Every scene starts with a script but we absolutely encourage ad-libbing. But what Steve did really was that accent but he also developed a way of speaking, we called them the Gruisms.
Russell was another good example as Dr. Nefario some of the little asides that the character has were purely from Russell.
It just builds out the character is a way that would be impossible to do on the page.
- And what was it about the script that drew you to the project? And how big a plus point was having the story told from the villain's point of view?
Well for me it was huge, and I think for Pierre Coffin it was a big selling point, from when I was a kid the characters that I always liked were Darth Vader and The Joker and I think kids are still drawn to the dark and dangerous characters.
So the chance to tell a story of a villain was irresistible really and for me that was the main drawing in point for sure.
And then you can take the story and turn it a little bit with the softer side of the character that also was appealing because I have two kids - and maybe sometimes they think I am a villain (laughs). So the ability to tell a story of a parent - at the end of the day it's very relatable career vs family do you go and steal the moon or go and see your kid's dance recital?
And also there is a metaphor for some bad parenting, which I'm sure we can all relate to at one point or another, but also the softer side of brining a family together. So those elements along with the big concept of telling the story from the villain's point of view had me interested.
- The minions are a very popular aspect of the movie so how did the idea for then develop?
Well they weren't in the script and when we first had them as development art they were called goons and technicians - so they were more like thugs and henchmen.
And then in my very earliest conversations with Pierre and my early story boards they were always short - actually the first versions were robots a bit like R2D2 but cuter, but we always had the idea of treating them like umpa lumpars of jawas from Star Wars.
So as we got talking about them Piere suggested that they shouldn't be robots so you could feel a bit more empathy for them so I said 'well what about mole people?
I did a little sketch of a little guy with goggles on - but it was far too ugly. Then Eric took the sketch and created the look that you see today and from there we did some animations tests and we instantly knew that we had something - we treated them as if they were Dopey.
The scene that I started story boarding with was where Gru is announcing his plan and there are hundreds of them and we really knew that we had something and so they featured throughout the film - and of course the marketing (laughs).
It's really something that developed over the film as they did not exist in any shape or form at the beginning and it just grew and grew and grew.
- And you must be delighted by the movie's success - it's the eighth biggest grossing movie of 2010.
We are all very excited - I think we thought that we had something that was unique and fun - but to be honest I don't think anyone thought that it was going to do as well as it has ended up doing. It's very gratifying.
For me personally one of the greatest experiences was at the premiere in LA as I had my father on one side and my children on the other and they were all laughing as we were watching the film.
We really set out to make something that was just fun and I think that people are responding to it in that and that's very gratifying.
- Animation is a very exciting genre at the moment with this movie and there are the Pixar and Dreamworks movies so is it as exciting for you as the creator of these films as it is for us who are getting to watch all these great animation movies?
Oh absolutely! It's funny because for many year people have been saying 'oh there's a glut of animation and it's going to fail' but the truth is it seems that the audience is really enjoying it and we haven't hit that point where everyone is getting tired of it.
So what's cool... I saw Tangled, which I though was great, and How To Train Your Dragon - you are getting all these different movies that are being told through animation and that's what exciting - seeing all these different ideas and the medium evolves.
- How did you get into animation in the first place?
Actually I was a graphic designer and comic book illustrator in New York and then I worked for Marvel and DC working on Batman and that sort of thing. I then transferred into children's TV where I worked on a Winnie the Pooh show before working for Jim Henson.
Then I worked for Blue Sky Studios, which is owned by Fox and did the Ice Age films, and I got the chance to direct a short featuring Scrat and that was it.
- Have you ever thought about moving into live action movies?
I have certainly thought about it but not really seriously - I just haven't taken it to that step. But I really like animation it's a very exciting place to be and I think it's because I was an illustrator and I have always draw pictures so I think it suits my sensibility.
Despicable Me is out on DVD and Blu-ray now.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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