The long wait was over as Despicable Me 4 reached the theatres on 5 July 2024 in India. Directed by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage, produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination, it is one of those films for which the people are willing to wait and celebrate. This is pretty much evident from the release of the previous sequels. Despicable Me 4 is the fourth main installation after the one in 2017, though it is the sixth one in the overall release list.
For those unfamiliar with the Despicable Me sequels, it is an American animated film with Gru, a secret agent and his yellow Minions working on villains.
For those unfamiliar with the Despicable Me sequels, it is an American animated film with Gru, a secret agent and his yellow Minions working on villains. Sequel after sequel, the film gathered much audience appreciation resulting in the wide popularity of Minions more than for the central character Gru. The film saw an increased interest for Minions themed accessories, decors, toys and much more.
Despicable Me 4 deals with another adventurous story of Gru, trying to protect his big family from the onslaught by his rival and old classmate Maxime Le Mal, the new villain in town, sworn to take revenge upon his family. Despicable Me 4 spirals through a number of happenings, mostly homely ones surrounding Gru and the celebration of the new member of the family, Gru Jr. Despicable Me 4 is undoubtedly a box office hit and a game changer.
Idea of cliched villainy: Maxime Le Mal
Like all the previous main installations, the film has a villain who makes it hard for Gru to lead a calm and family oriented life, especially after the addition of Gru Jr. But apart from his old rivalry with Gru, Maxime Le Mal does not have any good reason at hand to proceed. Besides wanting to excel over Gru, Maxime Le Mal wants to conquer the world with the cockroach body that he developed through experimenting.
Maxime Le Mal is assisted by his self absorbed and fashionable girlfriend Valentina. Le Mal thinks that he has been wronged many times in his childhood especially when he and Gru studied together in Lycee Pas Bon, their old school. To exact revenge, he plans to kidnap Gru Jr and change him into a human-cockroach hybrid, just as he plans to do for the entire human race. In retrospect, altogether, Maxime Le Mal is not that capable and talented a villain in either spotting the family nor in his plans. Therefore, his character is not given much relevance or plot for development.
In spite of trying to show Maxime Le Mal as an evil villain initially, Despicable Me 4 loses its grip over his motives and plunges into the homeliness of Gru’s family.
In spite of trying to show Maxime Le Mal as an evil villain initially, Despicable Me 4 loses its grip over his motives and plunges into the homeliness of Gru’s family. Had the villain and school events associated to it were there, it could have generated more scope for the film to garner laughter. Rather, it just includes one scene responsible for the entire villainy of Maxime Le Mal that stands out as too unbelievable.
The warmth of growing family in Despicable Me 4
Gru, Lucy, Margo, Edith, Agnes and the new member, Gru Jr. create an atmosphere of close-knit family thinking and acting alike. With time they have learned to sacrifice many of their individual tastes and preference to the comfort of home. They oblige to the main force in order to grow together in harmony as shown through little Agnes giving up on her favorite ‘unicorn’, in reality, a one-horned lamb.
Lucy becomes a fulltime mother catering to her baby and the girls, yet not giving up her rigor and skill for her profession. This is evident in the supermarket scene when she races to take the kids and herself to safety from an unanticipated attack. Margo though an introvert and comfort lover leaves her school as per the change of plan and all of them pick up new identities.
Like all the rest, Gru undergoes a change in attitude to become a father and a husband, learning to do groceries and spend time with the annoying Gru Jr., his biological son. The baby is well looked after and loved by all and minions assigned for the task take care of him.
But the astonishing fact is that the Minions are forced to take a back seat especially with the arrival of the baby. They do not get a lot of screen time or fun sequence as they used to and the filmmakers have also not really attempted at making it any better. This change of focus is achieved by the retirement of the Minions to the AVL training station to identify at least some of them who could transform themselves into the protectors of the family.
Dave, Mel, Gus, Tim and Jerry are selected to become protectors called Megaminions with superpowers akin to the Fantastic 4 which appears as a cameo here.
Dave, Mel, Gus, Tim and Jerry are selected to become protectors called Megaminions with superpowers akin to the Fantastic 4 which appears as a cameo here. Unfortunately, their irresponsible acts lead to the cancellation of the plan. These sequences are also cliched and erupts dissatisfaction among the viewers since it does not have anything new to show.
Lost humour and the minions
Though initially, the Minions and their crazy acts evoked laughter and fun for the viewers, sadly it is no more exciting. Despicable Me 4 goes through the same sequences which do not strike any better, nothing new is cooked up and the enigma of ‘Minionization’ is slowly evaporating away. As if predicting it earlier, the filmmakers had planned to cast them off in the minimal way possible. Yet the boredom of the predictable gimmicks and the not so favourable transition into the Fantastic 4 cameo fit them ill.
The new neighbors, the Prescotts and their daughter Poppy who aspires to be a villain like the former Gru and their combination sequence is an intriguing addition filled with action. Their adventure into Lycee and their stealing of Lenny, the honey badger mascot, to enroll in the school includes some cute and comical sequence. Apart from these, Despicable Me 4 fails to identify or develop any further comical scenes. Hence, the film though known for its slapstick comedy has nothing new to offer.
Even when the film is disappointing, it is noteworthy to understand the underscored significance it lays on good habits and upbringing routines for young children and parental guides spread throughout the film. Agnes, Margo and Edith enjoy their time with each other becoming more protective of each other, caring for the new baby. Gru spends more time with the baby Gru Jr. and tries to identifying his likes and dislikes. Despicable Me 4 undoubtedly helps to shape child behavior.
Above all these, in overall retrospect, Despicable Me 4 has not kept up its standards and has come out as an unplanned and unscrupulous venture. Therefore, the mixed reception of the audience and the numbers at the box office is justifiable. For the production house that created a revolution with the Despicable Me releases, this is a bad sign for the future. Though there is talk for the next film in two years, it is unlikely to be a big success like before.
