Gru Jr. was inspired by baby Gru, reveals Chris Renaud

Last Thursday, the 4th, the film “Despicable Me 4” arrived in Brazilian cinemas, a feature film that features Gru on a new mission: dealing with the newest member of the Gru Jr. family, his youngest son, the result of his relationship with Lucy, while also having to face the new villain Maxime Le Mal, who is determined to take revenge on the protagonist for past events.

The fourth film in the renowned franchise produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures is directed by filmmaker Chris Renaudwho was also responsible for directing the feature films “Despicable Me” (2010) and “Despicable Me 2” (2013).

In an exclusive interview made available to RECREIO, Chris gave more details about his return to the “Despicable Me” universe, his relationship with the characters, and explained the creation of the new film. Check it out!

RECREIO: You’ve been with this franchise since the beginning. What do you do to keep things fresh?

Chris Renaud: I would say keeping things fresh is probably one of the biggest challenges of creating a long-running franchise like this, because you always have to deliver on what the audience loves about these characters, and at the same time, try to find new situations or other characters that come in and kind of stand out in their lives to create a new dynamic. In other words, create something new that gives them a reason to go to the theater and see the movie.

RECREATION: Starting with Gru, these great characters are like gifts that keep coming.

Chris: Yeah, because Gru is a character who lives in this world of supervillains and heroes who are larger than life, but he has a family. And so what are the family dynamics like? So trying to find something new in those two areas was how we approached “Despicable Me 4.”

RECREATION: And then we have the beloved Minions, who have won over audiences around the world since the release of the first film.

Chris: I think the Minions work on a number of levels. First, there’s their simplicity, because from a design perspective, essentially a Minion is a pill with glasses and two colors divided in half so that an adult or a child can draw them. Then there’s their language, which is obviously everything and nothing at the same time. So any culture in the world can put themselves in the shoes of these characters. And then there’s their incompetence, which makes them both silly and lovable, like children. But in a way, they’ve expanded and changed — not a lot, but a little bit over time. It all fits with the Minions, and we’ve had a great response from audiences to them since the beginning. And I think part of that is because we love them, so we keep putting them in movies.

RECREIO: Can you talk about the technical challenge of making these films?

Chris: Well, from a technical point of view, the first “Despicable Me” was a big challenge. We started with the studio in France, and what Pierre Coffin — who was the other director — and I spent a lot of time doing was policing ourselves to avoid mistakes, because when you make an animated film like this, it’s like an assembly line. As a director, you’re looking at every step of the editing process and giving creative input and direction, while also trying to catch mistakes along the way. With computer graphics, you can do anything, but I think what’s great about these films, compared to a lot of other things out there, is that they still have a visual distinction. We didn’t just say, “Oh, we can do anything, so let’s do it.” And even though we’re much more technologically advanced than we were 15 years ago, we still maintain the visual simplicity and graphic quality of the first film.

RECREIO: And now that you’re releasing “Despicable Me 4”, how would you say the look of the films has evolved over time?

Chris: I think what’s happened over time with these movies is that they’ve gotten a little bit closer to the real world. I always laughed when we first made Gru’s house because the door was so narrow he couldn’t fit through it! But it was a cool design…

RECREIO: Patrick Delage joined the project as co-director. What can you say about him?

Chris: He’s an incredible animator with a rich history that goes back to Disney and Pixar. I started out as a storyboard artist, so having someone who really understands animation and can see things that I can’t was a wonderful addition to the team. He’s a wealth of ideas and drawings.

RECREIO: What was your reaction when you first read the script?

Chris: I immediately identified with the family issues that Gru was facing and the idea that they had to move. I remember moving with my family when I was 15, so I thought that was something new to work with as they tried to integrate into this new town of Mayflower while maintaining their secret identities and staying undercover. That was the central plot of the family. Then we added this scary villain and came up with the idea that Gru’s nemesis would be an old high school rival. So we all worked on it together until it evolved into the character Maxime Le Mal, played by Will Ferrell. We made sure that as the story progressed, we took advantage of the opportunities that it presented.

RECREATION: Gru’s family moving to a new town under a secret identity must have provided some fun opportunities.

Chris: Yes, because each member of the family who arrives in this new town has a different direction. Gru is unsure of how he will adapt or what clothes he will wear, while Lucy, played by Kristen Wiig [na versão em inglês]is very excited. And each of the three girls also has a different reaction: Edith is excited about having a secret identity, but Margot is more worried about leaving her friends behind, and Agnes doesn’t like lying because she was told that lying was bad. So they all have different experiences.

RECREATION: What is the city of Mayflower like?

Chris: Well, I would say Mayflower is a very prosperous town. Some of our inspirations were East Hampton, Greenwich, Connecticut, and even Disney’s Main Street. We wanted to create a little bit of a contrast for Gru and his family, so they would feel a little bit out of place, because that’s always good for a character.

RECREATION: Speaking of the characters, Steve Carell is brilliant once again as Gru [na versão em inglês]

Chris: I mean, he’s basically Gru! It’s impossible to imagine what this character would be like without Gru’s voice. Steve. He is also very thoughtful and careful about the role and the acting, always having a point of view about it and being almost protective. Steve Carell inhabits the character of Gru and wants him to be the best he can be. When we schedule a recording session, which can last up to three hours, I can tell you that he always brings a lot of energy. I’ve known him for a long time and it’s an absolute pleasure to work with him.

RECREATION: Kristen Wiig also brings a lot to the role of Lucy.

Chris: What I like most about acting Kristen is that she really brings the partnership between Lucy and Gru to life, understanding the audience we’re playing to.

RECREATION: And now we are introduced to the newest member of the family, Gru Jr., who adds a whole new dimension to the family dynamic.

Chris: Yes, Gru Jr. is the newest member of the family, and the way we think of him is by imagining what Gru was probably like as a baby. So this chip off the old block is kind of mischievous and likes to get into trouble, and he also likes to annoy his dad. It’s a fun dynamic between the two of them because I think Gru is a little bit confused, asking himself, “Why is this baby giving me so much trouble?” And that will have real emotional resonance.

RECREATION: Tell us more about Gru’s hilarious nemesis, the villain Maxime Le Mal.

Chris: Our new villain is Gru’s rival from high school. When we first meet him, we see that he’s very arrogant and self-assured, but there’s a real vulnerability underneath that, which we only discover later in the film. And as is typical with all human psychological quirks, it started in high school. He accuses Gru of disrespecting him during a talent show in ninth grade, and that’s the root of this rivalry, certainly from Maxim’s perspective.

RECREATION: What did Will Ferrell bring to the role?

Chris: Good, Will [dublador na versão em inglês] has an explosive energy. He’s doing a great character accent for Maxime, which is very distinctive and something we’ve never seen before. Obviously, we’ve seen broad characters like that before from Willbut the vulnerability here is what becomes really funny to me — it’s when you understand that he’s just a pissed-off little kid underneath it all.

RECREATION: Sofía Vergara also shines as his girlfriend Valentina.

Chris: Yes, Sofia It’s Valentina, Maxime’s girlfriend [em inglês]. She is very tall and imposing, and always has her beloved little dog with her. I think Valentina loves Maxime, but she is not sure what he is doing or if she agrees with him. At first, she is excited about the idea of ​​getting revenge on Gru, but then she realizes — as many couples do — and begins to have doubts about some of his ideas. And Sofia plays this beautifully, like, “Who is this idiot? And why am I dealing with him?” You can feel this aspect of self-questioning throughout the film.

RECREATION: Your characters are so surprising and never stereotypical.

Chris: Honestly, this is fundamental to filmmaking. I think Chris Rock There’s a quote about being a stand-up comedian and having to throw surprises every 10 seconds or so, which I think is important for storytelling. It doesn’t have to be a big twist like in ‘The Sixth Sense,’ but you have to keep the audience wondering, “Where is this going?” Whether it’s a plot twist, a joke twist, or the way a character is portrayed, all of these little things come together to help create an interesting and compelling story.

RECREATION: Speaking of character twists, the appearance of the Mega Minions with their superpowers will certainly add to the entertainment and chaos of it all.

Chris: With the Minions, we always use the term “fail,” and we see an example of that with the Mega Minions. So knowing that they were going to be bad at using these superpowers, we asked ourselves — as we were trying to give them some kind of heroic moment — questions like, “How do we show their incompetence? How do we make the comedy out of it?” I think we did our best to make them fun to watch.

RECREATION: So what do you hope audiences get out of watching Despicable Me 4?

Chris: I just hope that people are excited to see these characters again and spend some time with them, and that they find it rewarding — I really believe so.