For anyone wanting to catch up with Gru and his legion of clumsy yellow Minion sidekicks, there are two ways to binge-watching the entire Despicable Me viewing order. The Despicable Me movies were received with open arms by both critics and fans alike and went on to gross more than $540 million worldwide, spawning two direct sequels, the Minion movies, and a mountain of short films, television specials, video games, and even a theme park attraction at multiple Universal Studios locations. The original trio of Despicable Me movies follows the story of super villain-turned-father Felonious Gru, his three adopted daughters Margo, Edith, and Agnes, and eventually his wife Lucy Wilde.
While the franchise’s odd yellow Minions are largely presented as Gru’s slapstick backup in his various master plans throughout the Despicable Me movies, the popularity of the little cylindrical creatures saw them receive their very own prequel in 2015. Minions became the first entry in the series to generate more than $1 billion at the global box office, and Minions: The Rise of Gru beat that as the highest-grossing in the Despicable Me franchise. This also opened up two ways to watch the movies – in release order and chronologically.
Despicable Me & Minions Movies In Release Order
The Despicable Me viewing order hasn’t been released in a perfectly straight line, but it’s still fairly straightforward. The first animated film was released in 2010. A massive surge in popularity for the Minions characters led to the release of the Minions prequel between the second and third films in the core trilogy. Minions: The Rise of Gru followed as a sequel to the Minion movies, but still took place prior to the events of Gru’s attempted moon heist in Despicable Me. Illumination has already confirmed that Despicable Me 4 will arrive in theaters in July 2024. The Despicable Me viewing order by release date is as follows:
- Despicable Me (2010)
- Despicable Me 2 (2013)
- Minions (2015)
- Despicable Me 3 (2017)
- Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
- Despicable Me 4 (2024)
Despicable Me & Minions Movies In Chronological Order
While wild and unpredictable, the Minions are all dedicated henchmen at their core. The central plot of Minions takes place in 1968 as Kevin, Stuart, and Bob attempt to find a supervillain to serve, although there are also scenes early in the movie that date back billions of years, as Minions are almost as old as the Earth itself. A young Gru meets the Minions at the end of the first prequel, while Minions: The Rise of Gru picks up with them serving a 12-year-old Gru during the early years of his super-villainy, some 40 years prior to the first movie. The Despicable Me viewing order chronologically is as follows:
- 1968: Minions (2015)
- 1972: Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
- 2012: Despicable Me (2010)
- 2013: Despicable Me 2 (2013)
- 2014: Despicable Me 3 (2017)
How The Minions Timeline Cleverly Avoided WW2 & Other Modern Atrocities
It’s been confirmed that the Minions existed in the same universe as several dictators and other real-life villains of history, thanks to the Minion’s opening scene — a topic that the Despicable Me movies have cleverly avoided. The Minion movie’s opening scene is all fun and games when they’re able to poke fun at dictators like Napoleon, but it becomes much darker when one considers something like the atrocities of WWII. How the Minion movies surpass this dark moment in history is by making the minions inactive during the Second World War and then bringing the Minions into the 21st century to be with Gru.
This helps the series avoid tackling the question of just who the Minions would’ve been working for during this time since their main purpose is chaos and destruction. Making the Minions inactive during this time period also takes the ethical ramifications of said subject away. Either way, watching the Minions and Despicable Me viewing order makes for a diverting afternoon, and watching them this way shows how the series was able to avoid tackling complex matters of history that would have directly or indirectly involved their villainy.
Despicable Me 4 Will Be In Chronological Order
The next movie in the franchise will hit in 2024 and fans have the answer to where it falls in the Despicable Me viewing order. When asked about the movie, star Steve Carell explained that this is a continuation of the Despicable Me movies and not the Minions movies. This means that Gru will be back with his wife and adopted kids in Despicable Me 4 as they team up in the Anti-Villain League. “It’s the next step in their world with the Anti-Villain League and how their kids are included in the whole process,” Carell explained.
When looking at the Despicable Me viewing order, this movie will be the sixth in the release date order. It arrives two years since the last movie in the franchise and 14 years since Gru made his first appearance in Despicable Me. When watching the movies in the Despicable Me viewing order chronologically, it will also be the sixth in the series, as all the Minions movies so far have been prequels to the main series. The movie arrives seven years after the third movie, making this the first time that Lucy and the three kids will be in a movie since Despicable Me 3.
