Highlights
- The Despicable Me franchise features Gru, a beloved animated antagonist, and his yellow sidekicks, the Minions.
- The franchise has multiple installments, each with unique elements, focusing on character development and comedy.
- Despite mixed reviews, the movies offer heart, laughter, and family adventures, making them a cherished animated series.
Introducing the yellow, clumsy, hilarious sidekicks that became a staple of pop culture, the Despicable Me franchise brought so many original and heartfelt moments to audiences. While there are amazing movie villains out there with complex motivations, the franchise brings out a villain unlike any other. With his iconic voice, visuals, and big ambitions, Gru is an infamous and beloved animated antagonist at the heart of all Despicable Me movies, making it a cherished animated franchise.
Yet, the franchise expanded well beyond the villain, with four main installments and two spin-off movies, filled with their own charm. While some prioritize comedy, others promote character development, yet each Despicable Me and Minions movie brings something to the table, making this a franchise filled with heart and laughter, as well as unique installments.
6 Despicable Me 4
Tomatometer: 54%
- Released: July 3, 2024
- Director: Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage
- Runtime: 95 minutes
After five predecessor movies, critics are a bit more fed up with the franchise at this point, leaving the latest installment with the lowest score of them all, despite its talented cast, which includes Will Ferrell as the newest addition. Bringing Gru and Lucy’s son into the mix, the movie presents a new family dynamic, as they all go into hiding from their old nemesis, Maxime Le Mal and Valentina.
While the movie is cursed by being compared to the other features in the franchise, Despicable Me 4 has its share of positive attributes, including a light-hearted story, cartoonish humor, and a great entry for new viewers. While its formulaic narrative might be a negative to critics, it brings a refreshing family adventure with beloved characters, even if it is not as groundbreaking as previous installments.
5 Minions
Tomatometer: 56%
- Released: June 11, 2015
- Director: Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin
- Runtime: 91 minutes
The spin-off franchise based on the yellow sidekicks might not reach the heights of the original franchise, but it had its own success. While the critics were not huge fans, the movie still had its dedicated audience, who enjoyed the slapstick humor that was at the center of the feature.
Focusing on the minions Stuart, Kevin, and Bob as they are recruited by Scarlett Overkill, the clumsy helpers bring a lot of comedy to the movie, even when it lacks narrative. Overall, Minions is an enjoyable watch, especially for fans of the yellow sidekicks, despite not having as much heart as the other Despicable Me movies.
4 Despicable Me 3
Tomatometer: 58%
- Released: June 14, 2017
- Director: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin and Eric Guillon
- Runtime: 89 minutes
Even the best of trilogies have trouble with third installments and, despite not being a trilogy, Despicable Me did have a dip in its third feature. However, the movie still managed to add to Gru’s character development and bring some funny quips, with Steve Carell voicing both twins, Gru and Dru, in a hilarious adventure.
Unfortunately, by focusing on Gru’s relationship with his lost twin brother, Despicable Me 3 diverged the focus from what made the franchise so popular: Gru’s relationship with his girls. Yet, the movie managed to solidify Gru’s redemption arc and keep the franchise’s humor with laugh-out-loud moments.
3 Minions: The Rise Of Gru
Tomatometer: 70%
- Released: July 30, 2022
- Director: Kyle Balda
- Runtime: 90 minutes
While the first Minions solo movie was not super well received, Minions: The Rise of Gru was the sequel that nobody asked for but everyone needed. The hard truth is that the minions without Gru feel incomplete somehow, so the spin-off sequel fixed it by introducing a young Gru responsible for managing too many minions in his journey to become a villain.
Even though it felt like a villain origin story for Gru at points, the movie still managed to pivot the focus to the minions and their adventures. Showcasing that even villains have feelings and need friends, the second Minions movie walks the villainy line carefully. Despite being a Minions movie, it still captured all that the Despicable Me movies are known for, mixing villainy with love and comedy, while having a change of focus to the small yellow sidekicks.
2 Despicable Me 2
Tomatometer: 75%
- Released: July 5, 2013
- Director: Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
- Runtime: 98 minutes
The sequel might not reach the heights of the first movie, but it brings a delightful journey, continuing Gru’s redemption journey as he goes further from a villain and solidifies himself more as a hero. Bringing an extra layer of complexity to all characters, Despicable Me 2 still manages to keep all the best elements of the franchise at its core.
Moreover, the sequel brings romantic love to Gru’s life and a new setting with a unique villain, in a story as complex as the first one. With Lucy fitting in as a smooth addition and more minion comedy, Despicable Me 2 has some of the most heartwarming and funny scenes in the franchise.
1 Despicable Me
Tomatometer: 80%
- Released: August 6, 2010
- Director: Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
- Runtime: 95 minutes
While the collection has had many highlights throughout the years in its many movies, the original Despicable Me still manages to stay at the top, with its unique premise, following a villain with a character arc not usually seen in children’s movies. At its core, the movie comes as a redemption story about a villain who gives up on villainy for love.
As Gru plans on stealing the moon, he adopts three little girls as part of his malicious plan but ends up caring for them as a true father, telling them stories, practicing dance moves, and all uncharacteristic things for a despicable antagonist. Funny, endearing, original, and the introduction of the minions, there is a reason this movie inspires so many other hilarious Despicable Me movies.
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