June 9, 2024 (Jazz at Lincoln Center)
July 3, 2024 (United States)
Despicable Me 4 is an American animated comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. It serves as the sequel to Despicable Me 3, the fourth main installment, and the sixth installment overall in the Despicable Me franchise. The film is directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Patrick Delage, produced by Chris Meledandri and Brett Hoffman, and written by Mike White and Ken Daurio. It stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Miranda Cosgrove, Chloe Fineman, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Coogan.
Development on a fourth Despicable Me film began in September 2017. It was officially confirmed in February 2022, with Renaud, Delage, and White attached as director, co-director, and writer, respectively. Production was underway by June 2022. Most of the main voice cast was announced in January 2024, with Hoffman and Daurio revealed as co-producer and co-writer, respectively.
Despicable Me 4 was theatrically released in the United States on July 3, 2024.
Storyline[]
Undercover Anti-Villain League (AVL) agent Gru attends a class reunion at his former high school Lycée Pas Bon where he reunites with Maxime Le Mal, a former classmate of his who has a feud with Gru for "stealing" his talent show act. During the ceremony, Maxime reveals he has enhanced himself with cockroach body parts, and Gru has him arrested by the AVL. Helped by his girlfriend Valentina, Maxime escapes prison and reveals his new invention, a gun that transforms people into cockroach hybrids, which he plans to use specifically on Gru's infant son Gru Jr., who despises his father.
Days later, Silas Ramsbottom visits the Gru household to inform them that Maxime has escaped and that the AVL will have to relocate the Gru family to a safe house in another town under new identities. Meanwhile, the AVL takes in the Minions. Silas selects five of them to be augmented with superpowers under a new initiative called the Mega Minions. However, the initiative is called off after the group unintentionally caused significant collateral damage in a nearby city.
In their new well-off residential town, Gru and his family meet their new neighbors, the Prescotts, and their teenage daughter Poppy. Poppy, an aspiring villain, recognizes Gru from his former career as a villain and threatens to blow his cover unless he helps her pull a heist to steal Lycée Pas Bon's honey badger mascot Lenny. With the help of two Minions and Gru Jr., they successfully steal Lenny from the school, unaware that Lenny's collar contains a tracker. The school's principal Übelschlecht identifies Gru via security camera footage and contacts Maxime to inform him about Gru's whereabouts using Lenny's collar.
The next day, while Gru and Lucy are away at tennis practice, leaving the girls and Poppy to watch over Gru Jr., Übelschlecht visits the safe house to interrogate them about Gru, which makes Poppy promptly leave. Gru and Lucy rush back home after being alerted by Margo and they all fight Übelschlecht. Lucy also signals the AVL who calls the Mega Minions out of retirement to stop Maxime. In the havoc, however, Gru Jr. leaves the house and is spotted by Maxime and Valentina, who kidnap him. Lucy and the girls stay behind to handle Ubelschlecht as Gru decides to save his son along with Poppy.
Using a flying car, Gru and Poppy chase after the ship, with Poppy getting Gru onto the ship. Gru hijacks the ship, causing it to crash land onto a building under construction. Maxime reveals he has brainwashed and transformed Gru Jr. into a human-cockroach hybrid and they fight Gru off. Gru's words to his son manage to break Gru Jr. free from his brainwashing and attacks Maxime instead. Gru punches Maxime, and he falls off the building to the ground, where he is further squashed by the Mega Minions and in whole army of animals, who arrive in turn. The AVL then arrest Maxime and Valentina.
Reunited with Lucy and the girls, the family return to their original home, where Dr. Nefario reverses Gru Jr.'s transformation. Sometime later, Gru visits Maxime in prison to talk and settle their differences. The pair then puts on a performance of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" at an AVL prison for the prisoners, attended by villains from the past, while Poppy is enrolled at Lycée Pas Bon.
Also See[]
- Despicable Me 4 (2024) (Trailers)
- Despicable Me 4 (2024) (TV Spots)
- Despicable Me (2010)
- Despicable Me 2 (2013)
- Despicable Me 3 (2017)
- Minions (2015)
- Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)