Despicable Me

Despicable Me is a 2010 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment (as its debut film) and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin (in their feature directorial debuts) and produced by Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy, and John Cohen, from a screenplay written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, based on a story by Sergio Pablos. The film stars the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, and Julie Andrews. The film tells the story of a supervillain named Gru, who adopts a trio of orphan girls named Margo, Edith, and Agnes, and attempts to steal a shrink ray from his rival Vector in order to shrink and steal the Moon.

Despicable Me debuted at the Moscow International Film Festival on June 19, 2010, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 9, by Universal Pictures. The film received positive reviews and earned $543.2 million worldwide, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2010. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA Awards and Annie Awards. Despicable Me is the first entry in what would become the franchise of the same name, which includes three more films—Despicable Me 2 (2013), Minions (2015), and Despicable Me 3 (2017). Minions: The Rise of Gru is scheduled for release in 2022. A fourth film, Despicable Me 4, is in development and will be released in 2024.