Gru

This article is about the Despicable Me character. For other uses, see Gru (disambiguation).

Gru
Despicable Me character
Artwork of Gru from Despicable Me 3 (2017)
First appearance	Despicable Me (2010)
Created by	Sergio Pablos
Designed by	Chris Renaud Pierre Coffin
Voiced by	Steve Carell
In-universe information
Full name	Felonious Gru Sr.
Occupation	Supervillain (formerly) Jelly manufacturer (formerly) Secret Agent (currently)
Weapon	Freeze Ray Minion Army Hand-to-Hand various gadgets
Family	Marlena Gru (mother) Robert Gru (father) Dru Gru (twin brother)
Spouse	Lucy Wilde (wife)
Children	Margo Gru (adopted daughter) Edith Gru (adopted daughter) Agnes Gru (adopted daughter) Felonious Gru Jr. (biological son)

Felonious Gru Sr., alternatively spelled as Felonius Gru and typically referred to simply as Gru, 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.

Character biography

Gru 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.

Gru’s date of birth, and therefore age in the films, is open for debate. In the first film he states he was born in 1960, though that was during his adoption interview where all of his biographical data was fake. In the fourth film he is seen to have graduated high school in 1985, which would put his birthdate in 1967 or 1968. Gru tells Ramsbottom that he was younger than 12 when he stole the English crown in 1976 in the Rise of Gru, though not specifically how much younger.

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

The 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. Gru also bears some design similarities with British comic-book character Grimly Feendish and with the pre-Crisis version of Lex Luthor.

Gru's distinctive accent, described as "quasi-Russian" by A. O. Scott and "halfway between a Russian mafioso and a crazed Nazi" by Roger Ebert, was largely a product of his voice actor Steve Carell's experimentation. According to Despicable Me producer Chris Meledandri, the voice Carell eventually settled on was conceived as "halfway between Ricardo Montalbán and Bela Lugosi".

Analysis

The 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. 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. 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.

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.

Further reading

• 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.