as the Minions). Carell also voiced Gru's long-lost twin brother Dru. New cast members included Trey Parker as the voice of Balthazar Bratt, and Nev Scharrel (replacing Elsie Fisher, due to being mature for the role) as the new voice of Agnes. The film received mixed reviews by critics and grossed more than its predecessors with over $1 billion worldwide.

Despicable Me 4
Illumination's CEO Chris Meledandri revealed in an interview in September 2017 that a fourth Despicable Me film is in the works.

Minions (2015)
A prequel to Despicable Me, featuring the Minions, was released on July 10, 2015. Written by Brian Lynch, it was directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy. Sandra Bullock voiced Scarlet Overkill, the villain of the film and Jon Hamm voiced her husband and inventor, Herb Overkill. The film received mixed reviews by critics and grossed more than $1.1 billion worldwide.

Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
A sequel to Minions titled Minions: The Rise of Gru was officially announced on January 25, 2017, with an original scheduled release date of July 3, 2020, but was delayed to July 2, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was delayed another year later to July 1, 2022. It will be directed by Kyle Balda and Brad Ableson.

Short films
A total of 15 short films have been released in the franchise. Three short films based on Despicable Me (2010) were released on December 2010 on the film's DVD and Blu-ray. The Despicable Me 2 DVD and Blu-ray, released on December 2013, included another three short films. Three short films were released in 2015 on the Blu-ray and DVD of Minions, while one short film was released in the Blu-ray and DVD of Despicable Me 3 (2017).

A short film titled Mower Minions, was released in 2016 with The Secret Life of Pets, being the first short Minions film released theatrically. A second theatrical short film was released in 2018 with The Grinch (2018), while another one was released in The Grinch's DVD and Blu-ray.

Home Makeover (2010)
Released in Despicable Me (2010)'s DVD and Blu-ray. Grouped in DVD Minion Madness (2010).

After the events of Despicable Me, two Minions help Margo, Edith and Agnes renovate Gru's house, so the inspector does not take the girls back to Miss Hattie's Home for Girls.

Orientation Day (2010)
Released in Despicable Me (2010)'s DVD and Blu-ray. Grouped in DVD Minion Madness (2010).

Three new Minions go for bomb-carrying duty, which was harder than they thought when they suddenly have an argument with two others carrying a giant bomb.

Banana (2010)
Released in Despicable Me DVD and Blu-ray. Grouped in DVD Minion Madness (2010).

Three minions fight over a banana. In the process, they wreak havoc in the Minions' workplace.

Puppy (2013)
Released in Despicable Me 2 DVD and Blu-ray.

A minion watches neighbors walking their dogs on the street, which leads him to search for a puppy of his own. After several failed attempts, he comes across a UFO that takes the role of a puppy for him. After many happy moments, the UFO along with its master is expelled for the mess the UFO has made in Gru's home. After the minion finds out that his pet is homesick, he sends an email to the UFO's home planet and allows it to return home.

Panic in the Mailroom (2013)
Released in Despicable Me 2 DVD and Blu-ray.

Two Minions, Ken and Mike, are working in a package room to send parcels through different parts of the lab, while Ken is busy playing a handheld video game. When a package containing expired PX-41 (the serum that El Macho used to transform the Minions and himself in Despicable Me 2), gets jammed in the pneumatic delivery system, it transforms Mike into an evil Minion but he keeps shifting back and forth between being transformed and back to his normal self, much to Ken's amusement. At the end, Mike spits out the PX-41 and it lands on some kittens, turning them evil.

Training Wheels (2013)
Released in Despicable Me 2 DVD and Blu-ray.

Agnes is unsatisfied with her toy bike after collapsing off it while attempting to catch up to an ice cream truck with Margo, Edith and their friends. Three Minions then volunteer to modify the bike and help Agnes improve her skills.

Binky Nelson Unpacified (2015)
Released in Minions DVD and Blu-ray.

After a successful robbery at a museum, the Nelsons tell their youngest son Binky, having lost his pacifier in the theft, that now he is a big boy and has to leave his pacifier. Binky at night sneaks into the museum and finds his pacifier. Just as he takes it, the guard comes and finds all the museum artifacts missing and finds Binky and tells him to return all the property but instead he causes a statue to fall over the guard and takes his pacifier. In the end, the Nelson parents return to see Binky at night in his room and find him sleeping calmly. As they leave the room, Binky takes out the pacifier and the guard's hat and wears it.

Competition (2015)
Released in Minions DVD and Blu-ray.

Under the same street the Minions hitchhiked in Minions, two Minions challenge themselves to numerous attacks, ending up on the lab's conveyor belt in the process.

Cro Minion (2015)
Released in Minions DVD and Blu-ray.

Two Minions look after a cave baby while a caveman goes to find a bull to eat for lunch. But it is harder than the Minions think.

Mower Minions (2016)
Released theatrically with The Secret Life of Pets (2016).

In this short, five Minions mow a lawn at the local old people's home to try and earn allowances to buy a blender they have seen on a TV commercial. However, all their work results were chaotic, and four of them were in terrible states after the chaos, such as one Minion having their head stuck in a bee hive, another Minion blackened and naked after an explosion when he turns on the grill, another being inflated like a balloon in the hazmat, and another Minion ends up nauseous with their face turning green. But as it turns out, the old people were very entertained. For this the Minions get 2000 pennies and are able to purchase the blender. However they then see a commercial of an improved version of the blender and then go to earn more money to buy that one.

The Secret Life of Kyle (2017)
Released in Despicable Me 3 DVD and Blu-ray.

After the events of Despicable Me 3, we follow Kyle and his secret life when Gru and his family are gone. This short was directed by Bruno Chauffard and Glenn McCoy.

Yellow is the New Black (2018)
Released theatrically with The Grinch (2018).

Before they all make their big escape from prison in Despicable Me 3, a couple of lucky Minions get a taste of freedom as they break free with the help of one of their fellow human inmates.

Santa's Little Helpers (2019)
Released in The Grinch's DVD and Blu-ray.

Kevin, Stuart and Bob, having been accidentally dropped off at the North Pole, make the most of the situation by trying to become elves.

Minion Scouts (2019)
Released in The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) DVD and Blu-ray.

After being dazzled by the girls, a group of Minions become scouts in an attempt to earn badges.

Despicable Me: The Game
Despicable Me: The Game is an adventure/action game released with the first film, on PlayStation 2, Wii, and PlayStation Portable systems. During the game, the player controls Gru as he fights off enemies. Despicable Me: The Game – Minion Mayhem, on the other hand, is released on Nintendo DS systems only. Instead of controlling Gru himself, the player controls his Minions.

Despicable Me: Minion Rush
An action video game (developed by Gameloft), titled Despicable Me: Minion Rush, also played as a Minion who must defeat Vector, El Macho and two villains made for the game, was released with the second film, on iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone, Windows 8, Android, Tizen and Blackberry 10 devices. As of October 2016, the game had been downloaded more than 750 million times.

Minions Paradise
A free-to-play mobile game developed by Electronic Arts (otherwise known as EA), titled Minions Paradise, was released in summer 2015. Playing as Phil, players will help Minions design and build their own utopia set in a tropical environment.

Books
Novels written by Annie Auerbach are based on the films.

Theme park attractions
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem is a simulator ride that opened on July 2, 2012 at Universal Studios Florida and on April 12, 2014 at Universal Studios Hollywood, starring Steve Carell as Gru, Miranda Cosgrove as Margo, Dana Gaier as Edith, Elsie Fisher as Agnes, and Pierre Coffin as the Minions. A similar attraction (featuring a Japanese voice cast) opened on April 21, 2017 at Universal Studios Japan.

Main characters

 * Felonious Gru or Felonius Gru (voiced by Steve Carell): The grouchy but usually smart protagonist in the Despicable Me series who speaks with a Russian accent. He is the adoptive father of Margo, Edith, and Agnes, husband of Lucy, and the boss of the Minions. At the beginning of the original film, Gru is an ambitious supervillain, and seeks approval from his mother, until the adoption of the trio convinces him that their happiness is important. In the second film, Gru leaves his villainous past behind to care for the girls, but then soon joins forces - unwillingly - with secret agent Lucy Wilde, whom he later marries. In the third film, after he and Lucy are fired from their jobs at the Anti-Villain League, Gru learns that he has a twin brother, Dru. Along with Lucy and the girls, Gru meets Dru at his mansion in Freedonia, and they form a brotherly relationship over the course of the film. Felonious Gru was originally conceived as a Dracula-like character, but directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin later opted for a villain who would echo "the world of James Bond, thinking of characters like Goldfinger and obviously the Bond-ian world of technology". Gru also bears some similarities with British comic-book character Grimly Feendish, and with the pre-Crisis version of Lex Luthor.
 * Minions (voiced by Pierre Coffin in all films and the theme park attraction, Chris Renaud in the first two films [except spin-offs and attractions], James Arnold Taylor in the 2010 video game, and Jemaine Clement as Jerry the Minion in the first film): Gru's small, yellow, comical henchmen who have one or two eyes. The Minions speak a language that Coffin created by mixing gibberish with words from many languages, including French, English, Spanish and Italian. Although seemingly nonsensical, the English-sounding words are dubbed for every country, in order to make them recognizable. It is shown in Minions that they have existed since the beginning of life on Earth, and desire above all else to serve the most terrible of villains. In the short film "Banana", the Minions are revealed to have an uncontrollable craving for fruits, especially bananas. Mentioned in the films and other media are Stuart, Kevin, Bob, Mel, Dave, Jerry, Carl, Tom, Phil, Tim, and Jorge.
 * The Girls: Three sisters, whom Gru adopts to further his scheme in the first film and gradually comes to love.
 * Margo (voiced by Miranda Cosgrove): The mature oldest sister. In the first film, among the trio, Margo was the most suspicious of Gru initially; but came to trust him at the end of the film. She is something of a protectress to her sisters.
 * Edith (voiced by Dana Gaier): The tomboyish middle sister; the first to enjoy Gru's eclectic possessions, when adopted by him. Practices martial arts in the second film.
 * Agnes (voiced by Elsie Fisher in the first two films; Nev Scharrel in the third film): The happy-go-lucky youngest sister, and the quickest to trust Gru in the first film. She is presented as an innocent, against her more worldly sisters, and has a strong love for unicorns. In the third film, she "adopts" a one-horned goat whom she names Lucky after mistaking him for a unicorn. Even after learning he was a goat, Agnes continues to love Lucky.
 * Lucy Wilde (voiced by Kristen Wiig): A cunning secret agent who has teamed up with Gru to hunt down an extremely dangerous super-villain. She loves one-upping Gru with her quirky gadgets and has perfected her own form of martial arts by combining jujitsu, krav maga, Aztec warfare and krumping. After 147 dates, she marries Gru and becomes the girls' mother.
 * Dr. Nefario (voiced by Russell Brand, JB Blanc in the video game): Gru's hearing-impaired inventor and partner-in-crime who speaks with a British accent. He seems to have a romantic interest in Gru's mother, Marlena. He is planned to join Gru, Lucy and the Girls to meet Dru in the third film, but absent from the film having accidentally frozen himself in carbonite, similar to that of Han Solo from Star Wars.
 * Dru (voiced by Steve Carell): Gru's charming, happy-go-lucky long-lost twin brother, who is also in the super-villain business. Dru looks just like his brother, only he has blonde hair and wears white attire. He is Lucy's brother-in-law and the adoptive uncle of Margo, Edith, and Agnes.
 * Marlena (voiced by Julie Andrews): Gru and Dru's mother. Her neglect of Gru's ambitions is identified among the main reasons why he became a supervillain. In the denouement of the first film, she admits to him that he is a better parent than she. Marlena later makes a silent cameo appearance in the second film at Gru and Lucy's wedding. In the third film, Marlena reveals to Gru that after she and Gru and Dru's father divorced, they promised to never see each other again and they each got to take one son with them, with Marlena saying that she got "second pick".
 * Fritz (voiced by Steve Coogan): Dru's courteous, well mannered butler who speaks with a British accent. He takes Gru, Lucy, and the girls to meet Dru at his mansion in Freedonia.
 * Silas Ramsbottom (voiced by Steve Coogan): Director of the Anti-Villain League in the second film. The Minions (and Gru) make fun of his surname. In the third film, he retires from the AVL and is replaced by Valerie Da Vinci as the new Director of the AVL.
 * Valerie Da Vinci (voiced by Jenny Slate): A ruthless member of the Anti-Villain League who replaces Silas Ramsbottom as Director in the third film. She fires Gru and Lucy due to them failing to capture Balthazar Bratt.

Antagonists

 * Victor "Vector" Perkins (voiced by Jason Segel, Jason Harris in the video game): The villain in the first film, Gru's rival, and the son of Mr. Perkins, the President of the Bank of Evil that supplies loans to villains in their schemes (formerly including Gru).
 * Mr. Perkins (voiced by Will Arnett): Vector's father and enormous and equally strong President of the Bank of Evil, responsible for giving out loans to villains in their schemes.
 * Miss Hattie (voiced by Kristen Wiig): The charismatic but cruel owner of the orphanage from which Gru adopts his daughters. She sends Margo, Edith, and Agnes out to sell cookies and makes them sleep in cardboard boxes if they fail to meet their quota.
 * Eduardo "El Macho" Perez (voiced by Benjamin Bratt): A Mexican-accented supervillain in the second film. As El Macho, he was believed to have died after strapping 250 pounds of TNT on himself and riding a shark into an active volcano. However, it turns out that he actually faked his death, and he became the owner of a Mexican restaurant. He has a son named Antonio, with whom Margo is infatuated at first, until Antonio abandons her. It turns out that Eduardo was aware of Gru's life as a villain and plans to abduct most of Gru's minions and turn them into hairy, purple, savage, evil minions with a dangerous chemical compound he stole called PX-41 and send the mutated Minions to major cities to take over the world. In the final battle, as Gru manages to restore the mutated Minions to normal, Eduardo drinks the compound himself, turning into a big purple furry monster to fight Gru. He is defeated by Gru and Nefario.
 * Balthazar Bratt (voiced by Trey Parker): A supervillain in the third film. A former 1980s child star, he adopts the identity of his supervillain character after the onset of puberty leads to the cancellation of his television series. He is obsessed with 1980s pop culture and uses a giant robot armed with a laser and inflatable bubble gum to exact revenge on Hollywood.
 * Clive (voiced by Andy Nyman): a robot who acts as Balthazar Bratt's sidekick.
 * Scarlet Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock): In Minions, she is the world's first female super-villain who is bent on world domination.
 * Herb Overkill (voiced by Jon Hamm): Scarlet's husband and an inventor.

Chronology

 * Cro Minion (2015)
 * Minions (2015)
 * Binky Nelson Unpacified (2015)
 * Competition (2015)
 * Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
 * Orientation Day (2010)
 * Despicable Me (2010)
 * Home Makeover (2010)
 * Banana (2010)
 * Despicable Me Minion Mayhem (2012)
 * Puppy (2013)
 * Training Wheels (2013)
 * Despicable Me 2 (2013)
 * Panic in the Mailroom (2013)
 * Mower Minions (2016)
 * Despicable Me 3 (2017)
 * The Secret Life of Kyle (2017)
 * Yellow is the New Black (2018)
 * Minion Scouts (2019)

Cast

 * Note: A grey indicates that the character does not appear in that medium.

Box office performance
The film series has grossed a total of more than $3.7 billion, with an average of over $927 million per film, making the Despicable Me franchise the highest-grossing animated film franchise, and the 15th highest-grossing film franchise of all time.