Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)

July 1, 2022 (USA)

4/5 (Parent Previews)

Janet Healy

## Summary

A fanboy of a supervillain supergroup known as the Vicious 6, Gru hatches a plan to become evil enough to join them, with the backup of his followers, the Minions.

## IMDb Summary

The untold story of one twelve-year-old's dream to become the world's greatest supervillain.

## Cast

* Steve Carell - Gru (voice)
* Pierre Coffin - The Minions (voice)
* Alan Arkin - Wild Knuckles (voice)
* Taraji P. Henson - Belle Bottom (voice)
* Michelle Yeoh - Master Chow (voice)
* Julie Andrews - Gru's Mom (voice)
* Russell Brand - Nefario (voice)
* Jean-Claude Van Damme - Jean-Clawed (voice)
* Dolph Lundgren - Svengeance (voice)
* Danny Trejo - Stronghold (voice)
* Lucy Lawless - Nun-Chuck (voice)
* Jimmy O. Yang - Henchman 1 (voice)
* Kevin Michael Richardson - Henchman 2 (voice)
* John DiMaggio - Henchman 3 (voice)
* RZA - Biker (voice)
* Michael Beattie - VNC Announcer / Guru Rick (voice)
* Will Arnett - Mr. Perkins (voice)
* Steve Coogan - Silas Ramsbottom (voice)
* Colette Whitaker - Gru's Teacher (voice)
* Raymond S. Persi - Birthday Kid (voice)

## Trivia

* Stuart has a Scarlet Overkill lunchbox, the villain that the Minions worked for in the 2015 film.
* This is the longest-advertised animated film in motion picture history, due to a nearly 2½-year gap between its first trailer and its official release.
* The first theatrically released sequel to an animated prequel and an animated spin-off.
* A viral Tiktok trend by Gen-Z viewers made it a meme to dress in suits and attend the film en masse. It was prevalent enough that several cinemas had to ban the teens due to disruptions. As a result PostTrak, reported 34 percent of the opening weekend audience was between ages 13 and 17, an unusually high showing of teenagers for an animated film. The last entry in the franchise, Despicable Me 3 (2017), only had teenagers make up 8 percent of the audience.
* When Gru is escaping the Vicious 6 headquarters, he crosses the street, causing cars to screech to a halt. Behind him, a pedestrian yells at a car "Hey, I'm walkin' here." This is a homage to Dustin Hoffman's improv in Midnight Cowboy when a cab intruded on the filming and Hoffman improvised the famous line.
* The Despicable Me trilogy features main antagonists who are male: Vector, El Macho and Balthazar Bratt. The Minions films feature main female villains: Scarlet Overkill and Belle Bottom.
* Because it was originally going to be released in July 2020, McDonalds had Happy Meal toys for this film in late June 2020 through late July 2020, despite the actual film not coming out until June 2022. In other words, due to the COVID-19 related delays from the original release date, McDonalds had Happy Meal toys based on the film, over two years before the actual release date. In addition, there were 50 different toys in the set, 2 of which were special gold Minions. Similarly, the LEGO Group released a line of sets based on the film in 2020 before its release.
* Marks the first Despicable Me film in five years and the first movie in the franchise not to be directed by Pierre Coffin.
* The first film of the franchise since Despicable Me (2010) to not have any characters voiced by John Cygan, following his death on May 13, 2017, just over a month before the release of Despicable Me 3 (2017).
* The original soundtrack contains cover versions of 1970's hits, while in the movie, contains the actual versions by their respected artists. For example, "Goodbye to Love" is performed by Phoebe Bridgers on the soundtrack, while in the movie, it is performed by the Carpenters respectfully.
* The film is clearly set in 1976, as made abundantly clear by "1976" being on a sign in the opening shot, despite one character later reading a MAD Magazine from 1961.
* Reunites Jean-Claude Van Damme with Dolph Lundgren after Universal Soldier (1992), Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009), The Expendables 2 (2012), Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012), and Black Water (2018). Also, this is their first collaboration in an animation movie.
* At 1h and 27m this is the shortest film in the Despicable Me Franchise after Despicable Me 3 at 1h and 29m.
* This movie will finally be released on July 1, 2022, about 15 years after Illumination was founded.
* When Gru enters the waiting room, one of the villains is reading a copy of Mad magazine. The cover has an image of a poster congratulating Richard Nixon's presidential win. This issue had two front covers - one on the front and one on the back. When flipped over, the back cover had the same scene, but congratulating John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign. This was issue #60, which came out in January 1961. At the time it was being prepared the election was just about to take place, making the actual winner impossible to guess. Despite this cover, the film is set in 1976 as evidenced by a billboard at the beginning of the film and the film also features a pet rock, which did not come out until mid 1975. The googly stick-on eyes were never a feature of pet rocks but people would buy them from craft stores and stick them on.
* Gru's mom asks the Vicious Six why are they dressed in costume because Halloween was four months ago however later in the film it is shown to be Chinese New Year which is less then four months from Halloween
* This is the second Illumination film to be accompanied by a short film, after The Secret Life of Pets (2016).
* Unlike its predecessor Minions (2015) which was presented in a taller 1.85:1 aspect ratio, this film is presented in an anamorphic 2.39:1 format.
* Illumination Entertainment's second film with the 2019 MPA logo after Sing 2 (2021).
* The first theatrically released animated film of all time to confirm its BBFC age rating before the first trailer.
* The first Despicable Me/Minions film not to be released in the 2010s.