In July 2024, the long-awaited sequel to the popular Despicable Me movies was released. As soon as it hit the theaters, fans came rushing to see it. The film quickly reached a gross total of 971 million dollars, becoming the fourth highest grossing film of 2024. However, mixed reviews have also been on the internet, criticizing the movie’s limited character development and rushed plot.

The Despicable Me franchise centers on the main character Gru and his family. Gru’s family includes his wife, Lucy, his adopted children, Agnes, Edith, and Margo, and his sidekicks, the minions. The minions usually pull off hilarious antics to attempt to help Gru. However, these acts are often more funny than helpful. Gru and Lucy are part of the AVL, or anti-villain league.

In Despicable Me 4, a new character is introduced: Gru Jr., who is Gru and Lucy’s biological son. In the beginning, Gru Jr. seemingly hates Gru and teases him in various ways, such as putting a banana on Gru’s long nose. However, a new villain is also revealed in Despicable Me 4: Maxime Le Mal. Maxime routinely turns into a cockroach and has harnessed their powers, also building a giant cockroach shaped machine which he drives.

Maxime and Gru were in the same class in elementary school. At a school talent show, Gru performed the same song as Maxime. To seek revenge against Gru for this action, Maxime attacks Gru as an adult and is arrested by the AVL, which he later breaks out of. However, this motivation for revenge was trivial, unlike those in the previous Despicable Me movies. For example, in Despicable Me 2, the villain was El Macho, whose reason for resentment was his shared villainy past with Gru, a path that Gru abandoned.

Also, some scenes in Despicable Me 4 seemed to be disjointed and rushed. Not many scenes had enough time to really develop and become meaningful to the major plot. For example, in one scene, Margo is sad about moving away to a more protected home to hide from Maxime. She doesn’t want to leave her own house to go to a strange and unfamiliar place. However, this scene only lasts a moment and does not lead to any plot changes. After the scene ended, the storyline was not brought up again and did not symbolize any character development.

The characters were also underdeveloped in the movie and did not show any major changes in personality. In Despicable Me 1, Gru adopted the three girls. He was initially cold and distant towards them but soon develops a genuine affection for them. Also, in previous movies, Lucy shifted from being a spy agent to more of a mom. In this movie, Lucy does not change and remains the character she was in previous movies. The movie did not showcase her balancing her work life with home life. Character development scenes were very limited in Despicable Me 4, and the popular characters mainly stayed the same.

Finally, the minions did not have any real use in the most recent sequel. The movie leaned on the antics of the mega minions, who did not contribute to the main storyline. The minions were also shown at unimportant times, like when they wrestle partying on a bus.

Nevertheless, the movie maintained the same flawless animation as in the previous movies. The minions were just as funny, and the characters had the same distinctive traits. Although the movie has its weaknesses, it is still a hilarious comedy perfect for a long, relaxing night with family. I give this movie three stars.