Felonious Gru Sr., alternatively spelled as Felonius Gru[1] and typically referred to simply as Gru,[2] is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Despicable Me franchise. Voiced by American actor Steve Carell, he has appeared in all six films in the series. Gru is a grouchy, quick-witted, and cynical former supervillain, who serves as a secret agent in order to fight other supervillains.
| Gru | |
|---|---|
| Despicable Me character | |
 Artwork of Gru from Despicable Me 3 (2017) | |
| First appearance | Despicable Me (2010) |
| Created by | Sergio Pablos |
| Designed by | |
| Voiced by | Steve Carell |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Felonious Gru Sr. |
| Occupation |
|
| Weapon |
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| Family |
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| Spouse | Lucy Wilde (wife) |
| Children |
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Character biography
editGru is the son of Marlena and the Bald Terror (real name Robert), twin brother of Dru, the adoptive father of Margo, Edith, and Agnes as well as the biological father of Gru Jr., husband of Lucy, and boss of the Minions.
At the beginning of the first film, Gru is an ambitious supervillain who constantly seeks approval from his mother, until the adoption of his daughters convinces him that their happiness is the most important thing.
In the second film, Gru leaves his villainous past behind to care for his adoptive daughters, but then soon joins forces —unwillingly— with secret agent Lucy Wilde, whom he later marries.
In the third film, after he and Lucy are fired from their jobs at the Anti-Villain League, Gru learns that he has a twin brother, Dru, whom he never met due to their divorced parents raising each child separately. Along with Lucy and the girls, Gru meets Dru at his mansion in Freedonia, and they form a brotherly relationship over the course of the film.
In the fourth film, Gru has a blood-related son called Felonious Gru Jr., who he must protect from his rival Maxime Le Mal.
Development
editThe character that would become Gru was conceived by animator Sergio Pablos, who envisioned him as a Dracula-like character, but the directors of the first film, Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, later opted for a more sleek character that would echo "the world of James Bond", with Auric Goldfinger being cited as a particular influence.[3][4] Gru also bears some design similarities with British comic-book character Grimly Feendish and with the pre-Crisis version of Lex Luthor.[5]
Gru's distinctive accent, described as "quasi-Russian" by A. O. Scott[6] and "halfway between a Russian mafioso and a crazed Nazi" by Roger Ebert,[7] was largely a product of his voice actor Steve Carell's experimentation.[8] According to Despicable Me producer Chris Meledandri, the voice Carell eventually settled on was conceived as "halfway between Ricardo Montalbán and Bela Lugosi".[8]
Analysis
editThe use of flashbacks to characterise Gru in Despicable Me was compared by Variety to those used in Pixar's 2007 film Ratatouille to characterise Anton Ego.[9] Gru was cited by Katy Marriner, writing in Screen Education, as one of the premier examples of a protagonist in an animated film who reforms themself, in contrast to the traditional animated film protagonist who remains heroic throughout.[10] Gru was psychologically analysed by Nofika Dewi of Universitas Pamulang, who found that his rude and ambitious qualities represented his Id; his villainy and tenaciousness represented his Ego, while his competence as a parent and bravery were part of his Super-ego.[11]
Gru has also been interpreted as a Russian stereotype, with a 2017 study stating that elements of his characterisation had been designed to support supposed American political agendas that label Russians as backwards and violent.[12]
References
edit- ^ Alexander, Bryan (April 12, 2014). "At Universal, the Minions 'have become our Mickey Mouse'". USA Today. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
[…] into the Despicable Me world of supervillain Felonius Gru […]
- ^ Baxter, Joseph (May 14, 2015). "The Full Minions Trailer Is Really Goofy". CinemaBlend. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
[...] well before the days of their tenure with Felonious Gru […]
- ^ Amidi, Amid (September 25, 2017). "The Humble Roots Of The Mega-Hit Franchise 'Despicable Me'". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ Edwards, C. (October 1, 2014). "Directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin on Creative Choices and Challenges in 'Despicable Me' Films". Cartoon Brew.
- ^ Newman, Kim (October 1, 2010). "Despicable Me Review". Empire.
- ^ Scott, A.O. (July 8, 2010). "Lunar Toons and Cookie Capers". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (July 7, 2010). "Despicable Me movie review & film summary". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- ^ a b Aldama, Frederick Luis (2019). "Very ¡Macho!: Sonic Legacies of Mexican Animated Villains". Latinx Ciné in the Twenty-First Century. University of Arizona Press. p. 345. ISBN 9780816537907.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (June 9, 2010). "Despicable Me". Variety. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ Marriner, Katy (2011). "Not So Evil after All: The New Breed of Animated Villain". Screen Education (61): 16–25. ISSN 1449-857X. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
- ^ Dewi, Nofika (2015). "Psychological analysis of the main character Gru in Despicable Me". Universitas Pamulang. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
- ^ Khrebtan-Hörhager, Julia; Avant-Mier, Roberto (September 8, 2017). "Despicable Others: Animated Othering as Equipment for Living in the Era of Trump". Journal of Intercultural Communication Research. 46 (5). Routledge: 441–462. doi:10.1080/17475759.2017.1372302. S2CID 148815247. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
Further reading
edit- Diane Hughes; Mark Evans, eds. (2020). "From despicable to happy: animated vocality in the evolution of Felonious Gru". The singing voice in contemporary cinema. Equinox Publishing. pp. 196–212. ISBN 9781781797389.
- Sara Martín Alegre, ed. (2021). Gender in 21st Century Animated Children's Cinema (PDF). Autonomous University of Barcelona.