Illumination Entertainment is ready to introduce a bite-sized version of its loveable baddy when Universal Pictures releases Minions: The Rise of Gru this summer. In the newly-released official trailer, the Despicable Me prequel is set up when a precocious young Gru, ego ruffled by the dismissive adult villains who deny him his dream job, steals their precious treasure in an act of tweenage rebellion. Unfortunately, the Minions once again prove it’s hard to find good help for being bad these days…
Minions: The Rise of Gru arrives in U.S. theaters on July 3.
Synopsis:
In the heart of the 1970s, amid a flurry of feathered hair and flared jeans, Gru (Oscar nominee Steve Carell) is growing up in the suburbs. A fanboy of a supervillain supergroup known as the Vicious 6, Gru hatches a plan to become evil enough to join them. Luckily, he gets some mayhem-making backup from his loyal followers, the Minions. Together, Kevin, Stuart, Bob and Otto — a new Minion sporting braces and a desperate need to please — deploy their skills as they and Gru build their first lair, experiment with their first weapons and pull off their first missions.
When the Vicious 6 oust their leader, legendary fighter Wild Knuckles (Oscar winner Alan Arkin), Gru interviews to become their newest member. It doesn’t go well (to say the least), and only gets worse after Gru outsmarts them and suddenly finds himself the mortal enemy of the apex of evil. On the run, Gru will turn to an unlikely source for guidance, Wild Knuckles himself, and discover that even bad guys need a little help from their friends.
A thrilling roster of new voice stars joins the film as members of the Vicious 6: Taraji P. Henson as cool and confident leader Belle Bottom, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Jean Clawed, Lucy Lawless as Nunchuck, Dolph Lundgren as Svengeance and Danny Trejo as Stronghold. The film also features Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario, an aspiring mad scientist; Michelle Yeoh as Master Chow, an acupuncturist with mad Kung Fu skills; and Oscar winner Julie Andrews as Gru’s maddeningly self-absorbed mom. Pierre Coffin once again provides the delightful polyglot babbling of the Minions.
Directed by Kyle Balda (Despicable Me 3, Minions), co-directed by Brad Ableson (The Simpsons) and Jonathan del Val (The Secret Life of Pets movies), the film is produced by Illumination founder-CEO Chris Meledandri and longtime collaborators Janet Healy and Chris Renaud, and features a killer ‘70s soundtrack courtesy of Grammy-winning music producer Jack Antonoff.
