Despicable Me 4 (2024)

Directors: Chris RenaudPatrick Delage

Gru, Lucy, Margo, Edith, and Agnes welcome a new member to the family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad. Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal and his girlfriend Valentina, and the family is forced to go on the run.

Here we go for another fun-filled action adventure! ‘Despicable Me 4’ is the 6th installment in the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise.

If you remember – or if you haven’t seen the previous films – Gru used to be a villain but is now a family man. Apart from his adopted daughters Edith, Agnes and Margo, there’s a new addition to the family: a baby boy named Junior. Gru is a member of the AVL (Anti-Villain League) and he captures a villain called Maxime (Aka Cockroach Man) at an award ceremony at the School of Villainy.

When Maxime escapes from prison, he vows to avenge Gru by taking his baby. To protect Gru and his family, AVL takes them to a safehouse in the peaceful town of Mayflower. They are given new identities and must act as a ‘normal’ family. Meanwhile, the Minions will be under AVL supervision, and five of them are given superpowers to assist AVL.

When Gru’s cover is blown by the neighbour’s daughter Poppy, she blackmails him into another mission, and action and adventure in true Despicable Me style ensues. It’s a superhero movie of Hollywood proportions, and pure satire! ‘Despicable Me 4’ is essentially a spoof of superhero movies like The Incredibles, Fantastic Four, Kung Fu Panda, X-Men, Spider-Man, Men in Black, and even Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! See how many movies you recognize here.

The animation is fantastic, and Gru returns once again with his dry sense of humour and lame jokes, wonderfully voiced by Steve Carell. The Minions are as adorable as ever. The emotional depth of the original ‘Despicable Me’ is long gone, but ‘Despicable Me 4’ is funny and exciting. The soundtrack is also really good.

At the time of writing this review, ‘Despicable Me 4’ already earned $954 million at the box office on a budget of $100 million. Only time will tell if it will reach the $1 billion mark like ‘Despicable Me 3’ and ‘Minions’.

Would I watch it again? Yes, probably.