DESPICABLE ME 4

Juggling an enormous amount of disparate plot strands and characters old and new, Despicable Me 4 feels more like an unwieldy, laborious chore than like a fun summer blockbuster.

What started out as an under the radar kid flick with 2010’s Despicable Me has blossomed into the most financially successful animated franchise in motion picture history, but this sixth entry in the series shows it might have spawned an out-of-control monster.

I’m not talking about the Minions, some of whom gain superpowers in the film, or the crazy honey badger that is one of Despicable Me 4’s few highlights. I’m talking about the impossible task the makers have including all the different characters into the story while still delivering an engaging, free-flowing, emotionally and narratively coherent picture.

Running the gamut from supervillain grudges to Minion antics, from father-son issues to teenage heists, and half a dozen more subplots, Despicable Me 4 is as bloated as I’ve ever seen a 90-minute film. This wouldn’t be so bad if the plot strands interacted in a meaningful, thematic way, but they frustratingly don’t, as the movie hops from one strand to the next with hardly any connecting tissue.

This saps a lot of fun from the proceedings, with even the Minion hijinks, usually the highlight of the franchise, feeling strained, repetitive and derivative, even if the animation is as crisp as ever, bringing memories of how the Shrek franchise similarly lost its defining features in money-making, franchise-extending sequels and spin-offs.

So for the next entry in the Despicable Me series I’d suggest a return to basics and jettisoning all the ‘extended family’ ballast, before these once bright animated films lose all their glow for good.

release: 2024

director: Chris Renaud

starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Pierre Coffin