Despicable Me 2

Despicable Me 2 is a 2013 American animated comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, and distributed by Universal. It is the sequel to Despicable Me (2010) and the second installment in the Despicable Me franchise. The film was directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and written by the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. It stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Steve Coogan, and Ken Jeong. In the film, secret agent Lucy Wilde recruits retired supervillain Gru to investigate the theft of a powerful mutagen by El Macho, a supervillain who pursues world domination.
Development of Despicable Me 2 began in 2010 following the success of the original film, with the directors, producers, and writers returning. Production was underway by February 2012, with the majority of the cast returning to voice the characters, along with new cast members, while animation services were provided by Illumination Mac Guff in France. Al Pacino was cast as the voice of El Macho, recording all of his dialogue, but left in May 2013 over creative differences; Bratt was brought in to replace Pacino, and used him as an inspiration after finding imitating his voice impossible. Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams returned for the sequel's music.
Despicable Me 2 premiered in Australia on June 5, 2013, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 3. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its humor and animation. It earned $971 million worldwide, becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 2013 and the most profitable film for Universal Pictures at the time. It was nominated for two awards at the 86th Academy Awards, and received numerous other accolades. A sequel, Despicable Me 3, was released in 2017.
A mysterious aircraft steals a highly potent mutagen known as PX-41 from a laboratory in the Arctic Circle. Silas Ramsbottom, director of the Anti-Villain League (AVL), sends agent Lucy Wilde to recruit former supervillain Gru, who is forcibly brought to their headquarters and asked to help them track down the culprit and recover the mutagen. However, Gru refuses and informs Silas and Lucy that he has enough responsibilities as a father and as the owner of a jelly-producing business. Later, Dr. Nefario, Gru's assistant, quits to accept a job offer to assist another villain; this causes a reluctant Gru to decide to work with the AVL after all. He and Lucy are partnered and stationed at a shopping mall, with a cupcake store as their front.
Gru immediately suspects that Mexican restaurant owner Eduardo Pérez might be "El Macho", a supervillain who was presumed dead after riding a shark into an active volcano with two hundred fifty pounds of dynamite strapped to his chest. That night, Gru and Lucy break into Eduardo's restaurant, but find no evidence that Eduardo has done anything villainous. Meanwhile, Gru's three adopted daughters, Margo, Edith and Agnes, who dream of having a mother one day, believe that Gru will eventually fall in love with Lucy. Gru denies it, saying his relationship with Lucy is only professional.
Despite holding Eduardo as his prime suspect, Gru agrees to pursue other leads, including the shop of wig merchant Floyd Eaglesan, where Lucy discovers traces of the mutagen. After witnessing Eduardo's son, Antonio, woo Margo, Gru renews his focus on Eduardo, who in turn invites the family to his Cinco de Mayo party. Gru's neighbor, Jillian, sets him up on a blind date that goes wrong with Shannon, who tries to take Gru's wig, but Lucy saves Gru from embarrassment by shooting Shannon in the behind with a tranquilizer dart; Lucy helps Gru escape and the two form a friendship. The AVL arrests Floyd after finding a nearly empty jar of the mutagen in his shop. Despite Floyd's protest of being framed, Ramsbottom then closes the investigation and reassigns Lucy to Australia, leaving Gru heartbroken.
At the party, Gru follows Eduardo and discovers that he is indeed El Macho. Having faked his death and with Nefario as his assistant, El Macho has kidnapped most of Gru's Minions and used the mutagen to mutate them into purple mindless and indestructible monsters, intent on using them to conquer the world. El Macho offers Gru the chance to team up with him, but Gru becomes terrified and leaves with his daughters, including Margo, who was recently dumped by Antonio. Suspicious, El Macho sends one of the mutated Minions, Kevin, after them.
Lucy, having decided to disobey orders and return home, arrives at the party right after Gru leaves. Realizing that Gru and Lucy are working for the AVL, El Macho holds Lucy hostage; this is witnessed by Nefario, who subsequently informs Gru of the situation. Gru infiltrates El Macho's fortress by pretending to have been captured by two mutated Minions (who are normal Minions in disguise), but the real mutated Minions see through the ruse and attack them. Meanwhile, Kevin breaks into Gru's house and attacks Margo and Agnes. They lure him to Gru's lab, where Nefario arrives with an antidote to reverse Kevin's mutation. Nefario laces Gru's jelly with the antidote. He, the girls, and the surviving Minions hurry to Gru's aid and cure the mutated Minions. El Macho, distraught, threatens to murder Lucy by sending her into the volcano where he previously faked his death and uses the mutagen himself to battle Gru, but Gru and Nefario manage to defeat him.
Gru attempts to free Lucy from the rocket she is tied to, but El Macho's pet chicken, Pollito, activates it. Lucy accepts Gru's invitation for a date and they jump into the ocean before the rocket enters the volcano. Months later, after going on 147 dates, Gru and Lucy get married, and Lucy becomes the girls' adoptive mother.
Additionally, Elsie Fisher voices Agnes, the youngest of the three girls, Dana Gaier voices Edith, the middle of the three girls, Moisés Arias voices Antonio Pérez, El Macho's son and Margo's love interest, Nasim Pedrad voices Jillian, Gru's irritating matchmaking neighbor who wants Gru to date her friends, Kristen Schaal voices Shannon, Jillian's superficial friend, and Pierre Coffin voices the Minions. According to Coffin, he lent his voice to eight hundred ninety-nine of them.
Other cast members include Chris Renaud as additional Minions and an Italian waiter, Vanessa Bayer as a flight attendant, and Nickolai Stoilov as the Arctic lab guards.
Development of Despicable Me 2 began following the unexpected financial success of Despicable Me (2010). In June 2011, Universal announced that the sequel would be released on July 3, 2013. Chris Meledandri, CEO of Illumination Entertainment, confirmed in February 2012 that they had started working on the film. An idea featuring the Minions with superpowers was cut, so the filmmakers decided to use the evil versions of them instead; it was later used in Despicable Me 4 (2024).
In October 2011, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Javier Bardem was negotiating to voice a villain, named El Macho, but the negotiations failed. By February 2012, Al Pacino had joined the cast to voice the villain. In April 2012, producers confirmed that Steve Carell, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher were returning to reprise their roles. Kristen Wiig, who voiced Miss Hattie in the first film, voices Lucy Wilde, an agent of the Anti-Villain League who recruits Gru to track and take down a tough, Mexican villain named El Macho. Steve Coogan joined the cast as Silas Ramsbottom, the head of the Anti-Villain League.
In May 2013, producers announced that Al Pacino had left the film over creative differences about how his character should come to life. At the time of his departure, Pacino's character had already been fully voiced and animated. Chris Renaud, co-director of the film, commented on Pacino's departure: "So we don't want an unhappy actor, and we want something that is well realized on all sides. If you don't see eye to eye, sometimes it's easier to (part company) and move on from there." Benjamin Bratt, who had already been considered before Pacino, stepped in to voice Eduardo. Chris Meledandri, producer of the film, admitted that he was not "aware of any of the major animated films of the last 15 years that has brought an actor in at such a late stage". Due to the finished animation, Bratt had to match his timing exactly to the character's mouth movement. Initially, during his five-day recording, he tried to imitate Pacino's voice, but found it impossible, saying "no one can out-Al Pacino Al Pacino". He ended up only using Pacino as an inspiration, and resolved to go with his own interpretation of the character. His work was commended by Variety, saying: "You'd never guess he wasn't the filmmakers' first choice."
The animation was handled by Illumination Mac Guff in Paris using Autodesk Maya, over 400 artists worked on the sequel, in contrast of the team of 100 artists the first film required.
One of the biggest challenges for the animation team was creating visual effects (such as water and jelly), which led to the crashing and replacement of some of the studio's drives.
Following the success of the predecessor's music, the composers, Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams collaborated again for the music of Despicable Me 2. The soundtrack to the film, titled Despicable Me 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on July 2, 2013, through Back Lot Music. The album featured eight songs and 16 score tracks, combining for 24 tracks in the album. The songs consisted of three original and five incorporated tracks, and two of the songs were already featured in its predecessor.
Williams' original song "Happy" was the only single from the album, released five months after the film's release, on November 21, 2013. It was accompanied by a 24-hour music video upon release, a first for any film, which received a viral response, contributing to the song's global success. It topped the charts in over 19 countries, became the best-selling song in United Kingdom and United States, with over 1.5 and 6.45 million copies sold in 2014, and was nominated for Best Original Song at the 86th Academy Awards.
The soundtrack additionally debuted at US Billboard 200 in number 86, while also featured at the Independent Albums (number 19) and Top Soundtracks (top-three) charts. It also listed in Official Charts Company's Compilation Chart (number 48) and Soundtracks Chart (number 8). A single "Just a Cloud Away" released on March 25, 2022, eight years after the film and soundtrack release.
In March 2013, a blimp dressed to appear as a Minion, named "Despicablimp", in which Universal and Van Wagner Communications owns an American Blimp Corporation A-150 model, traveled through the United States for a 20,000-mile-long (32,000 km) tour to promote the film's release. As one of the largest airships in the world, it measured 165 feet (50 m) in length, 55 feet (17 m) in height, and weighed 8,000 pounds (3.6 t). Universal Pictures partnered the film with licensing and promotional partners valued at an unprecedented $200–$250 million in the next three years. One of the partners was McDonald's, which included in its Happy Meals various Minion toys, some of them unique to a specific country. To take advantage of banana-loving Minions, Chiquita ran various sweepstakes, and a Minion, voiced by Pierre Coffin, performed the song "Chiquita Banana" in the film. Thinkway Toys released various toys and figures, and Hasbro made special games. The campaign featured 600 toy brands. As a promotional tie-in, Despicable Me: Minion Rush was released.
Despicable Me 2 debuted on June 5, 2013, at Event Cinemas in Bondi Junction, Sydney, Australia, followed by a premiere on June 12, at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. In the United States, the film's premiere took place on June 22, at the Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, and was released in theaters on July 3. It was digitally re-mastered into IMAX 3D format and released in select international IMAX theatres.
As with the first film, which did not have a theatrical release in China, the film's distributor Universal Pictures had troubles releasing the sequel. When it was reported in July 2013 that the film had been denied a theatrical release in China, then the second-largest film market in the world, some analysts attributed this to the protection of locally produced animation. There were also rumors that the film's release was banned in China because the film's minions too much resembled former Chinese president Jiang Zemin. China's Film Bureau was "furious" about the negative comments, stating that the film was not submitted for censorship approval. In fact, there was reportedly a "commercial conflict" between Universal and Edko Films, the film's local distributor, over which titles are to be imported. Edko had decided that the film "would not do well in China and decided against using one of the precious quota slots for the film." In December 2013, a few weeks after the Universal Pictures' announcement that it would open a Beijing office, it was reported that Despicable Me 2 would be theatrically released in China on January 10, 2014.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released Despicable Me 2 for digital download on November 26, 2013, and on Blu-ray and DVD on December 10. Physical copies contain an audio commentary; behind-the-scenes featurettes; characterizations of Gru and the evil Minions; deleted scenes; an overview of Gru's equipment; short films Puppy, Panic in the Mailroom, and Training Wheels; and a visit in Illumination Studios Paris. A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version was released in 2017.
Despicable Me 2 earned $368 million in the United States and Canada and $602.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $971 million. It was the third-highest-grossing film of 2013. Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $394.5 million, placing it third on their list of 2013's "Most Valuable Blockbusters". With a budget of $76 million, the film is the most profitable film in the 101-year history of Universal.
In the United States and Canada, Despicable Me 2 was released with The Lone Ranger on July 3, 2013, leading into the Independence Day holiday weekend. It earned $35 million on its first day, including $4.7 million from Tuesday night previews. The film made $24.5 million the following Thursday, the third-highest-ever total for the holiday behind Spider-Man: Far From Home ($25.1 million in 2019) and Transformers ($29 million in 2007). Despicable Me 2 debuted earning $142.1 million across 3,957 theaters, and grossed $82.5 million on its three-day opening weekend. Its second-weekend earnings dropped by 49% to $43 million, edging Grown Ups 2 and Pacific Rim. before being dethroned in its third week by The Conjuring. Despicable Me 2 completed its theatrical run in the United States and Canada on January 16, 2014.
Worldwide, on its first weekend, Despicable Me 2 opened only in Australia with $6.66 million, ahead of Monsters University (2013) which opened on the same weekend. The film set an opening-day record in Latvia. In total, it opened at number one in 67 territories, and set opening-weekend records among animated films in Latin America, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Lebanon, as well as opening-weekend records among all films in South Africa and Venezuela. In Japan, it topped the box office ($3.3 million) beating Elsyium (2013). The film remained in the first position at the box office for two consecutive weekends during July 2013. The film's largest openings occurred in the United Kingdom ($22.5 million), China ($15.4 million), and Mexico ($14.9 million). In total earnings, its largest markets were the United Kingdom ($72.2 million), China ($53.0 million), and Mexico ($47.7 million).
The film has an approval rating of 75% based on 185 professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.7/10. Its critical consensus reads, "Despicable Me 2 offers plenty of eye-popping visual inventiveness and a number of big laughs." Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "Steve Carell's Slavic inflections as Gru do the trick, as before. Wiig's clever hesitations and comic timing help save the day." Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review, saying "The new edition doesn't quite catch that inspired spark." Stephen Whitty of The Star-Ledger gave the film three stars out of four, saying "Not only a fun cartoon but—that rare thing—a sequel which actually improves on the original." Soren Anderson of The Seattle Times gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "It's fun. It's cheerful. It's lollipop colorful. Best of all, it features lots of minion mischief, which guarantees plenty of laughs. But what it doesn't have is an edge."
Stephen Holden of The New York Times gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "It is consistently diverting and so cute you'll want to pet it. Yet it is also weightless and lacks a center." Tirdad Derakhshani of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying "If you're looking for quality prepackaged, predigested Hollywood family fun this summer, you could do a lot worse than Despicable Me 2." Alonso Duralde of TheWrap gave the film a negative review, saying "The minions are still wacky scene-stealers—and once again, we don't get nearly enough of them—but Gru and his daughters have been blanded down to bad-sitcom level." Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film two stars out of four, saying "With its predecessor having made a whopping $540 million globally, it's no wonder that Universal saw fit to order a sequel. But it's not enough just to trot out legions of minions and cobble together a plot. Audiences deserve more imagination and inventiveness than this wan recycling." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a 'C' grade, saying "By the end, every child in the audience will want his or her own monster-minion toy. Adults will just regret the way that Despicable Me 2 betrays the original film's devotion to bad-guy gaiety."
Tom Russo of The Boston Globe gave the film a positive review, saying "The scope of the 'toon espionage-adventure goings-on is surprisingly limited. But the filmmakers so clearly love working on these characters, their creative joy is infectious." Stephanie Merry of The Washington Post gave the film three stars out of four, saying "The animation is beguiling, particularly when Lucy drives her car into the ocean, transforming it into a submarine that scoots around sharks and fish." Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying "While not quite as charming or unique as the original, Despicable Me 2 comes awfully close, extending co-directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin's delightfully silly sensibility to a bit larger universe." Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film three stars out of four, saying "It's a credit that the writing can be so funny in the moment, that it takes time to realize there's no cohesive story, zero dramatic tension and nary a practical lesson for either the characters in the film or the people watching in the theater."
Mary Pols of Time gave the film a positive review, saying "As a sequel it stands level with the first film, and may have the edge on it." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three stars out of four, saying "Co-directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, who do Minion voices expertly, never let up on the laughs. A fart joke in 3-D may not be three times as wacky, but the high spirits of Despicable Me 2 are irresistible fun." A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club gave the film a 'C' grade, saying "What's missing—and this was the crucial component of part one—is a little sour to undercut the sweet. Like its protagonist, a bad guy gone boringly good, Despicable Me 2 has no edge. It's fatally nice and insufficiently naughty."
At the 86th Academy Awards, Despicable Me 2 received nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. Among the film's nominations include ten Annie Awards (winning one), a British Academy Film Award, two Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.
Following the box-office take of Despicable Me 2, it enabled any additional Despicable Me film to improve the franchise's success. Spin-off prequels Minions (2015), Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), and Minions 3 (2026); and sequels Despicable Me 3 (2017) and Despicable Me 4 have been released.