Genre Animation

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

Item: Despicable Me 2
Rating: 2.5
Author: Ross McLaren

★★½ — Despicable Me 2 (2013)

When Despicable Me arrived in 2010, it was a pleasant surprise from Illumination Entertainment, a relatively new animation studio operating in the long shadow of Pixar and DreamWorks. The film, directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, turned a supervillain origin story into something genuinely warm, earning strong reviews and well over half a billion dollars worldwide. A sequel was, by any commercial reckoning, inevitable. Despicable Me 2 arrived three years later, in the summer of 2013, and walked straight into one of the most competitive animation markets in recent memory. The film's tagline, "More minions. More despicable", told you everything you needed to know about the studio's priorities. Illumination had worked out what audiences responded to, and they were not about to tinker with the formula.

Coffin and Renaud return to direct, working again under Universal Pictures and Illumination's banner. The film picks up with reformed supervillain Gru, now a devoted (if unconventional) father to three adopted girls, being pulled back into the world of skullduggery, this time from the other side of the law. The Anti-Villain League recruits him as a consultant to help track down a dangerous new criminal with access to a mutagenic serum. It is a tidy enough premise, one that allows the screenplay to introduce a new lead character alongside Gru while keeping the family dynamics that gave the original its backbone. Pharrell Williams contributed to the film's soundtrack, and his song "Happy" went on to become one of the most commercially successful singles of the decade, winning an Academy Award and becoming something of a cultural phenomenon in its own right, somewhat separate from the film it came from.

Steve Carell reprises his role as Gru, the Eastern European villain with the improbable accent and surprising reserves of paternal tenderness. Carell, who has shown considerable range across his career (you can see a very different side of him in Little Miss Sunshine and the rather heavier Beautiful Boy), is clearly comfortable with the character by this point and brings an easy, loose-limbed quality to Gru's comedy. Kristen Wiig joins the principal cast as Agent Lucy Wilde, the film's co-lead and romantic interest, bringing her well-established gift for physical comedy and an energy that meshes reasonably well with Carell's more deadpan style. Benjamin Bratt takes on villain duties, while Miranda Cosgrove and Dana Gaier continue as two of Gru's daughters, providing the film's more grounded emotional moments. The voice cast is polished but unremarkable, comfortable rather than stretched.

Despicable Me 2 takes the charm of the original (the grumpy supervillain turned reluctant dad, the giggling Minions, the heart hidden under a cold exterior) and wraps it in brighter colours, louder jokes, and a whole lot more filler. It’s not a bad film, by any means. The animation is slick, the Minions remain absurdly good at slapstick, and Steve Carell commits fully to Gru’s awkward romantic fumbling with Agent Lucy Wilde, who bounces in with relentless enthusiasm and a weaponised smile. The story shifts Gru from villain to hero, teaming him up with the Anti-Villain League to stop a new threat, a purple-haired madman with a grudge and a serum that turns minions evil. There are some solid gags, a few inventive action sequences, and a genuinely sweet dynamic between Gru and his girls, especially when the family bond is tested. The soundtrack, packed with retro pop and original tunes, is undeniably catchy “Happy” alone was inescapable for years. But for all its polish, the film lacks the emotional spark of the first. The romance feels rushed and a little generic, the villain is forgettable, and the plot follows a predictable beats (meet-cute, misunderstanding, redemption) without much surprise. The Minions, once a delightful supporting act, start edging toward overexposure, their nonsense increasingly used to prop up scenes that aren’t funny on their own. It’s enjoyable in the moment, sure, a harmless, brightly coloured distraction. But like so many sequels in the franchise, it plays it safe, trading the original’s quiet heart for broader comedy and franchise momentum. Not bad. Just not needed. A solid 2.5, watchable, forgettable, and already fading into the background.

For what it's worth, I came into this one with reasonably warm memories of the original and came out feeling much the same way the review above describes: entertained for the duration, largely unbothered by it an hour later. The Minions are still funny in short bursts, and there is something likeable about Gru as a character, even when the film is not doing much to justify his presence. If you want to see where the franchise heads next, I have thoughts on both Despicable Me 3 and the Minions' own spin-off, Minions, elsewhere on the blog. Spoiler: the formula does not get bolder with age. Sometimes a film's greatest trick is making you feel like you've had a good time without giving you much to remember. This is one of those films.

Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2013 | Watched: 2025-08-10

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Despicable Me 2 (2013) on YouTube

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
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Watch in the US
Stream: Peacock Premium · Peacock Premium Plus
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Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
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