A bad guy with a family and a swarm of Minions keeps adding joy to this franchise that began fourteen years ago. To be successful, however, the film needed to have the originality expected from the beginning. It also needed to have humorous writing that can connect and create joyful fun and laughs. There are a few of those moments this time around, but not nearly enough. In my opinion, this is the most ridiculous installment of the franchise.

In Despicable Me 4, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) is with his family which includes Lucy (voiced by Kristen Wiig), Edith (voiced by Dana Gaier), and Agnes (voiced by Madison Skyy Polan). They now have another child named Gru Jr. Navigating the life of a mastermind with a family and the Minions takes a toll on Gru. This time things are a bigger mess because there is a new enemy to compete with Gru. That nemesis is Maxime Le Meal (voiced by Will Ferrell) and his girlfriend Valentina (voiced by Sofia Vergara). Gru and his family are at risk as Maxime is after them. Gru helps his family and the Minions overcome the evils of Maxime and Valentina.

I was not pleased with this film. The humor continued with silliness. Also, creativity is lacking. All of it was original at one point. An enemy competing with another enemy should be a fun plot for a continued franchise. Unfortunately, this film’sapproach disappoints. There is even a scenario where Minions are in the form of steroids. Overall, the message of fun family entertainment crosses the line in ridiculous ways.

The joy in this film is found in the well-known voices of the very talented stars, i.e., Steve Carell, Kristen Wig, and WillFerrell. Their talent provides the most entertainment and laughs. I always find joy in hearing their voices go into full eccentric mode. Especially with Carell who has always been able to use his voice effectively to make snarky comments to his nemeses with a rapid quirkiness. Add both Wiig and Ferrell into the mixand there is a continued galore of catchy dialogue that vibes well. Still, the structure and flow of the film is one of the worst I have seen in some time. While I still love Minions, I expected so much more from the Despicable Me franchise.

The lack of Minions is perhaps the major reason I enjoyed Despicable Me 4 a lot less than I had anticipated. They usually are the ones that sell the films and make the experience so memorable. The Minions normally use their unique voices, their funny behaviors, their timely appearances, and their unexpected disasters that normally make audiences of all ages go bonkers. There is not anything in particular to “go bonkers” about in Despicable Me 4. In this installment, the beloved Minions are almost completely out of the picture and that makes the film almost a complete disaster. Therefore, my rating sadly falls to one out of four stars.