Claim: Despicable Me's animation studio was acquired by an American film production company.

Despicable Me is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy film from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment that was released on July 9 , 2010 in the United States . It is the debut film of Illumination Entertainment . The film was animated by the French animation studio Mac Guff , which was later acquired by Illumination Entertainment . It was directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud as their feature debut film , with a story by Sergio Pablos . The film stars the voice of Steve Carell as Gru , a supervillain who adopts three girls -LRB- voiced by Miranda Cosgrove , Dana Gaier , and Elsie Fisher -RRB- from an orphanage ; and the voice of Jason Segel as Vector , a rival of Gru who steals the Great Pyramid of Giza . When Gru learns of Vector 's heist , he plans an even greater heist : to shrink and steal the Earth 's moon .   The film earned positive reviews from critics , and grossed over $ 543 million worldwide , against a budget of $ 69 million . It launched the Despicable Me franchise with a series of films , including the sequel Despicable Me 2 in 2013 , and the prequel Minions released in 2015 featuring Gru 's Minions as the main characters . Another sequel , Despicable Me 3 , is scheduled for release in 2017 .