He speaks in an unusual accent (probably east European) which, according to Steve Carell, was described as "a mix of Ricardo Montalban and Bela Lugosi".
Gru also has a tendency to say "lightbulb" whenever he has an idea. He also did his best to get to their dance performance after stealing the moon and was upset when he discovered he is too late. Though Gru didn't attempt to stop Miss Hattie from taking them, he was clearly upset about them leaving and later said that giving them up is the worst mistake he'd ever made. Nefario disapproved of the fact that Gru's warmer side was starting to reveal itself and sent the girls back to the orphanage. However, he also said that he had no intention of giving his minions a raise, though this never caused any protest in them.Īs time went on, Gru started to enjoy spending time with his three adopted daughters and in the end he grew to genuinely love them, putting aside his dream of stealing the moon and risking his life to rescue them from Vector. Nefario and also treated his Minions quite well interacting with them and calling each one of them by name (he can also understand their language) instead of just treating them like slaves. He is rather warm with his allies, such as Dr. Gru was also rather cruel and even sadistic at first and enjoyed using his Freeze Ray, which is his signature weapon, often freezing people just for the sake of it. He was self-centered in the beginning, as he only adopted the girls so that he could get the shrink ray, which he intended to use to shrink the moon so that he could steal it. At first he showed a dislike of children being easily irritated by Agnes, Edith and Margo. Gru is also capable of forming smart plans, such as his plan to steal the shrink ray from Vector.Īt first, Gru was a sneaky and somewhat cold-hearted man, who was determined to become the greatest villain in the world. For example, as a child he built a real rocket, although later on his minions and Nefario did most of his work instead. He is very strong and athletic, being capable of dodging and leaping off several heat-seeking missiles (all going at the speed of sound), backhanding Vector's shark with a single punch (with the apparent force of a truck), and smashing his fist into Vector's monitor, easily cracking the screen without damaging his hand.Īpart from his remarkable agility and strength, Gru is also considerably intelligent. He has a thick accent, and his arms and legs are notably disproportionate in size to his body. Gru is a tall, bald man with blue eyes, long nose and broad, powerful physique and dresses in a light grey sweater underneath a black collared coat along with a striped grey scarf, black trousers, and shoes. The Minions and Nefario would eventually become his only friends and, differently than the usual villain, he treated them like friends and appreciated every effort they made instead of treating them like slaves. Attracted to the scientist's contraptions, he would later employ Nefario, as well as a group of yellow pillow-shaped creatures named Minions he met shortly afterwards. Gru was also constantly bullied by other students and one of these events made him afraid of ever asking a girl for a date which is probably the trauma that made him become evil eventually.īaby Gru watching his brother leaving him.Īt some 1968 point, he and his mother visited Villain-Con and met the Dr. Gru's father, although never in contact with Gru prior to the former's death, was quite proud of Gru's achievements. For most of his childhood he was neglected and ignored by his mother. He made a "prototype" rocket out of macaroni and an actual working prototype rocket. Although born with his twin brother, Dru Gru, he was separated from Dru in since birth and stayed with his mother Marlena Gru.Īs a child he had always dreamed of going to the moon.
Although his hometown is unknown, in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, he claimed he was from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Gru comes from a long lineage of villains as shown with dozen of statues of his ancestors in Dru's hideout. Felonius Gru is the main protagonist of the Despicable Me franchise.