Despicable Me 4: Minions All The Way

In the first Despicable Me movie in seven years, Gru, the world’s favorite supervillain-turned-Anti-Villain League-agent, returns for an exciting, bold new era of Minions mayhem in Illumination’s Despicable Me 4. Following the 2022 summer blockbuster phenomenon of Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru, which earned almost $1 billion worldwide, the biggest global animated franchise in history now begins a new chapter as Gru (Oscar® nominee Steve Carrell) and Lucy (Oscar® nominee Kristen Wiig) and their girls–Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Madison Polan)–welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad. Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal (Emmy winner Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Emmy nominee Sofia Vergara), and the family is forced to go on the run.

REVIEW:

All I want, all anybody wants with a Despicable Me 4 movie is minions, minions, minions in different shapes, sizes and varieties doing silly minion things. Anything shorter than Gru and thus di-MINION-itive will do. That includes the three daughters of Gru and his newborn who adorably hates him. And the steel helmeted army of cockroaches that help Maxine (Will Ferrell), the French lisping standard issue evil genius villain for this fourth issue. “Ze babyee is peeing all over the schip, “ with its delicate balance between ship and shit in that last word, had me cracking up and repeating the line for half the day and night afterwards, saying it every time my overly affectionate dog licked my wife’s face or mine.

Critics saying this version is overstuffed is a virtue in my book. Gru (Steve Carell) has a plot that involved minions. The kids have a plot that involves minions. The villain has his minions. The head of the secret agency that Gru works for is staffed entirely by minions. Minions are everywhere and occupy the edges of the screen. Minion absurdity and skits and Easter Eggs rule!

The main plot involves keeping Gru from the clutches of his evil arch nemesis and his once high school rival Maxine. They both live to imitate and upstage each other. Straightman and comic are forever fighting and redefining their roles. This guarantees funny in it’s essence.

Villains, both good and bad like to plot, and the director and writers delight in keeping the characters happy to their very core. This version has Gru relocating to a safe house, a mini mansion squeezed in between Mac-mansions for a fish out of water plot. It’s also a revenge plot from Maxine’s perspective. A high school comedy from Gru’s. An afterschool special about making friends in a new town from the kids. Both a psycho horror stalking thriller and a class comedy from the wife’s.

Maxine with his cockroach army, obsession and inventions is a character that Franz Kafka would have loved. He delights in metamorphosis be it his or others. He’s the perfect foil and complement for Gru. Both are ostentatious- Gru in manner, Maxine in both manner and style- an overdressed bedazzler that favors glittery greens, pompadours and ostentatious eyewear. He’s a reminder of what Gru could have and would have become if he hadn’t found domestic bliss and a true family. He works for AVL (the Anti-Villain League) and Maxine for EVL, Gru’s former disposition and organization.

The minions get new supersized versions which mimic the Marvel Universe, SNL and Sesame Street. There’s a banana elastic one, a hulk version, three others that look like a cone head, another that chomps like Cookie Monster, and another that’s just a huge yellow bowling ball. They make mayhem and are retired and unretired whenever the plot demands it.

It’s not important that you follow all the plots, just take in all the loony details. Despicable Me 4 wants you to focus on its side life. Despicable Me 4 gets a 3.5/5 or a B+.