More from Gru

With Despicable me 2 in cinemas, we have been sent over two great features about the film. both narrated by Steve Carell. One one the 3D aspect of the film and the other about what has happened in Gru's life since the first film.

CHRIS MELEDANDRI and his acclaimed filmmaking team create an all-new comedy adventure featuring the return of former super-villain Gru (STEVE CARELL of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!), his adorable girls, the unpredictably hilarious Minions...and a host of new and outrageously funny characters.

Now that the ever-entrepreneurial Gru has left behind a life of super crime to raise Margo (MIRANDA COSGROVE of television's iCarly), Edith (DANA GAIER of Bullied) and Agnes ELSIE FISHER (television's Masha and the Bear), Gru, Dr. Nefario (RUSSELL BRAND of Get Him to the Greek, Hop) and the Minions have some free time on their hands. But just as he starts to adjust to his role as a suburban family man, an ultra-secret organization dedicated to fighting evil around the globe comes knocking. Now, it's up to Gru and his new partner, Lucy Wilde (KRISTEN WIIG of Bridesmaids, television's Saturday Night Live), to discover who is responsible for a spectacular crime and bring him to justice. After all, it takes the world's greatest ex-villain to catch the one vying to take his place… Joining the returning cast for Despicable Me 2 are KEN JEONG (The Hangover trilogy, television's Community) as Floyd Eagle-san, proprietor of the local hair replacement club for men and key suspect in the most despicable crime to hit the globe since Gru departed the game; STEVE COOGAN as Silas Ramsbottom, Lucy's boss in the Anti-Villain League and a superspy whose surname offers an endless source of amusement to the Minions; MOISES ARIAS (Hannah Montana, The Secret World of Arrietty) as Antonio, the oh-so-suave object of Margo's girlhood affection (and Gru's supreme annoyance); and BENJAMIN BRATT (Miss Congeniality, Snitch) as Eduardo Perez, Antonio's father, owner of Salsa & Salsa restaurant, and the man who may or may not be the most macho super-villain who ever villained, El Macho.

In UK cinemas now

GRU'S FIRST TELEVISION APPEARANCE!

For the first time since he created the signature voice for the infamous animated character, Steve Carell appeared in studio as the “real-life” Gru from Despicable Me 2.

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s worldwide blockbuster Despicable Me entertained audiences around the globe in 2010, grossing more than $540 million and becoming the 10th-biggest animated motion picture in U.S. history. In summer 2013, get ready for more Minion madness in Despicable Me 2. Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team create an all-new comedy adventure featuring the return of (former?) super-villain Gru (Steve Carell), his adorable girls, the unpredictably hilarious Minions...and a host of new and outrageously funny characters.

Minions run

Yesterday saw the annual Bupa Great Manchester Run. This time the run saw two special guests. these being some of Gru's minions.

“Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s worldwide blockbuster Despicable Me entertained audiences around the globe in 2010, grossing more than $540 million and becoming the 10th-biggest animated motion picture in U.S. history. In summer 2013, get ready for more Minion madness in Despicable Me 2. Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team create an all-new comedy adventure featuring the return of (former?) super-villain Gru (Steve Carell), his adorable girls, the unpredictably hilarious Minions...and a host of new and outrageously funny characters.

minions worth paying for

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s DESPICABLE ME 2 Stars in the Next ‘Moments Worth Paying For’ Trailer

This Summer, Get Ready for More Minion Madness in DESPICABLE ME 2 – in cinemas 28th June 2013.

The Minions are at it again! This time, they are here to help tackle consumer confusion around legal and illegal online movie sources by using their unique brand of irrepressible humour to shine a spotlight on the true value of official film!

To celebrate the release, FindAnyFilm.com has teamed up with Universal to create a bespoke new trailer, as part of the successful ‘Moments Worth Paying For’ campaign. The trailer is designed not only to celebrate the value of film, but also direct audiences to Findanyfilm.com – a gateway to official film services across a range of formats, both on and offline.

The new trailer, which features the iconic Minions sharing excerpts from Despicable Me 2 (released in cinemas nationwide on 28th June 2013), has been launched following new research which highlights the extent of consumer confusion when it comes to spotting pirate websites.

A recent online YouGov study has revealed that one in four of all UK adults are unable to differentiate any pirate websites from the real deal. The confusion was particularly high among parents: 36% of parents were unable to correctly identify any of the pirate websites.

The collaboration between Universal and FindAnyFilm will see the 30-second trailer shown in cinemas nationwide for a four week period, as well as supportive posters in outdoor locations from 26th April.

Universal and Illumination’s worldwide blockbuster Despicable Me entertained audiences around the globe in 2010, becoming the 10th-biggest animated motion picture in U.S. history. This summer, get ready for more Minion madness in Despicable Me 2.

Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team create an all-new comedy adventure featuring the return of (former?) super-villain Gru (Steve Carell), his adorable girls, the unpredictably hilarious Minions...and a host of new and outrageously funny characters.

Niels Swinkels, Managing Director UK and Eire, Universal Pictures International said: “Despicable Me is Universal's premium animation franchise and audiences are eager to see Gru and the Minions back in action this summer. We're delighted to be working with FindAnyFilm to integrate our top quality content in such an important educational message.”

Liz Bales from FindAnyFilm.com said: “Our research shows that consumers can often be confused when it comes to purchasing film and TV online, so we’re thrilled to be working with Universal to help address this issue. FindAnyFilm.com provides a wealth of official and safe ways to watch, including tonnes of digital services that can be accessed at the click of a button – perfect for catching up on Despicable Me before heading to the cinema for the new film.”

The Minions, and Gru are back

Not only do we get the evily new trailer for Dispicable Me, we also get three new images of The Minions. This time it seems that Gru has changed sides; from being an evil, super-villain to working for "the other side"...

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s worldwide blockbuster Despicable Me entertained audiences around the globe in 2010, grossing more than $540 million and becoming the 10th-biggest animated motion picture in U.S. history. In summer 2013, get ready for more Minion madness in Despicable Me 2. Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team create an all-new comedy adventure featuring the return of (former?) super-villain Gru (Steve Carell), his adorable girls, the unpredictably hilarious Minions...and a host of new and outrageously funny characters.

Meet the minions in UK cinemas from June 28, 2013

An Igor it is then...

  It's now decision time.  Whether to take on some help around the cave. I think going down the minion route is not going to be the best idea for the cave and my sanity in trying to control these evil masses.

  So, if we rule out Dave and his friends then this only leaves the hiring of an Igor. Igors have always been the mainstay of the Evil Genius. They are loyal, good with their hands and can turn their hand to surgery at a blink of a poorly aimed laser.

Igor

  They can have their problems.  Reading is not their strong point. Getting a left arm stitched where a right one should be isn’t that much of a problem - sometimes this can be an advantage. On the other hand, mixing a “normal” and “Abnormal” (or even Abby Normal’s one – whoever she was).  Another of their "problems" is their ability to recognise when their employment is due to expire. This maybe down to a scene of being able to smell burning tar and the noise clank of agricultural implements at several miles or the town of their masters laughter that will spell the end of their employ.

  So the order has been sent for 1(ONE) ACME Inc. Igor - I've asked it to be sent via the normal postal channels as I need a couple of days to finish building its cage, sorry, tiding up the room...

Image of The Minions © 2010 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Image of Igor/Marty Feldman © unknown.

Despicable Me is UK cinemas from October 15

Minions and uses

  Yesterday's post got me thinking about the cons (and cost) of hiring minions.  Now what could be the advantages of hiring/creating them?

  Take Exhibit A here - We shall call him, from now on, Dave Minion.

Dave Minion

  It looks quite good.  It has the correct number of arms, legs and eyes (always a good start but sometimes an extra limb or two can be an advantage).  This minion looks like a good idea until you compare it to myself.

  Now you can see the differences in height.  This does have an advantage.  You can stuff them into a space a lot smaller than someone of average height.  The downside is they do tend to eat a lot more than what you would expect.  What Dave lacks in height he does excel in his lifting capacity.  Need an anvil (all sizes), rocket launcher or even, your ever faithful, Doomsday Device moving from one area of the cave to another then Dave's your man.

  You may think that you need more than just Dave.  This may seem like a good idea until you look at what happens when you end up with too many.  Rioting and accidental firing of heavy weapons ... I'm looking at you Dave for this one.

Finally,if you don't believe me saying that a small, hand picked, band of loyal minions isn't a good idea but a large horde is better I give you exhibit B:

  I will say that if you do have mass hordes of minions then the odd mistakenly fired rocket will not damage your work force.

Image of The Minions & trailer © 2010 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Despicable Me is UK cinemas from October 15

Minions - a good idea?

  Being an evil genius there comes a time to decide if you need the help of minions.  This can produce problems.  These tend to involve the ability to feed, arm and control them enough so they don't try and mutiny and take over your super fortress / converted volcano.

Exhibit A - The hordes

  As a lone wolf, so to speak, I have decide against this idea as they tend to cramp my style, make a mess of the cave and, generality, being a pain in the tail.

  This mess tends to involve their failed experiments.  Propulsion (flinging each other into a wall at high speed), explosives (leaving small bits of themselves all over the shop), electronics (leaving smouldering bits of themselves all over the place) and weaponry (vaporising each other, thus cutting down even more, on your minion base).  Cleaning up after these experiments can take up a lot of time, effort, and paperwork.  This can take a lot of my own personal "evil time" away from my own projects.  These are the reasons why I try to stay away from having hordes of Minions. The odd helper, on a purely ad-hoc basis is a more cost-effective way of getting your plans in action.

  World domination hasn't been my style. It's normally just trying to get something to eat. This seems to be getting harder and harder as times goes on so I decided to diversify so the idea of World Domination now seems like a career update (and probably a cheaper one - saving on those medical bills that keep coming in each time you fall off a cliff, get hit by anvils, fall off a cliff and then getting hit by an anvil...).

Image of The Minions © 2010 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Despicable Me is UK cinemas from October 15