Spotlight On...Despicable Me & Minions

In this edition of Spotlight On... I'm entering the world of the blockbuster Illumination franchise - Despicable MeMinions spinoffs. In honor of the newest release, I'm looking back score by score in the series.

Despicable Me (2010)
Music by Pharrell Williams, Heitor Pereira
Pharrell provided original songs and tunes that are featured as Gru's thematic material.  The score features some breezy spy material, slight cartoony writing, and sweeter moments involving the girls.  With Pharrell's songs being front and center, no official score album was released.

Despicable Me 2 (2013)
Music by 
Heitor Pereira, Pharrell Williams
Pharrell returns with new songs, the Minions are more prominent, and Pereira's score is overall more noticeable.  The score is bolder, with more brass and electronics added. We get themes from the first film, more comic mayhem, slick spy material, as well as new Luchador-style material for El Macho. (Just listen to: Break-In, Going to Save the World, El Macho's Lair)

Minions (2015)
Music by Heitor Pereira
Pereira gets to really shine in his first solo score featuring a retro jazz ensemble, choir and several madcap styles.  The previous Minion material gets expanded with a little extra for Kevin, Stuart and Bob.  Scarlet Overkill, the new villain gets a theme. (Just listen to: Minions Through Time, Minion Mission, Greatest Renegade Unveiling)

Despicable Me 3 (2017)
Music by Heitor Pereira
New villain Bathazar Bratt brings an 80s synth vibe alongside a wide variety of musical styles for Gru and Dru's trip to Freedonia. We also hear the returning Minion music along with the previous breezy spy comedy style and a nice mix of short lighthearted and sentimental cues. (Just listen to: My Brother!, Sneaking, Rejected Me, Back and Bigger Than Ever)

Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
Music by Heitor Pereira
Pereira offers up some plenty of 1970s funk to match the setting, adding in Kung Fu stylings and seemingly longer action cues in between songs.  Of course we still get comic Minion material, matching their wilder situations in the action. (Just listen to: Vicious Funk, Intruders, Zodiac Battle)


Look for others franchises in my Spotlight On series:
Harry Potter, Batman, James Bond, Star Trek, Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men, Spider-Man, Superman, Transformers, Planet of the Apes, The Hunger Games, The Fast and the Furious, Mission Impossible, Rambo, The Terminator, MonsterVerse

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