“Despicable Me 4” is a 2024 American animated comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination, distributed by Universal. It follows “Despicable Me 3” (2017) as the fourth main installment and sixth overall in the Despicable Me franchise. Directed by Chris Renaud and co-directed by Patrick Delage (in his feature directorial debut), the film was produced by Chris Meledandri and Brett Hoffman, with a screenplay by Mike White and Ken Daurio.
The voice cast includes Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Sofía Vergara, Chris Renaud, Madison Polan, Dana Gaier, Chloe Fineman, Stephen Colbert, and Will Ferrell. The story centers on Gru and his family, who must relocate to a safe house to evade Maxime Le Mal, an old rival of Gru, and his girlfriend Valentina, who seek revenge.
Development for the fourth film began in September 2017 and was officially confirmed in February 2022, with Renaud, Delage, and White attached as director, co-director, and writer, respectively. Production was underway by June 2022. Most of the main voice cast was announced in January 2024, with Hoffman and Daurio revealed as co-producer and co-writer. Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams returned to compose the score and write original songs and themes, respectively.
| Directed by | Chris Renaud |
|---|---|
| Written by | Mike White Ken Daurio |
| Produced by | Chris Meledandri Brett Hoffman |
| Starring | Steve Carell Kristen Wiig Pierre Coffin Joey King Miranda Cosgrove Sofía Vergara Steve Coogan Chris Renaud Madison Polan Dana Gaier Chloe Fineman Stephen Colbert Will Ferrell |
| Edited by | Tiffany Hillkurtz |
| Music by | Heitor Pereira (score) Pharrell Williams (songs and themes) |
| Production companies | Universal Pictures Illumination |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release dates | June 9, 2024 (Jazz at Lincoln Center) July 3, 2024 (United States) |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $100 million |
| Box office | $73.7 million |
Voice cast:
- Steve Carell as Felonious Gru: A former supervillain turned Anti-Villain League agent; adopted father of Margo, Edith, and Agnes, biological father of Gru Jr., and husband of Lucy, who poses as “Chet Cunningham”.
- Kristen Wiig as Lucy Wilde: An Anti-Villain League agent, Gru’s wife, adoptive mother to Margo, Edith, and Agnes, and biological mother of Gru Jr., who poses as “Blanche Cunningham”.
- Will Ferrell as Maxime Le Mal: A French-accented supervillain who seeks revenge on Gru and his family.
- Joey King as Poppy Prescott: An aspiring supervillain who has admired Gru for a long time, and Gru’s new neighbor in Mayflower.
- Sofía Vergara as Valentina: Maxime’s femme fatale girlfriend.
- Stephen Colbert as Perry Prescott: Poppy’s father, Patsy’s husband, and Gru’s new neighbor in Mayflower.
- Chloe Fineman as Patsy Prescott: Poppy’s mother, Perry’s wife, and Gru’s new neighbor in Mayflower.
- Miranda Cosgrove as Margo: Gru and Lucy’s oldest adopted daughter, who poses as “Bree Cunningham”.
- Steve Coogan as Silas Ramsbottom: The previously-retired director of the Anti-Villain League.
- Pierre Coffin as the Minions: The yellow henchmen of Gru, most of whom later get jobs at the Anti-Villain League as agents.
- Dana Gaier as Edith: Gru and Lucy’s middle adopted daughter, who poses as “Blair Cunningham”.
- Madison Polan as Agnes: Gru and Lucy’s youngest adopted daughter, who poses as “Britney Cunningham”. Polan replaces Nev Scharrel from the third film.
- Chris Renaud as Principal Übelschlecht: The principal of Lycée Pas Bon.
- Laraine Newman as Melora: A salon customer who was accidentally burned by Lucy.
- John DiMaggio as Karl: An AVL bus driver.
- Tara Strong as Felonious Gru Jr.: Gru and Lucy’s biological son and the foster brother of Margo, Edith, and Agnes, who poses as “Chet Cunningham Jr.”.
- Romesh Ranganathan as Dr. Nefario: Gru’s gadgeteer who provides inventions for him and his Minions. Ranganathan replaces Nefario’s long-time actor, Russell Brand from previous films.
Music:
In March 2024, Heitor Pereira was announced to be composing the film’s score, returning from the previous installments. Pharrell Williams was also confirmed to return, co-composing the score with Pereira and writing new songs.
On May 8, Williams previewed a 30-second snippet of his original song “Double Life” for the film on his YouTube channel. On June 14, 2024, Williams released the song as the first single from the Despicable Me 4 soundtrack. The song has been interpreted as a diss track aimed at Canadian rapper Drake. Derrick Rossignol, writing for Uproxx, noted that “the tune isn’t as general and movie-agnostic as something like ‘Happy,’ but it has a great groove, and that Gru refrain is actually catchy as hell. This probably won’t be a world-changing single like ‘Happy,’ but it’s in the upper tier of kids movie soundtrack fare.” The original soundtrack was released on June 27, 2024, by Back Lot Music.
Release:
“Despicable Me 4” premiered at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on June 9, 2024, and had its French premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 13. The film was theatrically released in Australia on June 20, and in the United States on July 3.
