Discover which figure from a famous franchise inspired the appearance of Gru, the big bad of the saga “Despicable Me”.
Have you seen recognized this figure of pop culture that served as the basis to imagine the appearance of the “Big Bad Gru”? In Despicable Me, the dreaded thief, who seeks to steal nothing less than the moon, is loosely adapted from a character in a famous film and television franchise.
It comes from “The Addams Family”, a saga born above all from the drawings of the author Charles Addams, which inspired a series broadcast from 1964 to 1967 featuring the funny and macabre life of anti-heroes who have become iconic, in particular The Thing (an animated hand).
These press cartoons went on to experience many incarnations: a brief animated series in 1973, a special Halloween live TV movie in 1977, the two Barry Sonnenfeld films released in France in 1992 and 1993, and a cartoon broadcast in 1992. A reunion TV movie and a Canadian series followed in 1998.
It is in Sonnenfeld’s feature films (The Addams Family and its sequel) that we find inspiration from the creators of Me, Ugly and Bad for the character of Gru. Evidenced by this image showing the character of Uncle Fétide (Fester in VO) and that of Gru. Apart from the nose, we can note a family resemblance.
Universal Pictures / Paramount Pictures
Foul Uncle / Gru
This resemblance could have been a coincidence if it had not been followed in 2017 by an I, ugly and nasty 3 in which Gru discovers a twin brother named Dru. The latter is pretty much everything Gru would have wanted to be. He certainly has the same face as his brother, but long red hair and much more conspicuous clothes.
An appearance that we find on Uncle Fetid when he is given a makeover by Debbie Jellinsky (Joan Cusack) in The Values of the Addams Family:
Universal Pictures / Paramount Pictures
Fetid Uncle / Dru
From then on, the inspiration becomes more obvious and the reference completely assumed: the heroes of yesterday continue to inspire those of tomorrow. And it’s not over, since just recently, the terrible family was treated to two animated films: The Addams Family and The Addams Family 2 released by BRON Studios in 2019 and 2021.
In parallel, an animated series is currently being filmed centered on the character of Mercredi (the girl), played by Jenna Ortega. Tim Burton is staging this project, announced for 2022 on Netflix.
As for Gru, if an ugly and nasty Me 4 is not (yet) planned, it should appear in The Minions 2, in theaters on July 6.
Apart from La Chose, discover 8 other severed hands from cinema:
