Despicable Me 4 (2024) Universal/Comedy RT: 94 minutes Rated PG (action and rude humor) Director: Chris Renaud Screenplay: Mike White and Ken Daurio Music: Heitor Pereira Release date: July 3, 2024 (US) Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Joey King, Sofia Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Pierre Coffin, Dana Gaier, Madison Polan, Chris Renaud, Laraine Newman.
Rating: ***
The key to enjoying Despicable Me 4 is understanding that it does nothing differently than its predecessors. It’s not groundbreaking in any way. Director Chris Renaud, who directed the first two films, doesn’t reinvent the wheel with this fourth entry. It’s simply another silly computer-animated comedy-adventure in which a reformed villain tries to take down another villain with the help of his expanding family and a trio of little yellow mischief makers. Throw in a few subplots and you have Despicable Me 4.
Gru (Carell, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) is now the proud father of a bouncing baby boy who doesn’t like him very much. Gru Jr. has yet to bond with his dad, but he’ll have ample opportunity to do so now that his entire family, including the Minions, has been temporarily relocated. It’s like this. In the opening sequence, Gru attends a class reunion at his alma mater Lycee Pas Bon (which roughly translates to “Bad High School”). He’s not there to reminisce with his old classmates. Rather, he’s there to arrest his school days rival Maxime Le Mal (Ferrell, Anchorman), the latest supervillain in the crosshairs of the AVL (Anti-Villain League). Enhanced with cockroach parts, he plans to conquer the world aided by femme fatale sidekick Valentina (Vergara, Modern Family). He, of course, is stopped by Gru. That makes him mad.
A short while later, Gru’s old boss (Coogan, Blinded by the Light) shows up at his house to inform him Maxime has escaped and is headed his way. He needs to get to a safe house right away with his family- wife Lucy (Wiig, SNL), three adopted daughters Margo (Cosgrove, iCarly), Edith (Gaier) and Agnes (Polan), baby Gru and Minion trio Stuart, Kevin and Bob (all voiced by Pierre Coffin). Now known as “Chet Cunningham”, a solar panel salesman, Gru tries to fit in with his affluent neighbors, the Prescotts.
In a nutshell, here’s what else is going on in Despicable Me 4:
-The Prescotts’ teen daughter Poppy (King, Bullet Train) is an aspiring supervillain. She knows exactly who Gru really is and threatens to expose him unless he helps her pull off a heist at his old school. She plans to steal the school mascot, a honey badger.
– Lucy, now going by “Blanche”, gets a job at a hair salon where she immediately causes bedlam by setting the hair of a snooty customer (OG SNL cast member Newman) on fire. Later, the irate woman goes after Lucy in a supermarket.
– Back at AVL HQ, Silas selects five Minions to be part of an experiment to create a group of “Mega-Minions”, each one with super powers. Naturally, they’re better at creating chaos than helping people.
-Maxime and Valentina have it in mind to kidnap Gru Jr. and turn him into a cockroach hybrid with the supervillian’s latest invention, a cockroach gun. They manage to locate the family-in-hiding with the help of the school principal (Renaud), an elderly meanie in a souped-up wheelchair.
That about covers all the salient points of Despicable Me 4. There are no deep messages or hidden agendas. It’s just a simple CA comedy that kids will absolutely LOVE! It has plenty of Minion (and Mega-Minion) action and silly slapstick. It has Gru trying hard to be a good dad only to end up looking like more of a fool. It has a bunch of random bits, like Gru playing tennis at a snobby country club with the neighbor and his pals with one of the Minions (I can never put names to the Minions) as referee. There’s an amusing running gag with one of the Minions trapped in a vending machine. In short, it’s business as usual for the franchise.
The only complaint I have, and it’s a minor one, is that the writers don’t do more with Margo’s story arc. She’s a middle school student struggling to fit in at a new school. Surely, they could have had some fun with that. Why not have one of the Minions pose as a substitute? That’s be good for a few laughs. It’s a missed opportunity to be sure, but it doesn’t diminish the movie’s overall enjoyment factor.
Despicable Me 4 will appeal to parents as well, especially ones that grew up in the 80s. People in my age group will get a few laughs out of Gru’s impression of Boy George at the school talent show; it’s the thing that caused the rift between him and Maxime to begin with. At the end, the whole cast joins in a big musical number set to “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”.
The animation in Despicable Me 4 is on par with the other three movies. It’s colorful and lively. The voice talents do a good job. Ferrell sounds like he’s having a blast playing a ridiculous villain. Vergara, I just love her voice and accent. They’re all good, what else is there to say?
The bottom line is this: Despicable Me 4 is good family fun. If you’ve already taken the kids to see Inside Out 2, this is a good choice for day when it’s too hot or rainy for outdoor activities.
P.S. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a Mega-Minions movie at some point in the near future. Remember where you heard it first.
