“Despicable Me 4” Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review

The Despicable Me 4 Collector’s Edition Blu-ray comes with a bunch of content (including two shorts) to deliver a nice return for fans planning to purchase the home release.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with the Despicable Me 4 Collector’s Edition Blu-ray for free for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

The latest installment in the globally popular animated Despicable Me franchise opened a new chapter in Gru’s life as he tries to protect his family, especially the latest member, who happens to be his baby son, Gru Jr.

I do feel that giving Gru a baby son made sense for his character. Gru’s connected with his three daughters during the past films, and it’s time to explore his dynamic as a father to a boy. And of course, that’s not easy due to Gru Jr.’s clearly disliking Gru. However, as expected, the two bond over the course of Despicable Me 4.

While I liked the new addition to Gru’s family, I do feel that the overall narrative was bloated. There’s just so much going on and you could see the writers trying very hard to connect everything in the approximate 1 hour and 34 minute runtime.

Maxime Le Mal served as the big bad this time around. He’s got a troubled history with Gru, going all the way back to their school days where apparently Gru stole Maxime’s thunder by performing the song Maxime was supposed to during a talent show. The song in question was ‘Karma Chameleon‘ by the English band Culture Club. The flashback had Gru dressed up like Boy George. The Despicable Me franchise doesn’t have any open queer characters, but at least it’s got a queer-inclusive vibe.

Anyway, to get his revenge, Maxime decided to come after Gru’s family. That prompted Gru and his household to be relocated to a town named Mayflower under witness protection, complete with new identities. Most of the Minions got taken away from the family by the AVL, which led to an entire mini-story involving a handful of the Minions being experimented on to give them superpowers and being turned into Mega Minions.

I do feel that the narrative didn’t explore the relocation storyline enough. You could tell that Gru, Lucy, and the three girls were having a tough time adjusting to life in Mayflower. Having them adapt and develop as characters in the process would have made for some interesting moments which the movie didn’t have time to address because of everything else going on.

I personally could have done without the Mega Minions scenes to give more time to Gru and his family trying to fit into a very different neighborhood. Even the subplot involving the daughter of Gru’s new neighbors wanting to be a supervillain felt undercooked.

The overall storyline panned out as you would expect it to, with everyone coming together to face Maxime and Gru’s love reaching out to Gru Jr. to cement Maxime’s defeat during the finale.

Even though I had my issues with Despicable Me 4, I have to say that it made me laugh and chuckle quite a bit. It’s not the most well-written entry in the long-running animated franchise, but it gets the job done. And with it having earned more than $948 million at the global box office, you know we will be getting a fifth entry soon.

As for the Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release, the front of the packaging had Gru, Gru Jr., and a Minion. You will see the ‘Includes 2 Mini Movies’ text in the lower right corner. However, be prepared for two very short “Shorts” starring the Minions instead of actual “Mini Movies”. The back had images of the rest of the characters, a synopsis, and a list of the bonus features.

Pulling away the slipcover, you will find the single Blu-ray housed in a plastic case having the same imagery as the slipcover. Inside the case, you will find the Blu-ray (I was expecting the disc to have some kind of imagery on it instead of being blank) and a piece of cardboard promoting other animated films by Universal Pictures as well as the redeemable Digital Code (for people with access to Movies Anywhere).

I didn’t experience any issues with the Blu-ray visual and audio presentation. This is a very bright movie, especially when it comes to the yellow Minions running around. Most of it occurs during the day. Illumination’s animation team continues to be top-notch, with you being able to see a whole lot of detail, down to the texture of clothes.

As for the bonus content, this home release does give you a lot for the price point.

We have:

• Game Over and Over – This short is about a very special game control being used to cause chaos. It involves Stuart, Kevin, and Bob.
• Benny’s Birthday – This short has one of the Minions named Benny having a nightmare where he continues being hurt during his birthday.
• Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes
  • Class of ’85
  • Minions at the Reunion
  • Minions at Home
  • Big Day Out
  • Karate Round 2
  • Gru vs. Treehouse
  • Defibrillator
  • Mega Minions Mega Mix
  • Mega Minions in
  • Lockdown
  • Despicable Dialogue – Recording booth moments with Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, and the rest of the cast.
  • Meet the Cast – Get to know
    • Steve Carell: Gru
    • Kristen Wiig: Lucy
    • Joey King: Poppy Prescott
    • Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Madison Polan: Gru’s Girls
    • Stephen Colbert & Chloe Fineman: The Prescotts
    • Sofia Vergara: Valentina
    • Will Ferrell: Maxime
  • Making Of – The cast and crew share a behind-the-scenes look that goes over the story, new characters, the animation process, and more.
  • Mega Minion Mayhem – Highlights the Mega Minions.
  • Rogues Gallery – A look at the nefarious villains from past Despicable and Minions films.
  • How to Draw – Join Habib Louati (Head of Story) as he shows us how to draw the Mega Minions – Dave, Mel, Jerry, Gus, and Tim.

Released in theatres on July 3, 2024, Despicable Me 4 got a Digital release on September 10, 2024. You can own it on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 24, 2024.

Directed by Chris Renaud and written by Mike White and Ken Daurio, the cast includes Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Stephen Colbert, Sofía Vergara, and Will Ferrell.

For those interested, we are running a Digital Code Giveaway for Despicable Me 4. A winner will be selected come September 27, 2024, at midnight MT.

Are you a fan of the Despicable Me franchise? What did you think of the fourth installment?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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