Despicable Me 3: Steve Carell Helped Create Gru's Brother Dru More Than Fans Realize

Aside from the evil schemes, colorful side characters, and those unavoidable Minions, the "Despicable Me" franchise is all about family. Throughout the series, fans have seen the once-villainous Felonius Gru (Steve Carell) expand his family unit little by little. He's an adoptive father of three daughters, the husband of Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), and, as the Easter egg-filled "Despicable Me 3" revealed, a twin brother. His sibling Dru Gru (Carell) is a supervillain in his own right, and much of what "Despicable Me 3" fans see from him in the film actually comes directly from Carell himself.

"Despicable Me 3" co-director Kyla Balda shared during a chat with Deadline that much of Dru's dialogue was cleverly improvised by Carell on the day. "We wanted to play something that had a lot of contrast to Gru. Where Gru is curmudgeonly and kind of gruff, Dru would be more sunshine-y and happy and more bombastic," he said, explaining that Carell's improv made this contrast between Dru and Gru even more apparent. Balda adds that Carell has also been instrumental in crafting the characterizations of both Dru and Gru behind the scenes, highlighting his commitment to these characters.

Thankfully, "Despicable Me 3" became a reality when it did. Had it been in progress in 2023, the current Writers Guild of America strike would've made it impossible for improv to take place (see "Deadpool 3" being barred from using lead Ryan Reynolds' improv talents). Hopefully, improv in animation will return once the WGA strike is concluded and the members' demands are met, thus keeping up a creative tradition in the voice acting world.

Improv has been used in animated productions for decades now, with arguably the most famous example coming long before Steve Carell's time as Gru and Dru. In the early 1990s, Disney enlisted the late, great Robin Williams to voice the Genie in "Aladdin." The quick-talking comedian not only wound up turning in an excellent and unforgettable performance as the lamp-bound wish-granter, but he changed the game when it comes to going off-script for animated projects. In fact, as "Aladdin" co-director Ron Clements told Variety, he was a constant stream of extended takes and big laughs.

"I was wary we wouldn't be able to use a lot of the stuff Robin might come up with because it wouldn't fit the requirements of the story. But he made most of it work, albeit in ways we never anticipated. His energy was incredible," Clements said, resulting in mountains of dialogue for the "Aladdin" team to sift through and determine what would go in the final film. Clements adds that Williams brought something new and fresh to the world of Disney Animation with his performance style, and "Aladdin" was better for it.

From Robin Williams to Steve Carell, the tradition of improvising in the recording booth is alive and well. Surely it will continue to benefit the medium for many years to come.