| “ | Next, we are going to steal... pause for effect... THE MOON! And once the moon is mine, the world will give me whatever I want to get it back, and I will be the greatest villain of all time! That's what I'm talking about. | „ |
| ~ Gru's most famous quote, announcing his plans to the Minions |
| “ | Scarlet: Child, give me that back. Young Gru: No, I don't think so. Scarlet: You have no idea who you are messing with! I am the greatest supervillain of all time! Young Gru: [chuckles] Oh, were you? [laughs] |
„ |
| ~ Gru starting his career as a supervillain |
| “ | As a supervillain, if you name it, he stole it. As an agent for the AVL, if they stole it, he caught them. | „ |
| ~ Gru narrating his AVL Agent File |
Felonious Gru Sr., better known by his surname, Gru, is the main protagonist of Illumination's Despicable Me franchise.
He was originally an infamous supervillain and the leader of Gru's Organization with goals of becoming the greatest villain of all time, until he retires from villainy and becomes a family man after adopting three adorable orphan girls named Margo, Edith, and Agnes. After meeting Lucy Wilde, whom he later married, he becomes a heroic agent for the AVL (Anti-Villain League), which is a top-secret organization whose goal is to apprehend villains worldwide. And then, he meets his long-lost twin brother, Dru. As a bonus, Gru serves as the son of Marlena Gru and Robert Gru, the boss of the Minions and Dr. Nefario, the former fan of the Vicious 6, the archrival/archenemy of Vector Perkins, and the arch-nemesis/archenemy of El Macho, Balthazar Bratt, Belle Bottom, and Maxime Le Mal. However, he does make amends with the latter in Despicable Me 4.
He is voiced by Steve Carell, who also voiced his twin brother, Dru.
Quick Answers
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Who is Gru in Despicable Me?
Personality
At first, Gru is a sneaky, dishonest, manipulative, and somewhat cold-hearted man who is determined to become the greatest villain in the world. He hates children, and he's easily irritated by Agnes, Edith, and Margo. He is self-centered, pompous, and vain, and he only adopts the girls so that he can break into Vector's vault and steal the shrink ray to advance his agenda.
He is also rather cruel, arrogant, flagitious, and even sadistic. He enjoys using his Freeze Ray (his signature weapon) and freezing people just for the sake of it.
Despite these traits, Gru is shown to be good friends with those he usually works with, such as Dr. Nefario and his Minions, referring to each one of them by name instead of just treating them like slaves. However, he also says that he has no intention of giving his minions a raise.
As time goes on, Gru starts to enjoy spending time with his three adopted daughters, and he eventually grows to genuinely love them, putting aside his dream of stealing the moon and risking his life to rescue them from Vector. Dr. Nefario disapproves of the fact that Gru's warmer and compassionate side is starting to reveal itself and sends the girls back to the orphanage. Even though Gru doesn't attempt to stop Miss Hattie from taking them back, he is clearly upset about them leaving, and later says that giving them up is the worst mistake that he has ever made. He also does his best to attend their dance performance after stealing the moon and is upset when he discovers that he is too late, before subsequently dedicating himself to rescue them.
Gru has a tendency to say "light bulb" whenever he has an idea. He also speaks in an unusual accent (probably East European) which was described as "a mix of Ricardo Montalban and Bela Lugosi." When being asked about his accent by Ellen DeGeneres, he says that he was from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and he asks Ellen not to push this topic any further. After the end of the first film, Gru eventually quit villainy.
Enemies/Villains defeated by Gru (in Order)
So far, Felonious Gru has defeated fourteen enemies.
- Scarlet Overkill and Herb Overkill - As a child, Gru freezes them and walks away while stealing Queen Elizabeth II's crown from them.
- The Vicious 6 - Gru uses the Zodiac Stone to turn the Vicious 6 into rats. And then, they end up getting arrested by the AVL.
- Vector Perkins - At the Bank of Evil, after realizing that Vector has stolen the pyramid, Gru angrily freezes his head. However, Vector survives this, and jumps on Gru's rocket to sabotage Gru's attempt to steal the Shrink Ray. But then, Gru defeats him again with electrical countermeasures, causing Vector to be sapped by power pylons. Vector returns and kidnaps Gru's adopted daughters, but Gru, his Minions, and Dr. Nefario save them before the moon can expand, ultimately defeating Vector, and trapping him on the moon. Prior to the events of Despicable Me 4, Vector eventually escaped from the moon, ended up on Mars, escaped from Mars, returned to Earth, and got arrested by the AVL.
- Antonio Perez - After Antonio dumps Margo and breaks her heart by dancing with another girl, Gru freezes him, so that he can help Margo get her revenge.
- The Purple Minions - Gru, along with Margo, Edith, Agnes, and the reformed Dr. Nefario, defeat the Evil Minions with jelly guns, so that the Minions can return to normal (except for the one who appears at Gru and Lucy's wedding).
- El Macho - After drinking the last cup of PX-41, El Macho turns into a giant purple beast. Gru runs out of ammo in his jelly gun and a showdown occurs. When El Macho tries to kill Gru, he is delayed by the Freeze Ray before being paralyzed with Gru's lipstick taser. Dr. Nefario, who aided Gru earlier in the fight, later knocks out El Macho with the Fart Gun.
- Balthazar Bratt - After successfully stealing Bratt's keytar from a dance fight, Gru uses it against Bratt to blast his clothes off, and make him get stuck to one of his bubblegum balloons. After that, the AVL showed up, and arrested Bratt.
- Principal Übelschlecht - Gru has first defeated her when she was chasing them in her school, causing her to crash against the wall with her wheelchair. She was defeated again when Gru and Lucy caused her wheelchair to malfunction, causing her to crash again. Afterward, she was arrested by the AVL.
- Valentina - As Valentina was approaching Gru to finish him off, the construction floor started to collapse, due to the holes that she created with the machine. A few moments later, she crashed down through the floors, along with the machine. And then, she got arrested by the AVL.
- Maxime Le Mal - Gru had punched Maxime Le Mal off the building, which he survived, and was then stampeded over by Mega Minions. When he gets arrested, Gru visits him, and they make amends by putting on a show, and singing the Everybody Wants To Rule The World song with the AVL prisoners. Some of the prisoners were Vector, Mr. Perkins, El Macho, Balthazar Bratt, Scarlet Overkill, Herb Overkill, the Vicious 6 (minus Wild Knuckles), Valentina, and Principal Übelschlecht.
Trivia
- Although never specified, Gru's accent and dressing style implies he is either of Russian or German origin. The third installment of the franchise reveals that Gru's family is from the fictional nation of Freedonia, which is implied to be based on Dusseldorf in Germany.
- Gru and his enemies often serve as a foil to each other in each film:
- Just like Vector Perkins, they are both self-established villains who are willing to achieve their goals of becoming the greatest supervillains in the world. However, while Gru can be civilized with the Minions, and he treats them like equals. And despite his initial hatred towards children, since he originally viewed Margo, Agnes, and Edith as pawns, he eventually grew to care for the trio throughout the film, influencing him to become more heroic than he was before. Vector, meanwhile, is shown to be more determined in getting into villainy, which was further aided by the fact that he was horribly cruel towards the aforementioned girls, as evidenced in the film's climax, where he had carelessly put them in danger. Vector serves an example of what Gru would've become if he had let his descent into villainy consume him.
- Just like El Macho, they are both former supervillains who were at the top of their game. Gru was the world's most notorious villain before adopting his daughters, while El Macho was a legendary villain known for his outrageous stunts, including his supposed death while riding a shark into an active volcano. Gru's transformation into a loving father is the reason he gives up his life of crime and pursues a more positive path. While Macho's relationship with his son, Antonio, lacks the warmth and genuine care that Gru shows his daughters. El Macho's priorities remain focused on his villainous ambitions, even to the detriment of his son's character, as seen in Antonio's selfish behavior. El Macho represents what Gru would've become if he didn't choose to embrace love and family over power and ambition. Their similarities emphasize the significance of Gru's choices and the path that he ultimately decides to follow, highlighting themes of redemption, the impact of fatherhood, and the moral implications of one's actions.
- Just like Balthazar Bratt, they both had strong aspirations in being villains themselves since they were younger, which would mean that they can become fearsome threats, as well. However, Gru would later have a change of heart after he made personal bonds with his now-adoptive daughters Margo, Edith and Agnes, leading him to the path of heroism. Bratt, on the other hand, still kept his sense of villainy for a long time just because his show got cancelled after he had hit puberty. Bratt serves as an example of what Gru would've become if he wasn't able to fully redeem himself in any way possible.
- Just like his former arch-nemesis/archenemy, Maxime Le Mal, they both were the bright students at Lycee Pas Bon with plans to become great supervillains ever. However at the first film, Gru realized that villainy actually would never bring him true happiness, while Maxime never did. If Gru hadn't gone through his character arc, he would've become an obsessed and petty supervillain like Maxime too.
- It's revealed in Despicable Me 4 that Gru graduated high school in 1985.
- Gru can be seen as the black sheep of his bloodline, since he rejects the tradition of villainy that dated back centuries in his family. Fortunately, his twin brother, Dru, insists on keeping it alive, and he fully commits to it. As a bonus, it's revealed that his dad, Robert Gru, was actually proud of his son of being a great villain in contrast to Dru.
- The first Minions film is the only Despicable Me/Minions film where Gru isn't the main protagonist. It's also the only Despicable Me/Minions film where Gru has less screentime and doesn't have a lot of interactions with the main antagonist.
External Links
- Felonious Gru on the Heroes Wiki
- Felonious Gru on the Universal Studios Wiki
- Felonious Gru on the Wikipedia
- Felonious Gru on the Despicable Me Wiki
 Villains
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Gru's Organization Villain Con Villains Vicious 6 Bank of Evil Macho Organization Balthazar Bratt's Lair Lycee Pas Bon School of Villainy Others Other Media | ||