Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru is the Annecy Festival Opener

By Pickle March 15, 2022

Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru is the Annecy Festival Opener, Pickle Media

Illumination’s ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ will be the opening film at Annecy, the world’s largest animation film festival. The world premier will happen in the Grande Salle de Bonlieu, on Monday 13th June.

The 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.

This world premiere will be the opportunity for the public to discover the untold origin story of how the world’s greatest supervillain, Gru, first met his iconic Minions, forged cinema’s most despicable crew and how, together, they faced off against the most unstoppable criminal supergroup ever assembled: the Vicious 6. This eagerly awaited new chapter in the Despicable Me and Minions film franchise will delight audiences of all ages!

The Festival’s Artistic Director, Marcel Jean said, “The Minions franchise is inextricably linked to Annecy. 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,” added Jean.

The film will be released in France on 6 July 2022, and in the USA on 1 July 2022.