Parents' Guide to

Despicable Me 4

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Gru and his Minions return for family fun; some peril.

Movie PG 2024 95 minutes
Despicable Me 4 Movie Poster: A giant minion holds another minion in his teeth

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Gru with Gru Jr. and a minion
    1:03
  • Despicable Me 4 Movie: Gru, Lucy, and their baby stand in a house, looking confused
  • Despicable Me 4 Movie: Two Minions in a pool

Community Reviews

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age 6+

Based on 19 parent reviews

Natalia G.
Natalia G. Parent of 8, 9 and 11-year-old
July 12, 2024
age 7+

Super fun but fast-paced

The humor was exceptional and some great moments between father and son - but overall it was very fast-paced and frenetic. May be difficult for younger children to keep up. Some violence and potty humor but nothing too jarring.
M T.
M T. Adult
July 3, 2024
age 7+

Unsettling, kids found it ok

A very average addition to the series. It didn’t have the fun and freshness of the other movies, no layering of jokes for older kids/parents. A lot of physical violence generally and peril for a baby. There was something about the themes of this film that struck me as really inappropriate and unsettling. Adult man alone in a tree house with a teenage girl having secrets (with her legs spread open and him sunk into a beanbag, eyes at crotch height), kids babysitting babies left alone for predators, abducted babies who are then dangerously crashed into a contraction site. We view the minions like silly children, yet in this movie they mutate them and it’s not resolved what happens to those they have sacrificed. Overall a bit disturbing but if your kids are under 10 they’ll proberbly look past these issues and just enjoy it for what it is. As the parent I wasn’t super happy.
See all 19 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In DESPICABLE ME 4, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and his wife, Lucy (Kristen Wiig), now have a baby boy in addition to their three girls, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Madison Polan). After Gru arrests the person who bullied him in high school, supervillain Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell)—who has harnessed the near-indestructible powers of cockroaches—Maxime publicly vows revenge. Gru isn't worried until Maxime breaks out of maximum-security prison, forcing the Anti-Villain League to usher Gru and his family into witness protection in the small but wealthy town of Mayflower. Once they're settled into their new home, Gru (now going by Chet) is blackmailed by his neighbor's observant daughter, Poppy (Joey King), a fan and aspiring villain. She wants Gru to help her commit a crime that will get her admitted into his alma mater, an international supervillain boarding school. Meanwhile, Lucy and the girls struggle with their new identities and neighborhood.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (19 ):
Kids say (20 ):

This is a fun, frothy sequel that's full of family-friendly adventure and silly Minion hijinks. Despicable Me 4 isn't a serious, emotionally driven story like Inside Out 2 or a seemingly final installment to a franchise like Kung Fu Panda 4. It feels like Gru and company could keep churning out movies (or a TV series), and, as long as the Minions showed up to cause comedic mayhem, kids would welcome every last sequel. There's not a lot of room for individual character development this time around, especially since Gru is busy scheming with his young neighbor, and there are new "Mega Minions" busy working for the AVL as an Avengers-style superhero force. Maxime is neither the scariest nor the most memorable of Gru's antagonists, and his partner (both criminal and romantic), Valentina (Sofia Vergara), has little to do besides hold her white lapdog and dramatically yell, "Ay, Maxime!"

Pharrell Williams' signature original songs support Heitor Pereira's score and a soundtrack that's capped off by Gru's goofy, sing-along rendition of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Screenwriters Mike White and Ken Daurio aren't reinventing the franchise with the predictable addition of a baby to the story, but they still know how to make audiences of all ages laugh at the broadest of comedic lines. While the Despicable Me sequels have yet to rise to the standard of the original, they're still a solid choice for families looking for lighthearted comedies.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how Despicable Me 4 compares to the other movies in the franchise. What aspects of these movies do you like most?

  • How do the characters demonstrate communication and teamwork? Why are these important character strengths?

  • Do you think the movie's humor is appropriate for younger viewers? Why or why not? Why do you think the Minions are so popular with kids?

  • How does this sequel move Gru and his family's story forward? Do you think there should be more movies in this series? Do you want more Minions-specific movies or more about Gru and the girls?

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