The upcoming release of Despicable Me 3 looks set to confirm Gru, the Minions and his new little family as a regular feature on the 3D animation box office circuit. Having landed well with the 2013 sequel, which followed on from the initial success of the opening film back in 2010, the team at Illumination Entertainment has had a fair few years to get the all-important third film right, so hopefully it turns out to be just as much fun as the previous films.
The trailer below gives a pretty good slice of what to expect and with Gru married now as well as being a parent, he’s not really the despicable tearaway that he used to be, but that doesn’t stop him from getting into all kinds of trouble. This time around he’ll be teaming up with his new better half to take on the latest super villain to try to take his old place as the kingpin of global tyranny.
Release date
Despicable Me 3 has been slated for a UK release date of the 30th June 2017, coinciding with it’s arrival at the US box office. It’ll be out on the same weekend as the movie adaptation of the big name PlayStation game, Uncharted, but it’ll be the only animated movie out for another couple of weeks with Cars 3 planned for the 14th July in UK.
Story
Gru is even more of a family with his new wife Lucy adding to his domestic ties, along with his adopted kids Margo, Edith and Agness, but as an Anti-Villain League agent there’s still a fair bit of excitement in his life. Things get fired up to eleven though when he comes face to face with his new nemesis, Balthazar Bratt,who looks a bit like an unstoppable throwback to 1980, when big mustaches, shoulder pads, fingerless leather gloves and mullets collided.
Bratt seems to be an easy match for the former undisputed king of villainy, but with the addition of his wife, Minions and the tech of the Anti-Villain League, he’s at least putting a brave face on things. However, as you can see from the trailer it doesn’t always work out for him, and with a long lost twin brother called Dru to contend with it gets pretty tricky for the icy Gru.
Cast
Steve Carrell (Café Society) gets back into odd shape as Gru once again and Kristen Wiig (Ghostbusters (2016)) returns as his fellow Anti-Villain League agent and wife, Lucy. Trey Parker (Southpark, The Book Of Mormon) joins the cast as the former child star and current day mustachiod fiend, Balthazar Bratt. Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Nev Scharrel are also back as Gru and Lucy’s adoptive daughters, Margo, Edith and Agness.
The cast also includes Steve Coogan (The Trip To Spain), Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins) and the brilliant Jenny Slate (Bob’s Burgers, Zootopia, The Lego Batman Movie) in as yet undisclosed roles.
Age rating
Despicable Me 3 hasn’t been rated as of yet by either the Motion Picture Association Of America or the BBFC, but we’ll update you as soon as they’ve caught up.
Production
The latest film in the series has once again been directed by Pierre Coffin with help this time Kyle Balda, who both worked together as the directors of Minions, along with Eric Guillion. Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio have written the film with Chris Meledandry and Janet Healy producing. Chris Renauld is the executive producer. You can check out more on the production from the official Twitter page.
First impressions
Building on what has become a great comedy animation series, Despicable Me 3 appears to another great film from Gru and Illumination Entertainment. The new additions to the cast look very promising, the animation is as impressive as ever and the Anit-Villain League tech is very cool. The trailer sets things up for a massive showdown with Bratt, making this the must-see animation film of the summer.
