Despicable Me 2

Despicable Me 2 is a 2013 American animated comedy film directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, and distributed by Universal, it is the second installment in the Despicable Me franchise following the 2010 film. The film stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, and Ken Jeong. In the film, secret agent Lucy Wilde (Wiig) recruits retired supervillain Gru to investigate the theft of a powerful mutagen by an unknown criminal suspected by the latter to be El Macho (Bratt), a villain who is believed to have died decades prior. Development of Despicable Me 2 began in 2010 following the success of the original film, with the directors, producers, and writers returning. Production was underway by February 2012, with the majority of the cast returning to voice the characters, along with new cast members, while animation services were provided by Illumination Mac Guff in France. Al Pacino was cast as the voice of El Macho, recording all of his dialogue, but left in May 2013 over creative differences; Bratt was brought in to replace Pacino, and used him as an inspiration after finding imitating his voice impossible. Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams returned for the sequel's music. Despicable Me 2 premiered in Australia on June 5, 2013, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 3. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its humor and animation. It earned $971 million worldwide, becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 2013 and the most profitable film for Universal at the time. It was nominated for two awards at the 86th Academy Awards, and received numerous other accolades. A sequel, Despicable Me 3, was released in...