Sigh. Have you noticed that through the years Illumination has gradually moved further away from actual storytelling and gravitated towards 90 minutes of sketch-based bits? No? Well you’ll notice it when you watch Despicable Me 4.
It’s funny how folks criticize the MCU for fanning the flames of franchise-based storytelling, when the Minions franchise exists. Following Despicable Me 2, many of Illumination’s films have mostly just been strings of cutesy skits loosely tied together by the weakest of plots. This was true for Minions 1 and 2, The Grinch, and Migration. And now this lazy “storytelling” technique has made its way into the core “Minions”-based franchise, with Despicable Me 4.
I honestly have no idea if half of what they’re doing now is intentional, or if they just have 30 minutes worth of story to fill a 90-minute movie. But I think this is what happens when a studio just makes so much money off franchise toys and theme parks, that they just go “the story doesn’t matter, just make us a movie.” Despicable Me 4 is another example of this studio seemingly trying to kill time with random nonsensical subplots and chaotic scenes of nothingness before finally injecting some semblance of plot into the movie. It would be a bit more acceptable if much of this was actually funny, but alas, the genuine laughs are few and far between.
The story follows Gru (Steve Carrell) and the fam into the witness protection program after his cockroach-obsessed nemesis (Will Ferrell) vows vengeance on him. They try to blend in to their new surroundings, but butt heads with the neighbors including a precocious little mini-villain (Joey King), as random hi-jinks ensue. Oh, and there’s some random subplot about a group of Minions getting super powers that has zero relevance, because why not.
This is a movie comprised of 90 minutes worth of “hey wouldn’t it be funny if…” moments that honestly don’t matter. Gru’s wife Lucy tries to be a hairstylist and burns someone’s scalp. Why? No real reason. There’s a plot about Agnes having problems with lying about her “witness protection” name, that goes nowhere. Edith beats up her karate practice sensei for kicks (see what I did there?). Gru plays tennis. And Sofia Vergara is in this for some reason. And the aforementioned Mega Minions subplot is thrown in for them to cause slapstick chaos, for… reasons?
For so much of its runtime, nothing is happening of any real relevance in this movie. And it’s frustrating because we know Illumination is capable of storytelling that’s better. We’ve seen that in the first two Despicable Me movies which never lost sight on the plot. The Super Mario Bros. Movie was acceptable. The Sing franchise certainly wasn’t bad, and its subplot-heavy stories actually had payoffs. But after The Grinch, or even the first Minions movie, the studio has been so complacent with the success and money its been making that they almost don’t seem to care anymore. They’ll take the thinnest of plots and stretch it across 90-120 minutes worth of shtick. And it’s frustrating to say the least.
Call me coldhearted, but I found myself barely chuckling apart from the rarest of moments. And more than anything bored and desperately wishing they’d get on with some semblance of a real story. None of this is even all that character driven, apart from maybe some tension between Gru and his new baby, Gru Jr. Unfortunately though, most of the moments surrounding that paper-thin conflict are gimmicks from Illumination of them trying to capitalize on the cute factor of the Jack-Jack dynamic from the Incredibles franchise. But Gru Jr., sorry to say, you’re definitely no Jack-Jack. You’re unlikable, and your bits aren’t funny.
Look, I realize I’m being an evil cynical adult critic right now; certainly more despicable than Gru has become over the past 14 years. I know this isn’t supposed to be Shakespeare and this is a franchise tailored for kids, who will love it. But I also feel like with films out there like Kung Fu Panda 4, and Inside Out 2 slaying it at the box office, there’s no excuse for the Despicable Me franchise not to at least try to do some semblance of coherent storytelling. Dreamworks and Pixar know kids will follow storylines for two hours. So even if it’s not able to reach the sophisticated heights of what Inside Out 2 did, Illumination should be able to do more than just slapstick bits, and wacky moments. I want story, heart, and character. This franchise has simply become a cash grab for Universal, and given the buzz behind this one, and the $1B gross of the last Minions movie, I don’t see that changing anytime soon. But is it too much to ask for a movie rooted in a consistent plot, and not a million senseless subplots and skits that go nowhere and do nothing to advance the storyline or the characters?
The subplots that are meant to do something with the supporting characters around Gru and Gru Jr. don’t even pay off, since by the end of the movie, everything is reset back to status quo. Agnes doesn’t have to lie anymore, and gets her baby goat back. Lucy is just there. Margo goes back to her old school. No lessons or developments are made for any of these characters. And that’s incredibly frustrating after sitting through so much time wasted on subplots that go nowhere and do nothing. So really, what is the point of this movie or even the franchise at this point, other than to make money?
Now on the positive side, I laughed a few times. But most of the funniest minor Minion bits are spoiled in the trailer. And those were overall fine because they’re so minor. They’re not at all subplots, but rather segues into the next scenes. Additionally, Will Ferrell and Joey King try their best to inject personality into their characters, with King’s Poppy Prescott actually being the one thing about this movie that works. King uses a fun lisp, and her character is actually entertaining to watch, whether she’s playing DDR, or one-upping Gru. Does her character really matter in the grand scheme of this franchise or this movie? Not really. But at least I felt somewhat invested in her, even if the badger stealing subplot was just some terrible attempt to blend the random skits together into some sort of story.
That said, the other thing that is somewhat disappointing is the animation. Not that the Despicable Me franchise has been a cornerstone in design and visuals, but even the imaginative elements of gadgets and vehicles in the first film has greatly been diminished in this one. There’s nothing really innovative or noteworthy in terms of creativity in any of the concepts here. There’s so much potential for it as well, with new characters, aircrafts, and locations like Gru’s former villain school. But instead it all just looks like stuff we’ve seen better done in even other Despicable movies: Goo guns, lasers, etc. Nothing actually stands out to impress fans as something unique for this entry to bring to the table.
Overall, there’s just not enough I can say about how disappointing not only the Despicable Me franchise has become, but Illumination as an animation company as a whole as well. Despicable Me 4 is not only evident of the been-there-done-that, long worn out welcome this franchise has far exceeded. But also the complete laziness of the creative staff within Illumination or Universal to give us actual stories and commit to them for 90 minutes, offering little more than slapstick sketches that approach comedy with a neediness to make 6-year-olds giggle. Perhaps this is me just being incredibly disgruntled and cynical. But someone has to be, considering that those days are long gone for Gru.
Overall Score: D+