80 Fun Facts About Despicable Me

Which actor has voiced Gru in every Despicable Me film?

Carell also voices Gru's blond twin Dru in the third film, and reprised the role for the young Gru cameo at the end of Minions.

What does Gru set out to steal in the first Despicable Me?

The shrink ray's effect turns out to be temporary, and the bigger the object the faster it reverts, which is how the heist unravels.

Which landmark is stolen at the start of the first film, wounding Gru's pride?

The thief turns out to be the young upstart Vector, who replaces the pyramid with an inflatable copy.

Gru speaks with what kind of accent?

The accent spawned the 'Gorl' meme, based on the way Gru pronounces the word girl.

What is Gru's rarely used first name?

His infant son in Despicable Me 4 is Felonious Gru Jr., voiced by Tara Strong.

Who voices Vector, Gru's rival in the first film?

Vector ends the film stranded on the Moon; the 2023 short Mooned shows his escape attempt landing him on Mars instead.

Which British comedian voiced Dr. Nefario from 2010 to 2022?

Nefario is hearing-impaired and hints at a soft spot for Gru's mother Marlena.

Which comedian took over voicing Gru's elderly inventor in Despicable Me 4?

The character sits out most of the film, only surfacing at the end to reverse Gru Jr.'s cockroach transformation.

Which Oscar-winning actress voices Gru's mother Marlena?

Marlena's neglect of Gru's childhood ambitions is presented as a main reason he became a supervillain.

Kristen Wiig voices Lucy Wilde in the sequels, but which character did she voice in the first film?

Miss Hattie makes the orphan girls sleep in cardboard boxes if they miss their cookie-selling quota.

Who voices Margo, the eldest of Gru's adopted daughters?

Cosgrove is one of the few voices to appear in every main film, along with Dana Gaier as Edith.

Which actress voiced Agnes in the first two films before the role was recast twice?

Nev Scharrel took over for Despicable Me 3 and Madison Polan for Despicable Me 4.

Which Arrested Development actor voices Mr. Perkins, president of the Bank of Evil?

Perkins turns out to be Vector's father, and both end up in the AVL prison in Despicable Me 4.

Which comedian voices Gru's neighbor Fred McDade in the first film?

Fred sat out the third film and had to be rebuilt from scratch for Despicable Me 4 because his old character model was too dated.

Which Spanish animator pitched the original idea for Despicable Me to Illumination's founder?

The pitch was about a hero with villainous attributes; Pablos later made the hand-drawn feature Klaus.

Before co-directing Despicable Me, Chris Renaud worked in animation at which studio?

Coffin was hired for his commercials work with Mac Guff, Renaud for his Blue Sky experience on films like Ice Age.

Roughly how many artists at Mac Guff animated the first Despicable Me?

The sequel used over 400 artists; the tiny first-film crew was a cost-saving choice.

What was the production budget of the first Despicable Me?

The film grossed $544.2 million, and Illumination has kept most of its budgets in the $60-80 million range since.

At which festival did Despicable Me first screen, in June 2010?

Despicable Me 3, Minions: The Rise of Gru and Minions & Monsters all also premiered at the same French animation festival.

The Minions were inspired by the Oompa-Loompas and by which Star Wars characters?

Their look was also shaped by Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, since they have to act largely without words.

Which Flight of the Conchords star voiced Jerry the Minion in the first film?

Chris Renaud voiced Dave; Pierre Coffin took sole voice duty for the Minions from the 2015 spin-off onward.

How did Pierre Coffin originally end up voicing the Minions?

Test audiences liked his scratch vocals so much that he kept the job through Minions & Monsters.

Coffin has said he lent his voice to how many individual Minions in Despicable Me 2?

The count sits just short of the 900 mark; he also records different dubs of Minionese for different countries.

Minionese mixes gibberish with English, French, Spanish, Italian and which Southeast Asian language?

Coffin's mother, Nh. Dini, was an Indonesian novelist; the language is dubbed slightly differently in each country.

Before the film gave Minions a prehistoric origin, how did writers think they were made?

Writer Cinco Paul later described the Minions movies as Gru's bedtime stories or implanted memories to square the two origins.

Illumination's founder left which studio in early 2007 before starting the company?

At Fox he oversaw Ice Age and Horton Hears a Who!, whose writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio followed him to Despicable Me.

Illumination is headquartered in which California city, while outsourcing its animation to Paris?

Almost every Illumination film has been animated by Illumination Studios Paris, formerly Mac Guff.

In 2017 Despicable Me overtook which series to become the highest-grossing animated franchise ever?

The franchise has now taken more than $6 billion worldwide across seven films.

In the 'Gru's Plan' meme scene, his moon-heist presentation is interrupted by a drawing of him doing what?

The same film also spawned the 'Gorl' meme, from the way Gru pronounces the word girl.

What is the name of the mutagen stolen at the start of Despicable Me 2?

The serum turns Minions into purple, indestructible monsters, an idea used instead of a scrapped superpowered-Minions plot.

In Despicable Me 2, what kind of shop do Gru and Lucy use as their cover at the mall?

The wig shop belongs to suspect Floyd Eaglesan, voiced by Ken Jeong.

Which actor was in talks to voice El Macho in 2011 but chose to play the villain in Skyfall instead?

Al Pacino then recorded the whole part and quit weeks before release, so Benjamin Bratt re-voiced the finished animation in five days.

Who voices Silas Ramsbottom, the AVL director whose surname the Minions cannot stop giggling at?

Coogan also voices the Tower guard in Minions and Dru's butler Fritz in Despicable Me 3.

Lucy Wilde's personal martial art blends jujitsu, krav maga, Aztec warfare and what?

She and Gru marry after 147 dates, and she becomes the girls' adoptive mother.

Rumours claimed Despicable Me 2 was kept out of China because the Minions resembled which former president?

The real reason was a distribution dispute; the film finally opened in China in January 2014.

Pharrell's 'Happy' lost the Best Original Song Oscar to which song?

Happy was still the best-selling song of 2014 in both the US and UK, topping the UK chart on three separate occasions.

Pharrell originally wrote 'Happy' for which other singer, whose label passed on it?

Pharrell has said he preferred that version, but the label was about to release the singer's Christmas album.

Which film in the franchise was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature?

It picked up two Oscar nominations in total, the other for Best Original Song, and lost both to Frozen.

In Despicable Me 3, the villain's cancelled 1980s TV show was called what?

Trey Parker took the role partly so he would have something to watch with his infant daughter.

Trey Parker said he considered basing his Balthazar Bratt performance on which former child star?

It was Parker's first job performing something he had not written since BASEketball in 1998.

Gru's twin Dru lives in which fictional country?

The home release came with a Freedonian map, and Dru's butler Fritz is voiced by Steve Coogan, who also plays Silas Ramsbottom.

In Despicable Me 3, Gru and Dru's late father was a supervillain known as what?

His inventions, not honest work, are revealed as the true source of Dru's fortune.

Bratt's giant robot covers Hollywood in what, hoping to lift the city into space?

Gru finishes him off in a dance fight using Bratt's own weaponised keytar.

Dr. Nefario misses most of Despicable Me 3 after accidentally freezing himself in what?

It is a Star Wars nod: Han Solo suffers the same fate in The Empire Strikes Back.

Mel, the Minion who leads the walkout in Despicable Me 3, was designed to resemble whom?

Co-director Eric Guillon had first drawn the Illumination boss as a Minion on a birthday card.

What does Agnes name the one-horned goat she mistakes for a unicorn in Despicable Me 3?

Even after learning he is a goat she keeps him, and Despicable Me 4 has her fretting he will forget her.

Who voices Maxime Le Mal, the cockroach-themed villain of Despicable Me 4?

Maxime and Gru end the film performing 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' for the inmates of the AVL prison.

What is the name of the villain school where Gru and Maxime attend a class reunion in Despicable Me 4?

Its principal, Frau Übelschlecht, is voiced by director Chris Renaud.

Lenny, the school mascot Gru helps his teenage neighbour Poppy steal in Despicable Me 4, is what animal?

Lenny's collar carries a tracker, which is how Maxime learns where the family is hiding.

Who voices Poppy Prescott, the aspiring villain next door in Despicable Me 4?

Poppy's arcade-machine scene began life as an animation test that the filmmakers liked enough to keep.

The Mega Minions in Despicable Me 4 were modelled on which Marvel team?

The Incredibles was the other touchstone; the team's screen time was cut back to avoid feeling like a Marvel film.

How many Minions are given superpowers to form the Mega Minions?

Dave gets strength, Jerry turns to rock, Tim stretches, Mel fires a heat ray and Gus flies.

Illumination's June 2024 parody teaser promised 100 years of Mega Minions projects under what name?

Its fake slate included Mega Minions: The Tax Write-Off, a jab at Warner Bros. shelving finished films.

The 2015 Minions film was greenlit after its writer noticed the popularity of what?

Brian Lynch's prequel pitch convinced a team that had doubted characters without real dialogue could carry a film.

Which of the Minion trio in the 2015 film is described as a musician and the slacker of the group?

The Queen rewards him with an electric guitar at the end; Kevin gets a knighthood.

How does Bob briefly become King of England in Minions?

He then abdicates in Scarlet Overkill's favour, which does nothing to improve her mood.

Who voices Herb Overkill, Scarlet's inventor husband?

Hamm later narrated the Super Bowl trailer for Despicable Me 4.

Which Absolutely Fabulous star voices Queen Elizabeth II in Minions?

Saunders' Queen hands out the film's closing rewards: a knighthood, an electric guitar and a tiny crown for a teddy bear.

How much was Sandra Bullock reportedly paid to voice Scarlet Overkill?

Steve Carell was paid a reported $12.5 million for Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Which colour company created an official shade called 'Minion Yellow' in 2015?

Universal reportedly spent $593 million promoting Minions, the biggest campaign in the studio's history.

Minions set the record for the biggest opening weekend by a prequel, beating which film?

Its $115.2 million debut was second only to Shrek the Third among animated films at the time.

Minions was the third animated film to pass $1 billion worldwide. Which two got there first?

It crossed the line on August 28, 2015 and finished at $1.159 billion.

Which action star voices the Vicious 6 member with a giant mechanical lobster claw for an arm?

Lundgren plays roller-skating Svengeance and Trejo the metal-fisted Stronghold.

Who voices Master Chow, the acupuncturist who teaches the Minions kung fu in The Rise of Gru?

Yeoh won her Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once the following year.

Who voices Belle Bottom, the disco-styled leader of the Vicious 6?

Her dragon flames critically burn Wild Knuckles in the finale, though he turns out to have faked his death.

In The Rise of Gru, what business is Dr. Nefario running when Gru first meets him?

The shop, Criminal Records, doubles as the front for the Vicious 6's lair.

Which Wu-Tang Clan member voices the biker Otto befriends on the road to San Francisco?

The biker's nephew Brad is the boy who swapped Otto a pet rock for the Zodiac Stone.

China's cut of The Rise of Gru ended with a message saying Wild Knuckles had been what?

The added text also claimed he took up acting and founded a theatre troupe while Gru went home to his family.

Which Taylor Swift and Lorde producer made The Rise of Gru's soundtrack of 1970s covers?

Its lead single paired Diana Ross with Tame Impala on 'Turn Up the Sunshine'.

The 2022 'Gentleminions' trend of watching The Rise of Gru in suits began in which country?

Several UK cinemas ended up banning groups in formal wear after bananas were thrown at screens.

Which Yeat song, commissioned for the film's trailer, became the soundtrack of Gentleminions videos?

PostTrak found 34% of the film's audience was aged 13 to 17, unusually high for an animated film.

Despicable Me Minion Mayhem replaced which attraction at Universal Studios Florida?

The Japan version, opened in 2017, took over the old Back to the Future dome instead.

Which Universal Studios park opened a Minion Mayhem ride on Valentine's Day 2025?

It replaced Madagascar: A Crate Adventure as part of a new Minion Land.

Minion Rush was downloaded more than how many times in its first three months after its 2013 launch?

The Gameloft runner went on to pass a billion downloads by 2021 and won a Kids' Choice Award for Favorite App.

Which composer scored every Despicable Me and Minions film until Minions & Monsters (2026)?

Pereira co-wrote the scores with Pharrell Williams; John Powell took over for the 2026 prequel.

Minions & Monsters (2026) follows a Minion tribe trying to make their own monster movie in what setting?

Christoph Waltz voices the director who hires them, and Jeff Bridges plays both heads of the studio.

Who voices Valentina, Maxime Le Mal's femme fatale girlfriend, in Despicable Me 4?

The film also brought in Chloe Fineman and Stephen Colbert as Poppy's parents Patsy and Perry Prescott.

Roughly how much did Despicable Me 4 gross worldwide, ranking fourth for 2024?

Despite mixed reviews it finished as the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2024.

Which School of Rock screenwriter co-wrote Despicable Me 4 with Ken Daurio?

Chris Renaud, who co-directed the first film, returned to direct the fourth instalment.

Which veteran actor gave his final film performance in Minions: The Rise of Gru?

He played Wild Knuckles, the former Vicious 6 leader who becomes Gru's mentor; the film grossed $940 million, fifth-biggest of 2022.