Why is Gru a dad again in “Despicable Me 4”? Chris Meledandri reveals

“Despicable Me 4” is now in theaters! The fifth film in the original franchise, starring Gru, follows the former supervillain as he faces the challenge of raising the newest member of the family: Gru Jr., the younger brother of Agnes, Edith and Margo.

In the plot, Gru Jr. is extremely cute with his mother, Lucy, but the situation is different with his father, since the little one loves to tease Gru. In addition to learning how to be a father to a newborn, the protagonist will also need to find a way to get rid of Maxime Le Mal, an old acquaintance who returns to Gru’s life seeking revenge. Relive the trailer:

In celebration of the long-awaited premiere, RECREIO had exclusive access to an interview with the producer Chris Meledandriwho told how the new development of Gru’s paternity came about, as well as the idea behind the creation of Maxime Le Mal and the points he likes most about one of the film’s big surprises: the Mega Minions!

Check out how the chat went below:

1. What allows you to continue making these films?

A: “The enthusiasm of the artists at Illumination. As long as there’s that enthusiasm to continue exploring and having adventures with these characters, we’ll be able to make more movies.”

2. And what did it mean to you to be the driving force behind this franchise?

A: “Well, certainly the highlight of my professional career is the realization that I have assembled an extraordinarily talented group of people who have created these films that have brought joy to audiences around the world for nearly fifteen years. There is no greater feeling than realizing how much joy these six Despicable Me films have brought. And now we believe that with Despicable Me 4, we have an idea that can propel us on a new adventure — a new journey that is truly worthy of the fandom that these films have earned.”

3. What is this idea?

A: “‘Despicable Me 4’ is about Gru having a baby son. It was something we had been thinking about for a number of years, but it really came together when we realized that if Gru had a son, he would have to bear an uncanny resemblance to him. And then we realized that there was a huge opportunity in the fact that Gru is so in love with his son that when he expresses that love for him, it’s actually his baby son who rejects him. So the idea that Gru has a son who doesn’t like his father seemed like a key to a subversive father-son relationship that we hadn’t seen before. The journey we go on in ‘Despicable Me 4’ is the journey of these two characters finally finding their relationship with each other.”

4. And you have a powerful new villain, Maxime Le Mal, voiced by Will Ferrell.

A: “When we were working with Mike White in ‘Ducks!’, we started talking about what we could do next. I asked him if he would be interested in writing a film in the world of ‘Despicable Me’, and he was immediately excited. The first idea I shared with him was about Gru encountering a villain so menacing that until he was stopped, Gru and his family would have to go into hiding and assume new identities. That immediately intrigued him. Mikewho liked the idea of ​​taking a family unit and putting them in a completely new situation to see how they would react. So that was the basis of the story, and from there we started to discover other elements, like the danger of our new villain Maxime Le Mal, voiced by Will Ferrell. We didn’t see a movie with Steve Carell [voz original de Gru] It is Will Ferrell since ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy’ and its sequel, and it’s just fantastic to see them face off.”

5. Another fun surprise that audiences will discover in ‘Despicable Me 4’ are the Mega Minions, with their unique superpowers. What do you like most about them?

A: “I think what I love most about the Mega Minions – who have these superpowers – is that, at their core, they’re just Minions. They’re not great superheroes, because they’re just as flawed as the Minions in any movie. So the Mega Minions are enjoyable to watch not just because of their powers, but because of their flaws. No matter how high their aspirations are, they always manage to screw up, and it’s in watching that screw up that we get so much joy.”

6. What superpower would you like to have?

A: “I think it would be the ability to relax, because that’s the one thing we don’t have a lot of at Illumination, because we’re always moving from one movie to the next. So I’d like to be able to not take things too seriously because even though we’re making lighthearted comedies, we actually take the making of these movies very, very seriously. People would be surprised at the level of intensity that’s maintained here, just trying to bring joy to the audience.”

7. Why do you believe the Despicable Me movies are multigenerational and a joy for the whole family?

A: “Well, we released the first ‘Despicable Me’ in 2010, and that audience has grown up with those movies. There are people who saw the movie when they were four and are now teenagers, and people who saw the movie when they were fourteen and may now be young parents. And we’ve watched as these generations – not just in the United States, but around the world – have grown up with the franchise. With ‘Minions 2: The Rise of Gru,’ we’ve seen that audience of teenagers and young adults come rushing back to the theater, some of whom had been away for a movie or two. They’re driven by nostalgia and a desire to share the movie with their children in the same way their parents shared it with them. And that’s a really wonderful phenomenon, where audiences all over the world are coming to the theater to experience joy in all its forms. Their relationships with these characters have become so close over the years, which is a huge responsibility for all of us at Illumination, which means there’s never a time when we take a single audience member for granted. Every time we set out to make a new film, we do it with the same level of intention and aspiration as we did the first time.”

8. And most of the original film’s crew remains involved.

A: “Yes, and we share that joy together. Chris Renaudwho directed the original film with Pierre Coffinis back to direct ‘Despicable Me 4’. Steve Carell been with us every step of the way, just like Kristen Wiig [dubladora oficial de Lucy]. And although we brought in an extraordinary screenwriter like Mike Whitewe still have Ken Daurio – who was involved in the first four films as a screenwriter – helping out on this one. So it’s a creative tandem that goes back to the first film, where we demand from each other and from ourselves the maximum originality and excellence that we can deliver.”

9. So how do you feel about all of this in your position as producer and head of the studio?

A: “Well, being the steward of this world, I feel a huge sense of responsibility. It’s a responsibility to the audience, to hold ourselves to the standard that people expect of us. With each new project, we aim to bring joy and laughter to our audience, which is something we take great pride in, and we’re incredibly grateful for the loyalty our fans have shown us throughout this 15-year journey.”