Tag: Minions: The Rise of Gru

Taking the franchise into new territory on multiple levels from going years down memory lane to spectacular action and humor, Minions: The Rise of Gru tracks how the Minions met their ultimate boss during his younger self as an aspiring villain. Being cautious as a young villain aspirant trying to get in the infamous supervillain group called the Vicious 6, Gru is at first resistant towards the Minions when they first met but eventually won him over with their hard work and irresistible charm.  As a mini boss during their younger years, the Minions have fully supported all of Gru’s ideas and what he wants to become.

Setting the scene back in the 70s, the decade provided the filmmakers with a diamond-mine of music, fashion and pop-culture references to excavate. “I was about the same age that Gru is in our film when I grew up in the ’70s, so it’s very personal to me,” says director Kyle Balda. “The television, the music, the cars, the hairstyles, the bell bottoms—there was just a lot of flair to everything. And with the vibrant colors, the sparkles, disco—it was a visual decade, for sure, and very nostalgic to look back at this era for inspiration.”

One aspect of 1970s pop culture provided an opportunity to elevate the action in The Rise of Gru to a level never seen in any Illumination film before. “Another major reference and inspiration was kung fu films of the ’70s,” Balda says. “We scoured a lot of the movies that I enjoyed as a kid. Some of the sequences that we have in this movie are a tribute to that genre and the great work that’s been done in the likes of Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master and Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer.”  

Minions: The Rise of Gru features the voices of Steve Carell as Gru, Taraji P. Henson as Belle Bottom, Lucy Lawless as Nunchuck, Dolph Lundgren as Svengeance, Danny Trejo as Stronghold, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Jean-Clawed, Michelle Yeoh as Master Chow, Russell Brand as the young Dr. Nefario and Oscar-winner Julie Andrews as Gru’s mom.

Over four films, beginning with 2010’s Despicable Me, Illumination’s Minions have become international icons of mischief, mayhem and joy. Minions: The Rise of Gru is the fifth film in a franchise that continues to thrill and delight audiences in every country and on continent and, consequently, has become the biggest animated global franchise in history, earning more than $3.7 billion worldwide.

A Universal Pictures and Illumination animated feature film, Minions: The Rise of Gru opens in cinemas nationwide on June 29.

From the biggest global animated franchise in history, comes the origin story of how the world’s greatest supervillain first met his iconic Minions, forged cinema’s most despicable crew and faced off against the most unstoppable criminal force ever assembled in Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Minions: The Rise of Gru traces pre-villain Gru long before he became the master of evil. We first see Gru (Oscar® nominee Steve Carell) as a 12-year-old boy in 1970s suburbia, plotting to take over the world from his basement which is not going particularly well. When Gru crosses paths with the Minions, including Kevin, Stuart, Bob, and Otto—a new Minion sporting braces and a desperate need to please—this unexpected family joins forces. Together, they build their first lair, design their first weapons, and strive to execute their first missions.

At a young age, Gru has always wanted to join the supervillain supergroup called the Vicious 6.  When its legendary martial arts fighter Wild Knuckles (Oscar® winner Alan Arkin)— Gru, their most devoted fanboy, finds a way to the interview to become their newest member. The Vicious 6 is not impressed by the diminutive, wannabe villain, but then Gru outsmarts (and enrages) them, and he suddenly finds himself the mortal enemy of the apex of evil. With Gru on the run, the Minions attempt to master the art of kung fu to help save him, and Gru discovers that even bad guys need a little help from their friends.

Featuring more spectacular action than any film in Illumination history and packed with the franchise’s signature subversive humor, Minions: The Rise of Gru stars a thrilling new cast, including, the Vicious 6: Taraji P. Henson as cool and confident leader Belle Bottom, whose chain belt doubles as a lethal disco-ball mace; Jean-Claude Van Damme as the nihilistic Jean Clawed, who’s armed (literally) with a giant robotic claw; Lucy Lawless as Nunchuck, whose traditional nun’s habit hides her deadly nun-chucks; Dolph Lundgren as Swedish roller-skate champion Svengeance, who dispenses his enemies with spin kicks from his spiked skates; and Danny Trejo as Stronghold, whose giant iron hands are both a menace to others and a burden to him. 

The film also stars Russell Brand as Young Dr. Nefario, an aspiring mad scientist, Michelle Yeoh as Master Chow, an acupuncturist with mad kung fu skills, and Oscar® winner Julie Andrews as Gru’s maddeningly self-absorbed mom.

From Illumination and Universal Pictures International, Minions: The Rise of Gru opens in local cinemas nationwide on June 29.