While it joined the game much later than titans like Pixar or Disney, Illumination Entertainment has enjoyed near-equal success, with their first-ever project, Despicable Me, becoming a surprise box office hit. Later installments generated ever more cash flow, and the series went on to become the highest-grossing animated franchise of all time, with two billion-dollar films to its credit.

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In case you want to revisit this bright universe once more before the May release of its next chapter, Minions: The Rise of Gru, we've prepared a list of all the Despicable Me films and where you can watch them online, alongside a brief plot summary and details you should know before watching (namely, the film's levels of critical and box office success).

Despicable Me (2010)

Illumination Entertainment's debut feature film, Despicable Me, was released in 2010 and follows Gru, a super-villain, who, after being consistently upstaged by his evil peers, decides to go for the biggest bounty imaginable: the moon. First, however, he has to steal a shrink ray from his main rival, Vector, which he's not able to do until he adopts three young girls small and stealthy enough to infiltrate Vector's base. While he initially intended his connection to the girls to be that of pawns to a player, he begins to find himself acting fatherly, even becoming attached to the trio as he questions his despicable lifestyle.

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The film was praised by critics, with many describing the story as rising above trite animated fare and the performances as amusing but believable, although some thought of it as shallow and much less mentally challenging than the works of studios like Pixar or Dreamworks. Either way, it was an undeniable box office success, making more than $540 million on a fairly small $69 million budget and establishing Illumination as a force to be reckoned with right out of the gate. It also introduced the Minions, characters which are now veritable pop culture icons.

Available on: AmazonDirecTVGoogle PlayiTunesMicrosoft StoreRedboxVuduYouTube

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

While Illumination had been toying with different ideas during the early 2010s (such as mixing live-action and animation with Hop, a failed experiment they wouldn't try again), none were as successful as Despicable Me. Continuing the story made more than enough sense for the studio execs to green-light a sequel, Despicable Me 2, which was released in 2013. The story once again follows Felonius Gru, though he's no longer a supervillain. While he seems to be content with his modest home life, this changes once he's recruited by the aptly titled Anti-Villain League to discover the whereabouts of a dangerous chemical substance capable of causing mutation, which has been stolen by an elusive, skilled supervillain with dastardly intentions.

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The Minions were a big thing by now, and that, combined with the success of Pharrell Williams' chart-topping, toe-tapping hit "Happy," propelled the cinematic follow-up to crazy box office success. It made $970 million, falling short of the billion-dollar mark but still accomplishing something completely unbelievable considering the film's budget of just $76 million. Critics praised the visuals, characters, comedy, and music, although some claimed the plot was lazy and the production value was below that of the original.

Available on: AmazonDirecTVGoogle PlayiTunesMicrosoft StoreRedboxVuduYouTube

Minions (2015)

the minions 2015

Released at the peak of the Minion craze, the 2015 spinoff/prequel film Minions follows the miniature yellow creatures long before they got mixed up with Gru or heist plans involving the moon. Existent since the dawn of time, their quest has always been to find a villain that they can follow as—well, minions. While their various attempts to find an evil boss throughout history have all culminated in their own ineptitude leading to the death of their masters (for instance, Count Dracula's end was brought about by them opening the doors of his castle to reveal sunlight during a birthday celebration), they're still not soured on the idea yet, as they assist female supervillain Scarlett Overkill in stealing the throne of England.

Illumination has singlehandedly proven you don't need to spend a lot of cash to make a blockbuster kiddie flick (by this point, their low budgets have almost become notorious), as they spent just $74 million to make this summer sensation, which raked in more than $1.1 billion during its theatrical run. Review outlets weren't as enthusiastic as viewers were towards the film (after all, it's still marketed at kids first and foremost), but many were able to find solace in the top-notch music and visuals.

Available on: AmazonDirecTVGoogle PlayiTunesMicrosoft StoreRedboxVuduYouTube

Despicable Me 3 (2017)

With its place as a cultural staple cemented, the Despicable Me franchise will most likely continue until it stops becoming profitable. If the success of Despicable Me 3 is any indicator, however, that won't be for a very long time. The franchise's third installment follows Gru, who's basically a superhero now, and his crime-fighting wife Lucy. At the film's opening, their failure to take down supervillain Balthazar Bratt (a fallen star who is trying to relive his glory days as a prolific child actor known for his rude persona) has led to their dismissal from the Anti-Villain League. Meanwhile, Gru finally meets his twin brother Dru, who wants to become a supervillain himself. To recover a diamond stolen by Bratt, Gru teams up with Dru, convincing his brother that they're stealing the diamond and not simply recovering it.

Franchise enthusiasts were wowed by this latest entry; it delivered all the fast-paced slapstick, colorful, engaging visuals, and scattershot witticisms the original had to offer. Critics were obviously less enthused, with many citing a trend of mediocrity in Illumination's cinematic offerings. Still, the film made more than $1 billion dollars on a budget of just $80 million, so you can bet there's a sequel is on the way.

Available on: AmazonDirecTVGoogle PlayiTunesMicrosoft StoreRedboxVuduYouTube

NEXT: 10 Continuity Errors In The Despicable Me Franchise