The Minions are back — and celebrating with a splashy world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
The long-awaited “Minions” sequel, dubbed “The Rise of Gru” will open the festival with a screening on Monday, June 13 in the Grande Salle de Bonlieu.
The next chapter in the “Despicable Me” film franchise tells the backstory of how Gru — the world’s greatest supervillain — met his Minions, forming “cinema’s most despicable crew” and facing off against the criminal supergroup, the Vicious 6.
“The Minions franchise is inextricably linked to Annecy,” stated Marcel Jean, the festival’s artistic director. “As early as 2010, ‘Despicable Me’ made its mark at the event, and since then each film in the series has started its success here. Annecy’s enthusiastic audience is the best there is to uproariously celebrate the return of this happy crew who is the symbol of success for Illumination.”
“We are hoping to see the public return in large numbers to cinema theatres and we all need frivolity and laughter. This is why ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ seemed the perfect film for us to open the Festival’s 2022 edition. It is also the opportunity for the Festival to highlight both French and American expertise. We thank Illumination and Universal Pictures for offering this wonderful gift to the festivalgoers.”
The lllumination Entertainment film is directed by Kyle Balda, co-directed by Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val, and produced by Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri, along with Janet Healy and Chris Renaud.
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” will be released in France on July 6, and in the U.S. on July 1.