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Despicable Me 4 | 2024 | PG | – 1.3.1
Why is “Despicable Me 4” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “action and rude humor.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a toddler’s bare buttocks, many scenes of villainy with a lot of property damage and threats of injury, the kidnapping of a child, a villain transforming into a partial cockroach in a few scenes, several arguments, and some name-calling and exclamations. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.
Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and his family are sent to a safe house after his arch nemesis (voiced by Will Ferrell) threatens to destroy him. Also with the voices of Kristen Wiig, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Madison Skyy Polan, Pierre Coffin, Steve Coogan, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman and Brad Ableson. Directed by Chris Renaud & Patrick Delage. [Running Time: 1:35]
Despicable Me 4 SEX/NUDITY 1
– A toddler is placed on a changing table, changed, cleaned, diapered and dressed by three minions (we see the child’s bare buttocks and legs). A man’s bare abdomen is seen when his shirt lifts and his pants droop down in a karate class.
Despicable Me 4 VIOLENCE/GORE 3
– A man is flown beside a giant mechanized cockroach-shaped vehicle and jumps across to it and the vehicle crashes into a building (we see rubble and dust and the man fears for his young child that was onboard); the toddler flies out of the rubble next to a man that seems to be controlling the child, the two men fight on a cross a beam that is cut in half by a laser, and one man falls back and clings to a flag pole while the other man steps on his fingers; the child bites the villain’s ear, he falls back into an opening in the structure and falls to the street below where he is trampled by a stampede of bulls and is swarmed by bees.
► A man and a few minions go to a “School of Villainy” where they encounter a man that transforms into a part man, part cockroach; the man shoots green globs at the second man’s claws while many agents shoot at him, taser him and eventually arrest him as he yells that he will get revenge against the first man saying, “I will exterminate you.” A man threatens another man’s family and the second man takes his family to a safe-house; one child complains about leaving her friends, and a younger child cries over leaving her pet goat. A man in a flying vessel takes a toddler and flies away as the child cries. Several people float in a hot air balloon to a school where they lower themselves by ropes and attempt to enter the building; a hole is cut in a window using a diaper pin, a diaper is used to cover a security camera, and a toddler crawls under many sensors in an office and turns them off. A giant mechanized cockroach-shaped vehicle pushes up through a city street, climbs a building and it sprouts wings and flies away; we see it land in a gas station later throwing a lot of dust around.
► A man onstage talks about cockroaches and that they are a miracle of evolution; a cockroach crawls out from his sleeve and the man transforms into a partial cockroach with an extra set of legs with pointy claws and tines, and a shell on his back with wings. A cockroach skitters through a street and drain and many others dance and cheer as a man/cockroach that broke out of prison walks along a red carpet and announces that he will make a man suffer for arresting him. A woman in a mechanized wheelchair surrounded by bodyguards speeds through the halls of a school as alarms blare and she threatens a man, a couple of children and a few minions, but she slams into a wall and cannot reach them as they fly away in a car that sprouts wings. A woman hits a man with a ruler and her wheelchair sprouts mechanized arms that grab the man and stretch him by the arms and legs as she threatens him saying, “I’m gonna give you a whooping.” A toddler bites a man’s finger and he yells in pain.
► A man presents a top secret program where minions will be infused with a super serum that will make them superheroes; 5 minions are snatched by mechanical arms and placed in pods where they are given the serum and they each come out with special powers like super strength, super stretchy, one takes on the shape of a boulder and one has a laser shooter on its head. Several minions with superpowers try to avert disasters, but make things worse by stopping a train from crashing but sending it back along the tracks and into a building (we see people hanging out of the train but no visible injuries are seen), a minion attempts to save a window washer from a broken platform, a minion eats an explosive that blows up in its mouth but when it then burps it sends a shock wave that blows through a street tipping cars and knocking people down, and a minion sprays a laser in an uncontrolled manner around the area cutting a satellite in pieces, cutting a person’s hair off (no injuries are seen).
► A honey badger screeches and tears through a room scaring people and flashing its sharp teeth and claws after a man is accidentally injected with the tranquilizer that was intended for the animal; a toddler gives the animal a drink from his juice pouch and the animal settles down. A dog chases a minion, catches him and thrashes him back and forth (no injuries are shown). A woman enters a hair salon yelling that she needs attention for a hair problem; a woman applies a combination of liquids that causes her hair to bubble and smolder and clumps of hair fall out as the salon fills with smoke, alarms ring and people rush outside. A woman hides from another woman in a grocery store, they run through aisles and knock down displays as one woman yells at the other and eventually slams into an automatic glass door that does not open (we see her face pressed against the glass). A girl throws a paper throwing star at a man with a message inside that he must meet her “or else.” A man becomes upset when a gas station pump will not accept his credit card; he goes inside the station, throws the attendant against display shelves and zaps him with something that transforms him into a partial cockroach. A man instructing a karate class for children reprimands a student that talks back to him and she stomps on his foot, he falls back into a large gong and we see his pinky toe is bent unnaturally. A man tries to climb into a tree house carrying a toddler on his back by jumping on a trampoline and swinging from gymnastics rings; he ends up with one foot in each ring and falling into a deep split.
► Two men exchange insults. A man is angry because another man copied a performance that he was going to do in a grade school talent show. A man instructs a karate class for children and one girl refuses to tell him her name; the sensei tells her to do 10 pushups and go to the “corner of disgrace and reflection.” A man cries and says that he has been on a roller coaster of emotions. A man complains about another man “pantsing” him. A man says, “I did manage to steal the moon.” A girl grins toward a man as she threatens him with exposing his true identity, if he doesn’t help her. A man complains when another man arrives at a tennis club and says, “I’m gonna smoke this guy.” A man tries to convince his young daughter that it is OK to lie about her name while they are in hiding and she becomes upset. A man describes a pet fish that lived in a pond and died.
► Many minions on a bus are disruptive and the driver is struck in the neck with something, causing him to swerve and pull the bus to the side of the road where he reprimands the minions until they throw a whipped cream pie in his face. A man speeds in a car on narrow winding mountain roads, skidding and revving the engine; a much smaller car speeds next to the first car in a driveway and flips on its side where several minions exit unharmed. During opening credits a minion shoots another minion with lightbulbs from a weapon resembling a “Ghostbusters” blaster. Two minions hit each other repeatedly with swimming pool noodles. Two minions request something from a vending machine and it falls on another minion inside the machine, they then pass a can through the slot and it sprays the inside and the minion with liquid. Two minions dump a giant Jell-O mold onto another minion (we see it inside the Jell-O) and they each start eating some of it. A toddler squeezes a man’s nose and he yells in pain. A man spills coffee on his face when a balloon pops in his car; he then squishes a banana on his nose when another balloon pops. A toddler squeezes a juice pouch and squirts juice on a man’s face. A minion dives into the hatch of a vending machine and two other minions slap him on the back causing him to yell. A woman holds a small dog and it grumbles as they walk past a man. A man blows a raspberry at another man. A baby blows raspberries at his father in a few scenes. A minion falls asleep and snores and another minion draws a pig snout on his face. A young girl is shown covered with glitter and complains of someone planting a glitter bomb in her locker. A woman complains of back pain and cracks her back (we hear cracking bones). A closet fills with popped popcorn and we see a minion trapped inside when the door is opened. A minion skis down a stream of melted cheese. A minion shoots many tennis balls at a man as he complains. A minion rides a bull in a stampede. A minion trapped in a vending machine breaks the glass but does not get out before the machine tips over on him.
► A young goat defecates a pile of tiny balls of feces when a young girl tells it to sit. X-ray glasses show the skeletal structure of people and animals. A woman is shown with a mole on her nose with a few hairs sticking out of it. A toddler urinates on a control panel and we see the stream and puddle. A young goat “plays dead” on command and very convincingly.
Despicable Me 4 LANGUAGE 1
– 1 mild scatological term, name-calling (jerk, loser, born loser with a dad bod, femme fatale, kiddo, coward, cranky, irritable, awkward, so Gruish, squirmy, born to be bad, villainous, monster, villain, boomers, bad at lying, the worst, boring, unacceptable, fraud, naughty, very naughty, stupid, shenanigans, tomfoolery, guinea pigs, terrifying, she’s old and smells like pickles), exclamations (bingo, good luck with that, you’re kidding me, let’s boogie, what the…, oh strudel, oh no, oh come on, game on, wow, simmer down, bummer, how old are you, I can’t believe this, aww, you are walking on thin ice). | profanity glossary |
Despicable Me 4 SUBSTANCE USE
– None.
Despicable Me 4 DISCUSSION TOPICS
– Family, survival, technological advancements, competition, cockroaches, safe houses, father-child relationships, solar power, top secret organizations.
Despicable Me 4 MESSAGE
– Working together is always the best way to save the day.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F - 3.6.10
A Family Affair - 5.2.5
Kinds of Kindness - 8.7.6
Despicable Me 4 - 1.3.1
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