In this prequel to the Despicable Me movies, 12-year-old Gru (Steve Carell) dreams of becoming the world’s greatest supervillain.

He goes to a group of supervillains calling themselves the Vicious 6 when they advertise an opening. Unfortunately, during the interview, they mock him and tell him to come back after he's done something evil. Not missing a beat, he steals a precious stone right from under their eyes and takes off at a run, with the Vicious 6 in pursuit.

Gru tells Otto, one of his Minions, to take the stone back to the lair while he distracts the villains. After making his escape, Gru returns to his lair in triumph, believing his crime has earned him a place as a supervillain. However, when he asks Otto for the stone, he learns the Minion traded it for a pet rock. With the supervillains hot on his trail, it's a race against time for Gru to find the precious stone, make his name, and stake his reputation as a legitimate and despicable supervillain.