Despicable Me is a computer-animated media franchise centering on Gru, a reformed super-villain (who later becomes a father, husband, and secret agent), and his yellow-colored Minions. It is produced by Illumination and distributed by its parent company Universal Pictures.
The franchise began with the 2010 film of the same name, which was followed by two sequels, Despicable Me 2 (2013) and Despicable Me 3 (2017), with a future sequel, Despicable Me 4, expected to hit theaters on July 3, 2024; and by two spin-off prequels, Minions (2015) and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022). The franchise also includes many short films, a television special, several video games, and a theme park attraction. It is the highest-grossing animated film franchise and the 15th highest-grossing film franchise of all time, having grossed over $4.4 billion globally.
Main Series[]
Prequel Series[]
Characters[]
Main characters[]
- Felonious Gru Sr. (voiced by Steve Carell): The protagonist in the Despicable Me series who speaks with an Eastern European accent. He is the son of Marlena, the twin brother of Dru, the adoptive father of Margo, Edith, and Agnes; the husband of Lucy, and the boss of the Minions. At the beginning of the first film, Gru is an ambitious supervillain who constantly seeks approval from his mother, until the adoption of his daughters convinces him that their happiness is important. In the second film, Gru leaves his villainous past behind to care for his daughters, 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 throughout the film. In the fourth film, he raises a new child, Felonious Gru Jr. 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 the Bond-ian world of technology".[1] Gru also bears some similarities with British comic-book character Grimly Feendish, and with the pre-Crisis version of Lex Luthor[2]
- The 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 English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Indonesian.[3][4] Although seemingly nonsensical, the English-sounding words are dubbed for every country, in order to make them recognizable.[5] 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.[6] In the short film "Banana", the Minions are revealed to have an uncontrollable craving for fruits, especially bananas. Mentioned by name in the films and other media are Bob, Stuart, Kevin, Otto, Mel, Dave, Ken, Mike, Jerry, Carl, Lance, Tom,[7] Phil,[8] Tim,[8] Mark, Jorge,[9] Norbert, Ralph, Gus, and Ron.
- 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. She later takes an interest in boys, which makes Gru overprotective, and freezes boys who break her heart
- Template:Vanchor (voiced by Dana Gaier): The tomboyish middle sister; the first to enjoy Gru's eclectic possessions, when adopted by him. She practices martial arts in the second film
- Agnes (voiced by Elsie Fisher in the first two films; Nev Scharrel in the third film, and Madison Polan in the fourth film[10]): The happy-go-lucky youngest sister, and the quickest to trust Gru in the first film. She is presented as 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 supervillain. She loves one-upping Gru with her quirky gadgets and has perfected her form of martial arts by combining jujitsu, krav maga, Aztec warfare, and krumping. After 147 dates, she marries Gru and becomes the girls' adoptive mother. She is now Mrs. Luciana "Lucy" Gru. In Despicable Me 4, it is revealed that she and Gru have a baby named Gru Jr.
- Template:Vanchor (voiced by Russell Brand from 2010-2022, Romesh Ranganathan in the fourth film, and 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. In the second film, he misses being a villain so he goes to work for El Macho, but abandons him after he turns the Minions into monsters. He is absent in most of the third film, having accidentally frozen himself in carbonite, similar to that of Han Solo from Star Wars. In Minions: The Rise of Gru, it is revealed Nefario previously worked at a record shop called "Criminal Records", which the Vicious 6 used as a cover for their lair before going to work for Gru
- Dru Gru (voiced by Steve Carell): Gru's charming, happy-go-lucky long-lost twin brother, who is also in the supervillain business. Dru looks just like his brother, only he has blonde hair and wears white attire. He is Lucy's brother-in-law, Gru Jr.'s uncle, and the adoptive uncle of Margo, Edith, and Agnes
- Silas Ramsbottom (voiced by Steve Coogan): Director of the Anti-Villain League (AVL) 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, though he comes back to replace her at the end. He continues as AVL director in the fourth film, where he takes care of the minions.
- Kyle: Is a pet dog-like monster of the Gru family, belonging to Gru, and then given to Agnes. Kyle was originally a vicious, aggressive, ferocious, and monstrous blue creature that even Gru had trouble controlling. At times he would attack Gru but despite this, he also seemed to be easily spooked and appeared frightened whenever Gru or anyone else opened the secret lair and also ran away from Agnes, unused to the fact that she thought he was cute instead of trying to avoid him. When Agnes, Edith, and Margo first arrive, Kyle greets them by snarling but he gradually warms up to the girls, especially Agnes, and starts sleeping with her at night. Although he seemed exasperated when the three girls dressed him up, he nevertheless developed an attachment towards them just like Gru did.
- Lucky: Is a small one-horned white baby goat and a supporting character in the third film. Agnes first thought he was a real living unicorn, though Gru tells her that he is just a goat, Agnes still cherishes Lucky, and he becomes her new pet. a trusting baby goat with one horn whom Agnes discovers in the Freedonia forest and enthusiastically mistakes for a Unicorn. when the adorable Unigoat excitedly licks her face, Agnes giggles gleefully and declares that she will call him Lucky, become her pet, and come to live with her in Gru’s house. In the fourth film Agnes has to leave Lucky behind and fears he will forget her. At the end they get reunited, and Agnes' fears prove unwarranted.
- 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 her. 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
- Valerie Da Vinci (voiced by Jenny Slate): A ruthless member of the Anti-Villain League (AVL) who replaces Silas Ramsbottom as Director in the third film. She fires Gru and Lucy due to their failure to capture Balthazar Bratt
- Felonious Gru Jr.: An infant biological son of Gru and Lucy and also an adoptive brother of the Girls who strongly dislikes his father in the fourth film
- Poppy Prescott (voiced by Joey King): An aspiring supervillain who admires Gru's work as a villain
- Wild Knuckles (voiced by Alan Arkin): The former leader of the Vicious 6 who was ousted because of his old age, and later becomes Gru's mentor
- Master Chow (voiced by Michelle Yeoh): A former Kung Fu teacher who now makes a living working at a spa in Minions: The Rise of Gru
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. He was responsible for the theft of the Great Pyramid of Giza and competes against Gru to get ahold of a shrink ray and eventually of the Moon. However, after he takes the girls hostage to get the Moon, his plan backfires and he gets stuck on the Moon. In the short Mooned, Vector attempts to escape the Moon only to end up on Mars. In the fourth film, he is shown imprisoned with the other villains in the AVL prison
- 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 (formerly including Gru). In the fourth film, he is shown imprisoned with the other villains in the AVL prison along with his son
- 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" Pérez (voiced by Benjamin Bratt): A Mexican-accented supervillain in the second film. El Macho was believed to have died after strapping 250 pounds of dynamite on himself and riding a shark into an active volcano. However, it turns out that he 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. He planned to abduct most of Gru's Minions and turn them into indestructible, evil Minions with a chemical compound he stole called PX-41 and send the mutated Minions to major cities to take over the world. In the fourth film, he is shown imprisoned with the other villains in the AVL prison
- Pollito: Is El Macho's pet chicken. Eduardo kept Pollito ever since he was a chick, as shown in the picture the restaurant owner keeps in the Salsa & Salsa kitchen, When Lucy and Gru break into the Salsa & Salsa restaurant, Gru accidentally trips a wire which causes Pollito to come out. But Lucy and Gru don't think that the chicken is much of a threat. As Gru starts insulting Pollito stating that the chicken is not so much of a guard dog, the chicken attacks and pecks Gru's face. Lucy stops Pollito by shooting her with the epoxy
- 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. In the fourth film, he is shown imprisoned with the other villains in the AVL prison
- Clive (voiced by Andy Nyman): A robot who acts as Balthazar Bratt's sidekick
- Maxime Le Mal (voiced by Will Ferrell): A supervillain and Gru’s childhood friend who wants revenge on Gru and his family in the fourth film. Maxime has augmented himself with cockroach parts and temporarily turns Gru Jr. into a human-roach hybrid but is defeated when Gru Jr. turns on him. Later, he reconciles with Gru at the AVL prison
- Valentina (voiced by Sofia Vergara): Maxime's femme fatale girlfriend
- Scarlet Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock): In Minions, she is the world's first female super-villain who is bent on becoming the Queen of England, and served as the Minions' boss before Gru. In the fourth film, she is shown imprisoned with the other villains in the AVL prison alongside her husband Herb
- Herb Overkill (voiced by Jon Hamm): Scarlet's husband and an inventor. In the fourth film, he is shown imprisoned with the other villains in the AVL prison along with his wife Scarlet
- The Vicious 6: A group of six supervillains who appear in Minions: The Rise of Gru. In the fourth film, the group is shown imprisoned with the other villains in the AVL prison. Their members include:
- Belle Bottom (voiced by Taraji P. Henson): A disco-themed villain and the newly-appointed leader of the group after Wild Knuckles, who wants to take on the Anti-Villain League
- Jean Clawed (voiced by Jean-Claude Van Damme): A member with a giant mechanical lobster claw for his right arm who speaks in a French accent
- Nun-Chuck (voiced by Lucy Lawless): A nunchuck-wielding nun
- Svengeance (voiced by Dolph Lundgren): A roller skater
- Stronghold (voiced by Danny Trejo): A member with big metal hands
Cast and characters[]
Template:Cast indicator
| Character | 2010 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2022 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Despicable Me | Despicable Me 2 | Minions | Despicable Me 3 | Minions:The Rise of Gru | Despicable Me 4 | |
Introduced in Despicable Me[] | ||||||
| Felonious Gru Sr. | Steve Carell[11][12][13] | |||||
| Minions | Pierre Coffin[14] Chris Renaud[15] Jemaine Clement[16] |
Pierre Coffin[14] Chris Renaud[17] |
Pierre Coffin[14] | |||
| Margo | Miranda Cosgrove[18] | Miranda Cosgrove[19] | Miranda Cosgrove[11] | |||
| Edith | Dana Gaier[20] | Dana Gaier[20] | Dana Gaier[21] | |||
| Agnes | Elsie Fisher[22] | Nev Scharrel[23] | Madison Polan[21] | |||
| Dr. Nefario | Russell Brand[24] | silent | Russell Brand | Romesh Ranganathan | ||
| Marlena Gru | Julie Andrews[25] | silent cameo | Julie Andrews | |||
| Fred McDade | Danny McBride[26] | silent | silent | |||
| Mr. Perkins | Will Arnett[27] | silent cameo | Will Arnett | |||
| Vector | Jason Segel[28] | silent | Jason Segel | |||
| Miss Hattie | Kristen Wiig[18] | Kristen Wiig | ||||
Introduced in Despicable Me 2[] | ||||||
| Lucy Wilde | Kristen Wiig[29] | Kristen Wiig[19] | Kristen Wiig[11] | |||
| Silas Ramsbottom | Steve Coogan[30] | Steve Coogan[31][32][21] | ||||
| El Macho | Benjamin Bratt[30] | silent | Benjamin Bratt | |||
| Floyd Eagle-san | Ken Jeong[30] | silent | ||||
| Antonio | Moises Arias[33] | |||||
Introduced in Minions[] | ||||||
| Scarlett Overkill | Sandra Bullock | silent | Sandra Bullock | |||
| Herb Overkill | Jon Hamm | Jon Hamm | ||||
| Walter Nelson Sr. | Michael Keaton[34] | Michael Keaton | silent | |||
| Madge Nelson | Allison Janney[35] | Alison Janney | ||||
| Walter Nelson Jr. | ||||||
| Tina Nelson | ||||||
| Binky Nelson | ||||||
| Elizabeth II | Jennifer Saunders[36] | mentioned | ||||
Introduced in Despicable Me 3[] | ||||||
| Dru | Steve Carrell | Steve Carrell | ||||
| Balthazar Bratt | Trey Parker | Trey Parker | ||||
| Fritz | Steve Coogan | silent | ||||
| Valerie Da Vinci | Jenny Slate | |||||
| Clive | Andy Nyman | |||||
Introduced in Minions: The Rise of Gru[] | ||||||
| Belle Bottom | Taraji P. Henson[37] | |||||
| Master Chow | Michelle Yeoh | |||||
| Biker | RZA | |||||
| Template:Nowrap | Jean-Claude Van Damme | |||||
| Template:Nowrap | Lucy Lawless[37] | |||||
| Svengeance | Dolph Lundgren[37] | |||||
| Stronghold | Danny Trejo[37] | |||||
| Wild Knuckles | Alan Arkin | silent | ||||
Introduced in Despicable Me 4[] | ||||||
| Felonious Gru Jr. | Tara Strong[38] | |||||
| Maxime Le Mal | Will Ferrell[21] | |||||
| Poppy Prescott | Joey King[21] | |||||
| Valentina | Sofia Vergara[21] | |||||
| Perry Prescott | Stephen Colbert[21] | |||||
| Patsy Prescott | Chloe Fineman[21] | |||||
| Melora | Laraine Newman[39] | |||||
| Principal Übelschlecht | Chris Renaud[40] | |||||
- ↑ "Directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin on Creative Choices and Challenges in 'Despicable Me' Films" Template:Webarchive, cartoonbrew.com, October 1, 2014, C. Edwards.
- ↑ Despicable Me Review Template:Webarchive, Empire, October 1, 2010, Kim Newman
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Template:Cite news
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Template:Cite web
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Template:Cite web
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Template:Cite web
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite magazine
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web