Despicable Me 2 (2013)
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When the world needed a hero, they called a villain.
The story
After a mysterious aircraft steals a highly potent mutagen known as PX-41 from a laboratory in the Arctic Circle, Silas Ramsbottom, director of the Anti-Villain League (AVL), sends agent Lucy Wilde to recruit former supervillain Gru. Gru initially refuses, citing his responsibilities as a father and business owner, but eventually agrees to work with the AVL after his assistant Dr. Nefario is forced to retire. The duo is stationed at a shopping center, where Gru begins to suspect that a local restaurant owner, Eduardo Pérez, might be the elusive supervillain El Macho, who was presumed dead decades ago.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After a mysterious aircraft steals a potent mutagen (PX-41) from the Arctic, Silas Ramsbottom of the Anti-Villain League (AVL) recruits former supervillain Gru. Gru eventually joins forces with agent Lucy Wilde to track down the thief, whom he suspects is the long-lost villain El Macho. While Gru and Lucy work together, Gru's daughter Agnes hopes he will fall for Lucy. The investigation leads them to a shopping center and a wig shop. At a party hosted by Eduardo Pérez, Gru discovers he is indeed El Macho. The villain has used the mutagen to transform his Minions into purple, mindless monsters to conquer the world. Gru flees with his daughters, while Lucy is taken hostage by El Macho. Gru sneaks into El Macho's fortress with two Minions to rescue her. Meanwhile, Dr. Nefario creates an antidote to cure the mutated Minions. In a final confrontation, Gru defeats El Macho with a gadget, and Nefario finishes him off with a fart gun. The film ends with Gru and Lucy successfully escaping together and eventually marrying, with Lucy becoming the girls' adoptive mother.
- First release year
- 2013
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Chris Renaud; Pierre Coffin
- Writers
- Cinco Paul · writer; Ken Daurio · writer
- Cast and characters
- Steve Carell · Gru; Kristen Wiig · Lucy Wilde; Benjamin Bratt · Eduardo Pérez / El Macho; Russell Brand · Dr. Nefario; Miranda Cosgrove · Margo; Steve Coogan · Silas Ramsbottom; Ken Jeong · Floyd Eaglesan; Pierre Coffin · the Minions
- Genres
- animated; comedy
- Themes
- fatherhood; partnership
- Tone and mood
- humorous; action
- Setting
- A variety of locations including the Arctic Circle, a shopping center, and a fortress.
- Premise and plot tags
- supervillain; mutagen; minions
- Franchise connections
- Despicable Me
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its humor and animation.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 62 · scale: 100 · review count: 39
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Animated Feature · Nomination; Academy Award · Best Original Song · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film's music was composed by Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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