Despicable Me is a 2010 American animated comedy film directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Produced by Illumination Entertainment as its first feature film, it stars the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Jack McBrayer, and Julie Andrews. The film follows Felonious Gru, a longtime supervillain who adopts three orphan girls to use as pawns in a villainous scheme but reluctantly develops an emotional attachment to them. Development of Despicable Me began when writer Sergio Pablos pitched the idea about a main character having villainous attributes to producer Chris Meledandri following Illumination's foundation in 2007. The film was announced in 2008, with much of its creative team attached. Animation was provided by Paris-based studio Mac Guff. Pharrell Williams and Heitor Pereira composed the film's score, with original songs written and performed by the former. Despicable Me debuted at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 9, 2010, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 9 by Universal Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics and earned $543 million worldwide, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2010. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Annie Awards and won Favorite Animated Movie at the 2011 Kids' Choice Awards. Despicable Me began a successful franchise, which includes six succeeding films. Happy 15th Anniversary to Despicable Me, one of the first Illumination films of the 2010s!
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