Minions: The Rise of Gru

Minions: The Rise of Gru

Fans of the Despicable Me franchise and Minions are in for a treat in July 2022, when Minions: the rise of Gru, is set to hit the theatres. It tells the story of the 12-year-old Gru who has a unique dream: to become the greatest supervillain the world has ever seen. He plans to join a group of supervillains known as the Vicious 6. He is supported in the venture by loyal followers – the Minions- Stuart, Bob, Kevin and Otto. Gru sees his chance when the Vicious 6 oust their leader, Wild Knuckles, a legendary fighter. Gru’s interview with the Vicious 6 does not go well, and in fact gets worse when he steals a precious stone, and thus outsmarts and antagonizes them. In desperation, Gru turns to Wild Knuckles, realizing that even bad guys need help from friends sometimes.

This computer-animated comedy, produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures, is directed by filmmaker Kyle Balda, who is very familiar to Despicable Me and Minions fans. It is co-directed by Brad Ableson (of The Simpsons) and Jonathan del Val (of The Secret Life of Pets films).The film features a panorama of iconic actors including Steve Carell as Gru and Pierre Coffin as The Minions, and a new cast of stars as members of the Vicious 6: Taraji P. Hanson as the self-assured leader Belle Bottom, Lucy Lawless as Nunchuck, Danny Trejo as Stronghold, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Jean Clawed and Dolph Lundgren as Svengeance. The cast is made more colourful by the aspiring mad scientist Dr. Nefario by Russell brand, an acupuncturist with Kung Fu skills, Master Chow by Michelle Yeoh and Gru’s self-absorbed mom, by the great Oscar winner Julie Andrews.

Illumination has done itself proud with this new enterprise that is a blend of wholesome emotion, bold music (courtesy of Grammy-winning music producer Jack Antonoff), subversive humor and thrilling action. As with almost everything else in recent years, the movie’s release was twice postponed- first from July 3, 2020 to July 2 2021, and then again to July 1, 2022, due to the Covid – 19 pandemic. However, all indications are that it is well worth the wait!