‘Despicable Me 4’ Digital Release Interview: Chris Renaud

Available to purchase on digital beginning August 6th is the box office hit ‘Despicable Me 4’, which was directed by Chris Renaud (‘Despicable Me’ and ‘Despicable Me 2’).

The movie once again stars Steve Carell (‘The Office’) as Gru and Kristen Wiig (‘Wonder Woman: 1984’) as Lucy Wilde, while joining the cast are Will Ferrell (‘Old School’) as Maxime Le Mal and Sofia Vergara (‘Modern Family’) as Valentina.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Chris Renaud about his work on Despicable Me 4’, the success of the movie and the overall franchise, why we love the Minions, how Gru has changed since the first film, his rivalry with Maxime Le Mal, what Will Ferrell brought to the role, working with Steve Carell and what being part of this franchise has meant to Renaud personally.

Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Despicable Me 4’

‘Despicable Me 4’ opens in theaters on July 3, 2024. Photo: Universal Pictures.

Moviefone: To begin with, ‘Despicable Me 4’ is now available on digital but is still doing very well theatrically at the box office. Are you surprised by the success of the movie and the popularity of the franchise?

Chris Renaud: Yes and no. In that, I mean, look, as we’re making these films, we preview them. We test them with audiences, and I was at a premiere in New York and a premiere in Paris, and even though those are probably stacked in your favor, you can feel the energy. You can feel the response and the love that the audience really has for these characters. I think that obviously coming off ‘Minions: Rise of Gru’, the love of the audience is clear. I think the job for us as filmmakers is not to let them down. I think that after sitting with several audiences through the course of making the movie, and you can never predict what’s going to happen financially at the box office, but I felt that we were delivering on the promise and hopefully that that would translate to people going to the theater and seeing the movie.

‘Despicable Me 4’ opens in theaters on July 3, 2024. Photo: Universal Pictures.

MF: Can you explain the pop culture phenomenon that is the Minions? Why do we love them so much?

CR: It’s truly lightning in a bottle. I think it’s one of those things that all the elements came together to create this comedic personality with a universal quality. By that I mean from the design, which is super simple, a five-year-old could draw it, no problem. The simple color scheme, yellow and blue, besides the Ukrainian flag now means Minions. The language, which is every language and (no language at the same time), and very much influenced by things like R2-D2 and the Jawas where you kind of got what they were saying but you didn’t understand it literally. Their animated performance, their incompetence, their childlike quality which gives them this appeal that is hard to match. So, I really truly think it’s one of those things where every element of it came together in a way that is just special. That’s about all I can say. The things that I loved as a kid, Batman comics and ‘Star Wars’, the Minions are sort of maybe not quite at that level, but they’re in the culture in a way that is far and few between with other characters, and that’s amazing to have been a part of that.

‘Despicable Me 4’ opens in theaters on July 3, 2024. Photo: Universal Pictures.

MF: Can you talk about how Gru has changed since the first film?

CR: We think about that. We’re like, we need Gru to be Gru, which is maybe more villainous, but the truth is when we try it, what we end up finding is it feels false. The reason why, and I think one of the reasons that besides the Minions that people like this group of characters is that Gru has changed, and he’s changed the way probably most people change once they have kids and have a family. It does change you and change how you think. So, it’s very extreme for Gru, where he was a villain and then now, he’s essentially a good guy and a softy. He’s still, obviously in this movie, he enjoys seeing his snobby neighbor get bested by one of the Minions. So, he still Gru, but he’s a different guy. I think that the arc of his life is something that a lot of people, particularly the adults in the audience can relate to.

‘Despicable Me 4’ opens in theaters on July 3, 2024. Photo: Universal Pictures.

MF: Can you talk about Gru and Le Mal’s history together and their rivalry?

CR: Maxime Le Mal really starts with Will Ferrell’s performance, which is terrific. Seeing Maxime and Gru in the high school reunion, they went to a villain high school called Lycée Pas Bon. Seeing that rivalry at the beginning of the film I think is just so much fun, particularly with those comedic actors, but also giving us an opportunity to again, see a different aspect of Gru’s life. We haven’t really seen any clips from his high school. What I love too, without getting into the details is that the source of their rivalry is such a small detail and such a small transgression. I think that’s so true, and I think that’s one of the great things about these characters and what makes them so relatable is that little kind of, as I said, transgression from high school is the kind of thing that we carry with us the rest of our life. I love that, that it is not some big world-shattering stakes that they have against each other. It’s just a tiny insult that ends up creating this rivalry that runs through the film.

‘Despicable Me 4’ opens in theaters on July 3, 2024. Photo: Universal Pictures.

MF: What was it like working with Will Ferrell?

CR: So, the character in the script that we delivered to Will was Maxime Le Mal. So, he came in with a French accent, which was great. What we did do, as I sort of gave him the opportunity, I said, “Look, do you have any other ideas that we could try?” Because it was the first session. Will is like, “Listen, I got this great Swedish accent I’ve always wanted to try.” We would’ve changed the name no problem. It was early days. We did try a couple of things, but really the French accent that he came in with was what you hear and that is the character.

‘Despicable Me 4’ opens in theaters on July 3, 2024. Photo: Universal Pictures.

MF: Can you talk about Steve Carell’s impact on this franchise?

CR: I think it’s hard to understate how important Steve’s performance is to the character. Again, and we were just talking about accents. One of the things that when we started our first recording session for him way back in probably 2008, we were talking about Peter Sellers and ‘Inspector Clouseau‘ and this idea of an accent. We tried a couple of things like a Latin influence, a couple of different thoughts, a Spanish influence. But we quickly landed on what you hear, which is this kind of weird fusion of Eastern European. The scale to it that Steve was able to bring, and we obviously have the best comedic actor out there, but it all radiates out of what Steve has done with Gru. When he comes in and records, obviously at this point, we know what he is doing. It’s not like we’re figuring it out. We all have a good handle on Gru, but he’s very thoughtful in the process. He thinks about the lines. He is like, “Why would Gru say that?” He’s very considerate of the character and I’m sure he has a great affection for the character because he’s probably one of the most iconic, well-known animated characters of all time at this point. That’s no small credit to the performance that Steve has helped create. I say help because of the animators who do the visual and the character design, but Steve is really where it starts.

‘Despicable Me 4’ opens in theaters on July 3, 2024. Photo: Universal Pictures.

MF: Finally, can you talk about what it has meant to you personally to be part of this beloved franchise?

CR: in a lot of ways that’s even hard to describe. It’s had such a huge impact on me, not just working with these characters and being a part of these successful films, but living in Paris, France where the film picture is produced. So as an American living abroad, I’ve spent essentially my adult life there. We moved back in 2008, it’s almost 16 years now I’ve lived in France. So, it’s every aspect of my life and our life as a family have been impacted by working on these films. I think that Illumination as a company stands where it stands because of the first ‘Despicable Me’, it was a rock-solid idea in the original pitch. Then the stuff that we were able to add to it, Pierre Coffin, myself, the writers, Chris Meledandri, and the team at Illumination. It really was one of these things that was built brick by brick in the first film. I think that first film is what carries the day and why we’re talking about a ‘Despicable Me 4’ now. It was something that from a design point of view and animation point of view, when it came out, everyone was like, “What is this?” I think that now it’s obviously become part of the culture, but I think that our ability to create something a bit different in the marketplace at the time still resonates. It’s why we’re still making these movies.

What is the plot of ‘Despicable Me 4’?

Gru (Steve Carell) and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) and their girls—Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Madison Polan)—welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr. (Tara Strong), who is intent on tormenting his dad. Gru also faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina, (Sofia Vergara) forcing the family to go on the run.

Who is in the cast of ‘Despicable Me 4’?

• Steve Carell as Gru
• Kristen Wiig as Lucy Wilde
• Will Ferrell as Maxime Le Mal
• Joey King as Poppy Prescott
• Sofía Vergara as Valentina
• Stephen Colbert as Perry Prescott
• Chloe Fineman as Patsy Prescott
• Miranda Cosgrove as Margo
• Steve Coogan as Silas Ramsbottom
• Pierre Coffin as the Minions
• Dana Gaier as Edith
• Madison Polan as Agnes
• Tara Strong as Gru Jr.

‘Despicable Me 4’ opens in theaters on July 3, 2024. Photo: Universal Pictures.

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