Every Despicable Me & Minions Movies In Order

Despicable Me marked the introduction of the minions, but they are more of a side feature than a focal point. Meant purely as silly henchmen, the banana-obsessed little buddies enraptured audiences, and future outings would see their screen time increase exponentially.

Rather than focusing on the minions, Despicable Me tells the redemption story of supervillain Gru as he finds his outlook on life changes when he adopts three young sisters, Edith, Margo, and Agnes. Originally taking them to use as part of his scheme to steal the moon, the trio worm their way into Gru’s heart and leave him questioning whether life as a super villain is what he really wants.

In the sequel movie Despicable Me 2, Gru is tasked by the AVL (Anti-Villain League) with taking down some of the villains he used to work alongside. This mission involves him going undercover as a cupcake stall owner paired with special agent Lucy, whom Agnes desperately wants for her mother. As the investigation continues, Gru realises that his minion numbers are dwindling.

They are being kidnapped and experimented on by the very person Gru is looking for. The mutagen used on the minions turns them purple and angry, turning them against their boss. 

After stealing the spotlight in the two previous Despicable Me movies, the minions were granted a film all of their own. Working as a prequel to the previous films, Minions is set primarily in 1968, and follows the yellow clan as they seek out a new boss.

They find one in the form of Scarlett Overkill, a villainess determined to become the Queen of England. However, after a mishap results in minion Bob becoming king, the group find themselves committing the ultimate minion sin and tries to defeat their maniacal leader.

Full of fun references to both British culture and the 60s, Minions proved that the mischief makers could maintain audience engagement across a full-length feature, taking a staggering $1.1 billion at the box office. 

Minions: The Rise of Gru casts Bob, Kevin, and Stuart into the limelight once again, but this time the trio are joined by recruit Otto.

At the end of Minions, the group were seen crossing paths with a teeny, tiny, young Gru. Sequel, Minions: The Rise of Gru, picks up after those events and sees them now fully committed to helping their mini-boss become one of the greatest super villains in history. To achieve this, Gru is determined to join the Vicious 6, an elite band of villains led by Wild Knuckles.

After Knuckles is ousted from the group, Gru finds himself kidnapped and must rely on a handful of his faithful minions to save the day. It’s worth a watch to see the minions learning martial arts and embracing their animalities, alongside some fun nods to the ‘70s era in which the movie is set.

Also released in 2022 were two compilation shows, Minions & More Volume 1 and 2. These shows featured a collection of minion-centric short films, alongside stories featuring other Illumination characters from movies such as The Secret Life of Pets, Sing, and The Grinch. All of the shorts had previously been screened as either a short before a feature in cinemas or as bonus content on home entertainment releases.

However, Minions & More means you don’t have to spend a ton of money collecting all the discs, as they are all bundled together across two handy chapters. 

Although not quite as successful as the third film, Despicable Me 4 still took a healthy $970 million at the box office.

The story uproots Gru, Lucy, their infant son, the girls, and the minions as the family finds themselves the target of a dastardly villain with whom Gru has a history with. Needing to keep them safe, the AVL places them into witness protection and sees everyone given new identities. Quite how secret it would be, considering the visibility of all his minion helpers, is best not thought about. The minions once again appear to exist slightly out of orbit from the primary plot strand, instead following some experimentations that turn four of the group into superpowered beings.

Overall, Despicable Me 4 does a great job at appeasing fans of the series, but isn’t likely to sway any of the naysayers. 

For anyone wanting to watch the Minions and Despicable Me movies in chronological order, their new movie, Minions & Monsters, is the place to start.

Set during the 1920s, a good 40 years before the events of Minions, Minions and Monsters finds the minions working in Hollywood. Believing they can make the ultimate monster movie, the team set out to find some real monsters to star in their film.

Featuring an adorable baby Cthulhu and a variety of other weird and wonderful creatures, Minions and Monsters is a fun, family-friendly way of introducing the little ones to movie monsters.