Six movies in, you’d think the Despicable Me franchise would have run out of steam, but Gru and The Minions are making the most of their moment. Minions: The Rise of Gru received an unexpected box office boost thanks to the Gentleminions trend on TikTok, which saw teens dress in suits and film themselves celebrating at screenings. Coupled with Inside Out 2’s unexpected success this seems like the perfect time for your favourite animated villain to make a comeback.
A sequel to Despicable Me 3 (as opposed to the Minions prequels), Steve Carell is back as Gru, living a contented life with his partner Lucy (Kristen Wiig) and their adopted daughters. This bliss is disrupted when Gru’s former rival, Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell) breaks out of prison and swears revenge, forcing the family into witness protection.
Narratively, it’s clear the franchise has run out of ideas. This fourth instalment is more like a series of 10-15 minute skits rather than a coherent whole. Gru’s curmudgeonly antics make him a pariah in the suburbs; Lucy has a work-related issue that gains her a new enemy; and The Minions are experimented on to become clumsy superheroes. Nothing meaningfully ties together, yet it somehow remains a lot of fun. Watching The Minions attempt to mimic The Avengers, only to be chased by an angry mob, will be a delight for the younger audience this is aimed at.
Carell clearly loves playing the character and he’s joined by Ferrell’s villain, sporting a comedy French accent, as he bickers with his accomplice Valentina (Sofia Vergara, also having a blast with wise-cracks at her co-star’s expense). Talk show host Stephen Colbert is well-cast as Perry, Gru’s rich neighbour who wants nothing to do with him, leading to some great verbal sparring between the deadpan Colbert and manic Carell.
It’s remarkable that, after six movies, The Minions remain as entertaining as ever, like the best kind of Saturday morning cartoons. It may be a well-used formula, but if this is anything to go by it still works. Not every family movie has to be a Pixar classic filled with existential crises: sometimes just making you smile is enough.