Despicable Me 4 (2024)

​“Despicable Me 4” stars Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Madison Polan, Will Ferrell, Sofia Vergara, Joey King, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman, Pierre Coffin, and Steve Coogan.  Released on July 3, 2024, the film has Gru and his family confronting an escaped criminal bent on revenge.

The film was directed by Chris Renaud, known for directing the first two “Despicable Me” films, “The Lorax”, and the first two “Secret Life of Pets” movies.  It was co-directed by Patrick Delage in his feature directorial debut.  It is the sixth installment in the “Despicable Me” franchise.  Most animated franchises lived long enough to surpass their “trilogy” limit, such as “Shrek”, “Hotel Transylvania”, and recently “Kung Fu Panda”.  While these “fourquels” failed to live up to their solid trilogies, they showcased that families and kids are more than willing to reunite with their favorite cartoon characters, regardless of the quality.  This year, we have yet another popular animated franchise that reached this milestone.  One that kickstarted Illumination’s streak of success and made social media moms go ga-ga over the yellow pint-sized minions.  If you don’t count the “Minions” spin-off movies, “Despicable Me” becomes the latest film series to reach lucky number four in an attempt to milk itself dry with its cartoonish humor, straightforward plots, and charming characters.  If you’re wondering how we reached this point, just remember that kids are the majority of its massive success.  With the latest chapter of Gru’s villainous adventures finally in theaters this holiday weekend, did it maintain or revive the success of the divisive franchise, or is it despicable enough to signify its downfall?  Let’s find out.

The story continues the adventures of Felonious Gru (Carell), a former villain turned father of his adopted daughters, Margo (Cosgrove), Edith (Gaier), and Agnes (Polan).  He and his wife, Lucy Wilde (Wiig), recently gave birth to their youngest son, Gru Jr., who doesn’t see eye to eye with Gru.  Their normal family life gets turned upside down once again when a supervillain, Maxime Le Mal (Ferrell), escapes from jail to seek revenge on Gru for his incarceration.  As a result, Silas Ramsbottom (Coogan), the formally retired director of the Anti-Villain League, relocates Gru and his family to the town of Mayflower as part of Witness Protection.  Under their new aliases, Gru finds himself partnering with an aspiring supervillain named Poppy Prescott (King) to even the odds against Maxime and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Vergara).

There’s no doubt that the first two “Despicable Me” films hold a special place in my heart.  “Despicable Me” remains my favorite film in Illumination’s library for its genuine mixture of Looney Tunes-esque comedy, clever storytelling, and charismatic heart.  As for “Despicable Me 2”, it’s a highly entertaining follow-up that came close to matching its predecessor’s quality.  Plus, it started the trend of expanding the minions' popularity through merchandising.  Unfortunately, by the time “Despicable Me 3” came out, I began to feel the downward trend of the franchise’s direction.  While the third film wasn’t without its harmless moments, it was a restrained yet suitably animated installment that failed to take advantage of its ideas.  The same goes for the recent “Minions” sequel, “The Rise of Gru,” which got tiring with its underdeveloped plot elements and weak slapstick.  I know most people prefer that film over 2015’s “Minions”, but honestly, hearing Steve Carell voicing the young Gru throughout the runtime was as ear-grating as nails on a chalkboard. 

So, knowing Illumination’s schtick in providing harmless kid-friendly entertainment, I didn’t have high hopes for “Despicable Me 4” regarding its story.  However, I hoped it would offer a slight improvement over the previous two installments, especially for its charm and slapstick.  Unfortunately, even with my lowest expectations, the fourth installment made me want to embark on the path to villainy, but not in a fun way.  Similar to the previous “Despicable Me” installments, “Despicable Me 4” is chock full of visual slapstick that’ll undoubtedly please young kids and some of its adult audiences.  However, and this is just my personal opinion, it further pushes the franchise to the point where the charm and wit from the first two films are nonexistent.  Even with the returning team from the previous installments, including director Chris Renaud and writer Ken Daurio, the film seemed to have forgotten why the original was special in the first place.

As usual, it’s understandable that these harmless and cartoony films from Illumination are made to entertain the children and nothing else, especially when viewing them as regular viewers.  It has and always will be one of Illumination’s greatest strengths in the animation department, hence the chockfull of money it’s earning.  However, when viewing it as a critic, “Despicable Me 4” also proves that Illumination continues to struggle with combining its innocent nature with quality and storytelling, mainly the latter.  The plot in "Despicable Me 4" has been criticized for involving too many characters and plot points, and I can see why.  The introduced plot elements, such as the witness protection storyline and the "Mega Minions," seem to serve as a way to create a random and nonsensical narrative, which is typical for a "Despicable Me" or "Minions" movie.  However, the issue is that randomness doesn't always equate to good storytelling.  Without the cleverness and captivating charm to support its fast-paced nature, the film's random situations became more headache-inducing and less enjoyable than intended.

It also doesn’t help that it suffered from the same problem as the third film regarding its ideas and character depth.  Amid the witness protection situation, “Despicable Me 4” offers various character relationships that would’ve played a role in its themes and character growth, including Gru and Gru Jr.  There’s also Poppy Prescott, the next-door neighbor who aspires to become a supervillain like Gru.  Like “Despicable Me 3”, the film had some great ideas that could’ve equated to a fun and heartfelt experience amid its random Looney Tunes-like gags.  Sadly, they lack the commitment and cleverness needed to fulfill those expectations.  Regarding its underdeveloped supporting characters and the aimless direction by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage, “Despicable Me 4” has a simple yet haphazard plot that only aims to make the kids laugh through the Minions slapping each other.  I can credit the “Mega Minions” for their superhero designs, but that’s about it.  There’s nothing exceptional about these powerful freaks of nature other than serving as pointless merchandising.

I would also credit “Despicable Me 4” for maintaining some of the franchise’s heroic merits.  One of them is the voice cast, who continued to provide nifty performances for their respective characters.  Steve Carell is back to voicing the adult version of Gru, and I couldn’t be happier that he did.  The distinctiveness Carell delivered in Gru’s accent further validates the art of voice acting and even the memorability of the characters.  I would gladly take the adult Gru voice over the obnoxious young Gru voice any day.  Kristen Wiig and Joey King were also entertaining regarding their performances as Lucy Wilde and Poppy, respectively, even though the latter could’ve been developed better.  I would also admit that Agnes remains one of the cutest characters Illumination has created, mainly due to Madison Polan’s impeccable voice work.  As for Will Ferrell, the actor’s performance as Maxime certainly has its moments, but the character itself was pretty lackluster, even by the franchise's standards.

Finally, we have the animation.  Regardless of how one feels about its storytelling, "Despicable Me 4" demonstrated that Illumination has maintained its simplistic prowess in its presentation.  The movie's visual humor had a few tolerable moments regarding its cartoonish essence, but everything else was where its animation style truly stood out.  The lively and vibrant sceneries and the fast-paced and immersive action scenes were serviceable enough to cater to children and adults.  At a time when we yearn for more distinctive animation, Illumination proves that its straightforward CGI presentation compensates for any perceived shortcomings with its vibrant and engaging visuals.

Overall, “Despicable Me 4” reaches a new low of despicableness that’s neither villainous nor heroic enough to excuse its similar narrative flaws.  It’s evident that it continues Illumination’s business plan of delighting its target audience with its harmless, family-friendly content, with “Despicable Me” being its magnum opus.  Unfortunately, even with those good merits, it’s not enough to hide its franchise fatigue, with the fourth installment being nothing more than a bunch of random ideas that are as mindless and underdeveloped as the Minions themselves.  The voice cast continued to do solid work with their performances, and the animation shines in its action and background designs.  However, its subpar storytelling, underdeveloped plot elements, weak charm, and witless humor are enough to signify that this is another animated franchise that’s falling from grace.  While it isn’t without a few moments that made me smile, this is by far the weakest and most forgettable installment the despicable franchise had to offer.  Kids and adults who adore the previous installments might find this movie enjoyable, but I wouldn’t say it’s the top choice for them to see this summer.

D+