Despicable Me 4 Has A Great Callback To Steve Carrell’s $230M Spy Comedy

Universal and Illumination’s upcoming movie Despicable Me 4 includes a great callback to a popular Steve Carell spy comedy movie that grossed $320 million. Despicable Me started out as a movie about a wannabe villain named Gru who develops a heart for three children he adopts and has grown into one of the highest-grossing animated franchise, with five movies and three video games to date. Additionally, the franchise is still expanding. Despicable Me 4’s release date is July 3, 2024, and rumors already point towards a Minions 3.

Unlike many franchises, Despicable Me continues to get stronger as more movies are added. Despicable Me 4 seems promising based on the first trailer. All the beloved characters are back, plus some new faces. The plot stays in line with the past movies while still feeling fresh. Most excitingly, the movie includes a nod to one of actor Steven Carell’s best comedy movies of all time.

Steve Carrell Did Despicable Me 4’s Laser Break-In Sequence Before In Get Smart

Despicable Me 4 References Get Smart

At CinemaCon 2024, Illuminations and Universal showed footage of Despicable Me 4. Gru and an aspiring villain named Poppy go on a spy mission where they break into a castle and navigate past a laser security system. Their heist is ruined by a skunk who gets in their way. Actor Steve Carell, who plays Gru in the Despicable Me movies, has done the same action sequence in a 16-year-old movie.

In 2008, the actor played Maxwell Smart in Get Smart, a hilarious parody of the super spy genre. Agent 99 and Max break into a room through the floor to find a room full of lasers. Agent 99 navigates through the room by moving in sexually provocative ways. When Max goes through the maze, he’s surprisingly graceful. However, everything’s ruined once a rat climbs down his suit. The footage of Despicable Me 4 maintains a similar level of hilarity Get Smart.

Despicable Me Has Become More Like Get Smart Than Expected

Despicable Me Is Leaning Closer To Spy Parody With Every Movie

While Despicable Me started out very different from Get Smart, the franchise has become extremely similar in both tone and plot. Gru is now in the Anti-Villain League, which functions similarly to a spy agency. He takes his missions as seriously as Maxwell Smart, but they have an air of silliness to them. With the plots going this way, the already similar comedy has become nearly identical. Both the Despicable Me movies and Get Smart now seem to be making fun of spy tropes, a pattern that will continue in Despicable Me 4.