The world is often taught in shades of black and white: follow the rules, and you’re labelled as “good”; go against them, and you’re deemed naughty or mischievous. Cartoons, superheroes, and fables reinforce this mindset, presenting clearly defined “bad” characters alongside their hero-nemeses and moral lessons. This binary thinking shapes childhood mindsets and seeps into our adult perceptions, especially regarding how we label people. For instance, ex-convicts often face ostracism, branded as “bad” for their past actions. While it’s true that actions have consequences, this perspective can lead to a dichotomous view that overlooks individual complexity. The Despicable Me franchise challenges this notion by blurring the rigid lines of good and evil, positing that a person’s morality is malleable and shaped by their circumstances.
Positioning of Gru
As children, we do not automatically think critically about cartoons and hence, cartoons are an easy and entertaining medium to transfer values to children. Some famous shows, including Barbie and Ben 10 always follow a conflict-resolution character arc: there will always be a superhero and a villain, and at the end of the day, the superhero will triumph and a lesson will be learnt.
The Despicable Me franchise also does follow that structure, but it is different in the positioning of its character. In case you need a refresher, Despicable Me is about a bald-headed man called Gru, whose greatest ambition is to be the greatest villain of all time, and follows the story of him and his Minions, the adorable entities that pledge loyalty to him and follow Gru on his missions. Some of his missions include “stealing the moon” or even being a secret agent to fight off the villains. He is positioned as someone with a tinge of villainy and mischief in his veins, which deviates from the traditional ways a protagonists are positioned. For example, in Cinderella, she is positioned as someone that is purely good versus the evil stepmother, who has bad motivations. This presents Gru as someone with flawed ambitions, and we get to see his reformation into someone better. Additionally, the way the Minions are portrayed as adorable, mischievous but in general good-hearted often blurs the line between playful mischief and ill intent. You can even argue that this is an extended metaphor of how it is like to be human beings, that at the end of the day, we are shaped by different circumstances. One shouldn’t judge quickly based on impressions or motivations but to seek empathy and understanding different perspectives.
Reformation and the Impact of Family
As the series progresses, especially after the first movie, we see Gru reforming and becoming a “good” hero, reverting back to a more traditional way of storytelling in cartoons. However, the series seeks to explore the varying factors for why this happened. The spin-off Minions explores how Gru came to be a “villain”. In both aspects, it revolved around family. Minions showcases the parental neglect of Gru’s parents, especially his mother, which explains why Gru sought validation from other places when he could not find it e at home. This echoes similar sentiments of disappointments reflected in Despicable Me 3: “You told me my dad died of disappointment the day I was born,” revealing his insecurities and lack of love from his family, and thus fuelling his motivation to be a “supervillain”, as stated in Minions, so to avoid being called a disappointment again.
This was why he so desperately wanted to not be a disappointment which shows how easily affected we are by our familial interactions from young. This evidently points to why he wanted to be a supervillain in the first place. This same theme of seeking acceptance and belonging from his adoptive children and girlfriend is the reason for he becomes “good” in Despicable Me 2, and is the reason he becomes “good”
The line “I’m a father now, with responsibilities, and a legitimate businessman. I’m developing a delicious line of jams and jellies.” from Despicable Me 2 shows the malleability of our own morality and points to the importance of gaining acceptance and love from the right people. This also proves that ‘“evilness” is often a combination of compensating for what you lack and the influence of your environment , which subverts the original narrative of cartoons and superhero movies which tell us that “goodness” is an inherent virtue given to the select few. By exploring the storyline of the “villain”, Despicable Me therefore, showcases the huge impact family has on our morality or turning us into the kind of people we are today.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this franchise has changed the way I see the world: in multiple shades instead of just black and white. It is unique in the way it reflects our realities back at us: instead of presenting an idealistic world to us, it metaphorises our human condition, and at the end of the day, we are fighting evil with evil. Out of all the complexities the show has described, it has taught me the power of empathy and to look beyond what people do and to understand their intentions and how they have been shaped by their circumstances . At the end of the day, good people can become bad and bad people can be good, so we should not rush to judge one another, but take the time to understand people better. In a world where things like cancelling culture are rife, it is crucial to evaluate people’s actions with a dash of empathy and to always remember: this is our first time being human, so understanding and hearing people out can really go a long way!