The Despicable Me franchise centers on Gru, a reformed super-villain (who later becomes a father and secret agent), his yellow-colored Minions; his three adopted daughters, Margo, Edith and Agnes, Dr. Nefario, and his wife, Lucy Wilde.
The eccentric Gru leads a secluded life - he lives inconspicuously in a small neighbourhood in some suburb. But what his neighbours don't know: He is planning the greatest crime in human history and wants to steal the moon. On the advance with technically sophisticated weapons and unstoppable by the police, he finds - perhaps - his conquerors. Three orphan girls discover a potential father in him. Is his life of crime over now ... or will he steal the moon after all?
After the supervillain Gru adopted the three orphans Margo, Edith and Agnes, a lot has changed in his life. Instead of committing crimes as a curmudgeon, his life now revolves around bedtime stories, children's birthday parties and the girls' first suitors. His new life is suddenly disrupted when Lucy, an agent of the secret Anti-Villain League, takes Gru to their headquarters against his will. There, Gru is given the task of saving the world from a new villain. Gru eagerly sets to work and once again gets help from Dr Nefario and his usually very clumsy Minions. But reconciling his new task with bringing up his adopted daughters is not easy, and the fact that Lucy is also very fond of Gru outside of work is too much for the former loner.
Minions Stuart, Kevin, and Bob are recruited by Scarlet Overkill, a supervillain who, alongside her inventor husband Herb, hatches a plot to take over the world.
In the second instalment, the once sinister Gru has fallen in love with agent Lucy Wilde and changed sides out of love for her and his three adopted daughters Margo, Edith and Agnes: together with his wife, he now fights villains. These include Balthazar Bratt, a super villain and 80s fan with shoulder pads and a mullet, who is after a huge pink diamond. While Gru is busy hunting Bratt, he is visited by his twin brother Dru. Not only does he have a full head of hair, but he is also more successful and self-confident than Gru, who can't even control his Minions - and that really annoys him! But then Balthazar Bratt strikes a diabolical blow and the unlikely brothers have to team up to save the world.
In the 1970s, long before he rises to become a master of evil, Gru is simply a twelve-year-old suburban boy who dreams of world domination in his basement. When the notorious gang of villains ‘The Nasty 6’ throw out their leader, Gru applies to be his successor, but soon ends up as the gang's mortal enemy. While Gru has to flee, the Minions learn martial arts to save him, and Gru finds out that even villains can sometimes use a little help from their friends.
Gru and Lucy and their girls — Margo, Edith and Agnes — welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad. Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina, and the family is forced to go on the run.