Despicable Me 4

Brick-Built Gru and Minions

A big goofy Gru and five dancing Minions who genuinely made me grin.

Brick Rated Score

4.0/5

Set 75582 · 2024

Pieces839

Minifigsn/a

Year2024

Set number75582

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

This one won me over faster than I expected, and I am not even a hardcore Despicable Me person.

You build a chunky, jointed Gru towering over five brick-built Minions on a base that actually spins when you crank the little side Minion like a hand-organ. It is a display piece first and a toy second, so if you want deep play features you will feel the ceiling quickly. But for the price and the sheer amount of character packed in, I think it is an easy yes for the right person.

Best for: Despicable Me fans who want an expressive display figure rather than a playset

The full review

What it is

The thing that got me here was the Minions, not Gru. You expect the big fellow to be the star, and he is fun to build, all jointed arms and hands and that unmistakable pointy nose. But it is the five little yellow guys around his feet that carry the whole set. Jerry has maracas and a fruit hat, Dave is done up as a secret agent with a propeller on his head and a walkie-talkie, there is a Beedoo Minion with a megaphone, Mel strumming a ukulele, and Kevin clutching his fart gun. Each one has genuine personality, and lined up together they look like a tiny chaotic band, which is exactly right for these characters. The whole thing sits on a base that turns when you crank the fifth seated Minion on the side, so the others swing around Gru like they are dancing for their boss.

The catch

I will be straight with you about where it stops short. This is a display set wearing a playset's marketing. The only real action is that rotating base, and once you have spun it a dozen times the novelty settles. Gru does not turn with them, which several reviewers flagged as a missed trick, and honestly they are right, having him spin too would have doubled the charm for almost no extra cost. The jointed fingers and arms sound more poseable than they feel in hand, so do not expect proper articulation. At the original 54.99 dollars it was fair, but now that it has retired you may pay a bit over that on the aftermarket, and it is worth knowing that going in.

Who it's for

So who lands where on this. If you love Despicable Me and you want something that reads instantly as those characters on a shelf, this is a lovely pick, and it moves beyond the tiny minifigure scale of the other sets in the line, which makes it feel special. Kids nine and up can build it in an afternoon and it displays well afterward. If you are hunting for a set with rooms, vehicles, and stuff to actually play out, the Minions and Gru Family Mansion is the better call and this will leave you a little flat. Buy it for the faces, not the features.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build runs about an hour and a half, closer to two if you are younger or newer to it, and it never gets frustrating. Gru goes together as a satisfying chunky figure, and the five Minions each build up as their own little rounded body, which is a nice rhythm because you keep finishing a whole character and setting it aside. The cleverest section is the base: there is a trio of splat gears down there and a Minion built onto a long Technic axle that runs into the housing and drives the rotation. One reviewer pointed out you could swap that hand crank for a small motor without much trouble, which tells you the mechanism is honest engineering, not a gimmick glued on top.

This is quietly a strong parts pack. For roughly the same money as the mansion set you get nearly as many pieces, and a lot of them are the rounded, curved, and small detail elements that make brick-built characters work, the sort of parts that are handy for anyone building creatures or figures of their own. The yellow is everywhere, obviously, so if you are a MOC builder stocking up on Minion-yellow rounded bricks and the little accessory props, this is an efficient way to do it. There are no headline rare printed pieces or brand new molds that set the parts community alight, but as a bag of useful shapes at a reasonable price, it earns its keep.

Fun facts

01The set is built around a hand-cranked mechanism: turning the fifth seated Minion on the side spins a base of splat gears so the other Minions circle Gru.
02It launched on 1 May 2024 alongside the Despicable Me 4 film at an RRP of 54.99 dollars / 49.99 pounds / 54.99 euros, and retired at the end of 2025.
03At around 839 pieces it packs in nearly as many parts as the larger Minions and Gru Family Mansion set for a lower price.
04The five Minions each come themed with their own prop: Jerry's maracas and fruit hat, agent Dave's propeller and walkie-talkie, the Beedoo Minion's megaphone, Mel's ukulele, and Kevin's fart gun.