The Gru Family | The Antagonists | Other Characters
Unmarked spoilers up to Despicable Me 2 and Minions.
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Gru's Neighbors
Fred McDade
Voiced by: Danny McBride
"You know dogs—they go wherever they wanna go."
Gru's friendly next-door neighbor.
- Dogged Nice Guy: When it looks like he and Shannon are having a good time, she ditches him after seeing his dancing.
- Nice Guy: Fred appears to be a seemingly normal and cheerful man. He also appears to like to joke around with Gru, though Gru doesn't like it.
- Ship Tease: Fred can be seen dancing with Shannon at Gru and Lucy's wedding.
Jillian
"I know you're in there, Gru! There's no way you're getting out of this!"
Voiced by: Nasim Pedrad
Gru's next-door neighbor who is constantly trying to set him up on dates.
- Annoying Laugh: It's really grating. Just ask Gru.
- Genki Girl: Can't be seen without being bubbly.
- Hate Sink: Downplayed as she's not really "unlikable" per se, but it's obvious the audience is supposed to find her annoying.
Word of God even said that she was created so that, the now reformed, Gru can still be a jerk to somebody without losing the audience's sympathy. - Improbable Hairstyle: The ends of Jillian's hair manage to stay curved up somehow.
- Innocently Insensitive: Jillian was going to set up Gru with a friend whose husband just died.
- In-Series Nickname: Gru sometimes calls her "Jills."
- Nice Girl: In spite of her nosiness, it isn't out of malice and she's also friendly towards Gru's daughters.
- Nosy Neighbor: In the sense of trying to dictate Gru's dating life.
- Shipper on Deck: For Gru and... pretty much anybody. Particularly Shannon.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Had Jillian not forced Gru on a date with Shannon, he would've never realized his feelings for Lucy.
Shannon
Voiced by: Kristen Schaal
"I have to tell you, I was so nervous about tonight. I mean, there's just so many phonies out there!"
One of Jillian's friends.
- Berserk Button: Shannon hates phonies.
- Butt-Monkey: She suffers a lot of physical comedy during the aftermath of her failed date with Gru. She's unconscious through most of it, but still.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Shannon seems to not have a problem doing an intense workout. In a dress. At a crowded restaurant.
- Hartman Hips: She is very skinny, with a rather large behind.
- Jerk Jock: Shannon is a rude person and loves to workout.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While her getting into Gru's personal space was crossing the line, she was right in calling Gru a phony since he did hide the fact he was bald by using a wig.
- Kick the Dog: At Gru and Lucy's wedding, Shannon ditches Fred after seeing his less than stellar dancing.
- Ship Tease: Shannon can be seen dancing with Fred at Gru and Lucy's wedding.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Shannon wants to find a guy who isn't a phony.
Natalie
Voiced by N/A
One of Jillian's friends.
- Flat Character: She has no character other than being used for comic relief.
- Ship Tease: When the Minions started to sing their own version of "YMCA" at Gru and Lucy's wedding, Silas was seen dancing with Natalie. It seems like they might date.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: According to Jillian, looks aren't important to Natalie.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: After being put through some intense Butt-Monkey moments, Natalie gets her own happiness at Gru and Lucy's wedding, when she's seen happily dancing with Silas.
- The Voiceless: Natalie doesn't have any lines in Despicable Me 2.
Anti-Villain League
Silas Ramsbottom
Voiced by: Steve Coogan
"Rob a bank? We're not interested. Kill someone? Not our deal. But you want to melt the polar ice caps, or vaporize Mt. Fuji, or even...steal the moon, then we notice."
The head of the Anti-Villain League.
- '70s Hair: In Minions: The Rise of Gru he is seen with hair and with long muttonchops at that.
- Anti-Hero: He's the Big Good (see below), but acts like a pompous jerkass most of the time.
- Big Good: Technically speaking, being head of the Anti-Villain League.
- British Stuffiness: What makes him a Funny Foreigner.
- Curtains Match the Windows: Matching brown hair (which is started to grey on the sides) and brown eyes.
- Deadpan Snarker: Usually voices his sarcastic side in a condescending manner.
- Fat Bastard: Not evil, but definitely a Jerkass.
- Good Counterpart: To Mr. Perkins. Both are heavyset men who run a top-secret organization and for some reason have a dislike of Gru. However while Perkins is the owner of the Bank of Evil, Silas is the Head of the AVL. In regards to Gru, Perkins continues being a jerk to him, to the point he was planning to steal Gru's moon plan so his son, Vector, could get glory for it; Silas is implied to be on better terms with Gru, as he attended his and Lucy's wedding.
- Good Is Not Nice: Really, his only redeeming trait is that he's fighting for the good of humanity, other than that, he's a full-on Jerkass.
- Jerkass: Making fun of Gru's jam and jellies business and after Floyd was falsely accused of stealing the serum, Silas coldly dismisses Gru and informs him of Lucy's reassignment to Australia.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- Silas secretly sending Lucy to be Gru's partner without notifying may be uncool, but when Lucy mentions the reason is because of Gru's "checkered past," you gotta agree with the boss. No one going to trust an ex-villain without taking precautions.
- Snotty jerk he is, Silas makes a valid point that he can't arrest Eduardo because of lack of evidence.
- Kick the Dog: Unintentional, but Silas telling Gru about Lucy's reassignment only added to Gru's emotional pain.
- Large and in Charge: Very hefty and the leader of the AVL.
- Pet the Dog: Even with his condescending nature towards Gru, Silas never showed any actual antagonism towards Lucy and didn't underestimate her skills, implying that while he may have a disliking to Gru, he's reasonably respectful to his spies.
- Put on a Bus: He retires early on in the third movie, leading Valerie Da Vinci to take over as the head of the AVL.
- Ship Tease: When the Minions started to sing their own version of "YMCA" at Gru and Lucy's wedding, Silas is seen happily dancing with Natalie.
- Took a Level in Kindness: It was heavily implied that the reason behind Silas' dislike and jerkass nature of Gru is because he was a former supervillain. However, his attendance at Gru and Lucy's wedding heavily implies that Silas' opinion of the ex-villain has changed.
- Unfortunate Names: Gru and two of his minions make fun of his last name, with the former calls him "Sheepsbutt.""Hilarious...."
- Ungrateful Bastard: Despite Gru finding the PX-41 serum, all Silas can do is thank him...for being completely useless.
Valerie Da Vinci
Voiced by: Jenny Slate
"Which one of you losers is Agent Gru?!"
Silas' replacement as head of the Anti-Villain League.
- Anti-Hero: Valerie being the boss of an organization dedicated to fighting crime is about her only redeeming quality, as she acts more like a villain due to her obnoxious, ruthless attitude.
- Bad Boss: Despite ironically being the boss of the "good guy" organization, she is callous towards her employees, specifically those who mess up. What she did after firing Gru and Lucy was to order them thrown off the blimp.
- Big Good: Becomes the new head of the AVL after Silas' retirement.
- Butter Face: Downplayed, but her Gag Nose definitely contrasts her shapely figure.
- Foil: To Silas. Both are the jerkass Big Goods, as they are the heads of the AVL. In terms of body parts, Silas is hefty, while Valerie is skinny. However, while Silas was implied to be on good terms with Gru by the end of Despicable Me 2, but it's left up in the air if Valerie is.
- Gag Nose: She has a large nose similar to Lucy's, but it's slightly more crooked.
- Good Is Not Nice: Even more so than Silas, as while he did have some Pet the Dog moments, Valerie so far has none.
- Impossible Hourglass Figure: She's got more curves than a scenic route, Butter Face...
- Jerkass: She immediately fires Gru for failing to capture Bratt, even though he was still able to recover the diamond from him. When Lucy protests, she fires her too.
- Karma Houdini: Much like many of the antagonists of the first film (except Vector), Valerie doesn't get any kind of punishment for her harshness. In fact, she
only appears in that one scene, and never appears again for the rest of the movie (not counting Gru's Imagine Spot of bringing the Dupont diamond to the AVL and getting rehired). - Kick the Dog: Firing Gru and Lucy was harsh enough, but the fact she ordered them thrown off the AVL blimp was pushing it (regardless of the fact that she did give them parachutes).
- Lean and Mean: As skinny as Lucy, but a complete jerkass.
- Purple Is Powerful: Wears a purple suit and is the new head of the AVL.
- Sinister Schnoz: Downplayed. She's not a villain, but is a large-nosed Jerkass.
- Supermodel Strut: She has a Feet-First Introduction where she does a deliberate strut up the stairs with her hand on her hips, flaunting her shapely figure... before she turns around and reveals her Butter Face.
- Ungrateful Bitch: Even though Gru managed to stop Bratt from stealing the diamond, all Valerie can do is be more upset the said villain got away again.
Other Criminals
The Nelsons
Voiced by: Michael Keaton (Walter), Allison Janney (Madge), Michael Beattie (Walter Jr.), and Katy Mixon (Tina)
"All aboard the Nelson Express!"
A family of five with a pet cat who go around robbing banks.
- '50s Hair: Walter has bryllcreemed Standard '50s Father hair, Madge has a curly pageboy she holds back with a headband, and Tina has pigtails befitting a girl from a mid-century suburb.
- Affably Evil: A typical family you might expect to see in a Fifties sitcom, except they're villains.
- Big Eater: Walter Jr. stared at a sliced apple with such intense passion before gobbling it up.
- A Boy, a Girl, and a Baby Family: Walter Jr., Tina and Binky respectivcely.
- A Day in the Limelight: Binkey Joe gets his own short in the Minions DVD and Blu-Ray and the other Nelsons make a appearance.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Aside from each other, they also care about the Minions. When Scarlet orders the capture of the Minions, they're the only villains that don't go after them. The dad even tells the Minions to run for it.
- The Family That Slays Together: They rob banks together.
- Fangirl: Tina is a fan of several supervillains, but especially Scarlet Overkill.
- Girlish Pigtails: Tina, the only daughter, has them.
- Good Parents: Zig-Zagged. They involve their children in bank robbing, something that no reasonable parent would ever do. But, they truly care about their kids as seen when they comfort Tina for accidentally tripping the alarm that got the police chasing them.
- Hartman Hips: Madge has a large pair.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Tina feels regretful for tripping the fire alarm and getting the police chasing them. She even doubts herself in the process, implying that she may have confidence issues.
- Nuclear Family: The seem to be a straight example before they're revealed to be villains.
- Standard '50s Father: Walter, aside from being a villain.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Joe, the baby of the family, knows how to set a grenade.
- Unholy Matrimony: Walter and Madge are in a happy marriage with three children... and they rob banks.
- Vanity License Plate: The Nelsons have one that reads LUV2ROB.
Other Characters
Antonio Perez
Voiced by: Moises Arias
"Cool glasses."
Eduardo's son and Margo's first crush.
- The Charmer: Easily charms the normally sane Margo.
- Deadpan Snarker: Like Margo, he is sarcastic and sassy towards Gru when he tries to protect Margo from Antonio.
- Emo Teen: Implied. Leather jacket? Check. Suave like hair? Check. Slightly longer t-shirt? Check. Baggy blue jeans? Check.
- Fat and Skinny: A parent version. Antonio is the Skinny to his father's Fat.
- Human Popsicle: His eventual fate for spurning Margo.
- I Just Want to Be Free: Implied. He wants to be free without rules seen when he told Gru: "There are no rules señor, it's Cinco De Mayo!"
- KidAnova: Margo is not amused upon finding out he's a womanizer. Neither is Gru, who punishes him with the Freeze Ray. Provides the page image.
- Latin Lover: He's of Latin-American descent and is a KidAnova.
- Love Interest: To Margo.
- Missing Mom: His mother is never seen nor mentioned.
- Most Gamers Are Male: Antonio tells Margo that his dream is to play video games for a living.
- Pretty Boy: He even has his own small fandom of girls out-of-universe.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: A rare male example.
- Reused Character Design: He looks like a younger version of the Once-ler.
- The Slacker: Implied. He did tell Margo about his dream to play video games for a living.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He shows signs of becoming one.
- Troubled, but Cute: Not really, but in the eyes Margo, well...Margo: (in a lovestruck voice) You're so complicated!
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After he's frozen by Gru and his father is arrested, it's unknown what became of him.
Queen Elizabeth II
Voiced by: Jennifer Saunders
"Gentlemen do not steal ladies' crowns!"
The Queen of England who appears in the prequel movie.
- '50s Hair: Has the same curly, set hairdo that the real-life regent has had since the late 1950s.
- Accent Adaptation: In the Mexican Spanish dub, she speaks in a faux-European Spanish accent, but using Mexican slang. Oddly enough, she's the only British character using that accent.note
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Isn't afraid to smack the minions around (complete with Punctuated Pounding) when they try to steal her crown. She easily bests a burly arm-wrestler later after being deposed before downing her mug of beer.
- British Teeth: Has a very prominent overbite.
- Hartman Hips: She is skinny with wide hips.
- High-Class Gloves: Her royal dress comes with long, white gloves.
- Intelligible Unintelligible: She's the only person shown understanding what the Minions say in the Minions film, understanding Kevin when he's explaining his predicament and again when playing a prank with Kevin on Stuart.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Lays the smackdown on Stuart, without even smudging her fancy, white dress.
- The Lad-ette: Engages in arm wrestling and swilling beer in a pub when she's temporarily deposed.
- Muscles Are Meaningless: Bests a much more muscular man in arm-wrestling, even when he uses both arms.
- Pink Means Feminine: Wears a pink ensemble with a matching pillbox hat after being deposed.
- Tomboy: Very much Truth in Television for her, as the real Queen Elizabeth II was very much a tomboy particularly in her youth when she served in the British military as an engineer before gradually getting girlier later on in her life; however, here she's shown to be a physical powerhouse both when the Minions are trying to steal her crown and later when she engages in an arm wrestling match with another pub patron.
- Troll: She gets Stuart a snowglobe as a joke, before revealing his true present.
- Wrestler in All of Us: When Stuart tries to take her crown directly from her, she wacks him a few times, ending with a flying elbow drop.
Master Chow
"So, you like picking on little guys?"
Voiced by: Michelle Yeoh
A masseuse who befriends the Minions in the Rise of Gru film.
- '60s Hair: She's got a tall and voluptuous bouffant with perfect flips at the end, that Scarlett Overkill and every Country Music singer would envy.
- Actor Allusion: Michelle Yeoh plays yet another martial artist Action Girl.
- Big Damn Heroes: She protects the Minion Trio Kevin, Stuart and Bob and fends off Wild Knuckles’ henchmen, using a powerful force shout as a finisher to defeat one of them.
- Cool Old Lady: An elderly woman with advanced martial arts knowledge and can beat up grown men without breaking a sweat.
- Foil: To Wild Knuckles. Both of them are elderly mentors who train the protagonists of the sequel. But while Wild Knuckles is a tall, skinny supervillain who teaches Gru how to be a better villain through hands-on experience, Chow is a short, fat massage therapist who teaches the Minions how to be better protectors through martial arts training. And while Wild Knuckles forms a grandfather-grandson relationship with Gru, Master Chow sees the Minions as regular students.
- Good Wears White: Chow wears a white shirt with blue linings, and she chooses to get involved by fighting off Wild Knuckles' henchmen and protecting the Minions. Likewise, although she is a bit reluctant at first, Chow agrees to help teach the Minions once she realizes why they want to learn kung fu: to protect their "mini-boss".
- Magical Asian: The only Asian character in the sequel who exists to train the Minion trio in the ways of martial arts.
- Mentor Archetype: Chow has advanced kung-fu knowledge, and she teaches the Minion trio her techniques, so they can protect their "mini-boss."
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's probably about 4 feet tall, but she can and will trash you if she feels like it.
- Retired Badass: Was once a brilliant martial arts master but decided to quit the lifestyle to be a regular masseuse. Though she decides to help the Minions after hearing of their desire to save their "mini-boss."
- Training from Hell: She puts the Minion trio through this in order to teach them her techniques.
Poppy
Voiced by: Joey King
- Evil Counterpart: Like Lucy, she's a fan of Gru and gets to work with him on a mission, but unlike Lucy she wants to be a villain.
- Identical Stranger: With her red bushy hair and skinny body and long pointy nose, she looks like she could be Gru and Lucy's daughter.
