Chinese censors scene from the movie “Minions.” for Happy Ending
Chinese censors made changes to the fifth Despicable Me film so that the good people would triumph.
Fans in China who saw Universal Pictures’ “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” earlier this month reported seeing an extended scene at the film’s conclusion that was cut from other international releases, as reported by Reuters.
In the original, the villain Wild Knuckles gets away from the police and Gru goes back to his criminal ways, but the Chinese version changes the ending so that everyone learns their lesson. A photo montage has been added to the film’s conclusion to support the claim that Wild Knuckles was captured by authorities and subsequently formed an acting group while inside.
Reuters reports that the slideshow reassures viewers that villain Gru “eventually became one of the good guys” by virtue of his parenting of three adoptive daughters.
The altered conclusion, in which Gru is shown as a supervillain with his three grown daughters, creates problems for the movie’ internal cohesion.
The epidemic pushed back the release of the Despicable Me spinoff by two years. The release date for “Minions” the sequel to 2015’s hit movie, was pushed back from July 2020 to sometime in 2021. “Minions,” like “Top Gun: Maverick,” waited for the perfect time to launch in theatres solely, while many other animated family flicks opted for streaming or hybrid releases.
The franchise’s titular “minions” – little, yellow, talkative humanoids in overalls — have become symbols in China and other East Asian countries. They have even teamed together with restaurants and been featured in fashion lines.