Despicable Me 3 is formulaic in the best sense.

As a growing franchise about a reformed super villain and his expanding family, Despicable Me has firmly established its characters and the films’ slapstick and often loud tone.

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Despicable Me 3, then, plays to the expectations of its core audience, children and parents, with little deviation. It’s a safe move guaranteed to ensure there’s a Despicable Me 4, but it’s also successful; the fun and charm of the familiar humor and feel-good moments still haven’t worn off, though the end is surely in sight.

As the bald bad guy-turned good dad and now husband, Gru (Steve Carell), along with his chaotic yellow blobs Minions, has been a highlight of the series. Despicable Me 3 doubles-down on Carell’s voice performance, introducing Dru, Gru’s long-lost twin brother.

Dru, also played by Carell, has the same Euro-centric accent and long pointed nose, but with a silky blonde coif, and cheery disposition. He’s also exceedingly wealthy; Dru inherited the family’s pig empire from his father, himself a master criminal who was ashamed that Dru wasn’t cut out to carry on the family tradition of villainy.

Having been fired as secret agents after failing to stop a mulleted master criminal with a bald spot named Balthazar Bratt (South Park’s Trey Parker) Gru and fellow agent and now wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig) take their three girls to visit Dru in his palatial home in Freedonia, with its mashup of European styles and customs including cheese dances and dating rituals. The latter turns rather cruel, with the oldest of the three daughters, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) rejecting the innocent advances of an awkward boy, with the only payout being the bonding between her and Lucy, who’s struggling to find her place as Mom to the girls.

After Balthazar successfully steals a giant pink diamond, Gru agrees to show Dru how to be a villain by stealing the diamond for themselves. But as Gru quickly learns, not everyone is cut out to be a villain, including himself.

One of the more impressive aspects of Despicable Me 3’s trio of directors (Pierre Coffin, Kyla Balda, and newcomer Eric Guillon) is balancing five concurrent plots, including a minor storyline involving the youngest girl, Agnes (Nev Scharrel), who is on a quest to find a live unicorn, with the help of middle sister Edith (Dana Gaier).

Parker, known for anything but family friendly fare, is also funny in the PG world, as the now-adult child star from an ’80s TV series who has never grown up or grown out of his character, a villainous prodigy with the catchphrase “I’m a bad boy.” 

There’s just enough of Balthazar to keep the story moving but not so much that the ’80s jokes turn stale. It’s the same for the Minions, who leave Gru for an adventure of their own as they want to get back to being villains.

There’s so much going on, especially with the addition of Dru, that Lucy has a reduced role, but Wiig makes the most of the screen time as her character pivots into her motherly role.

Despicable Me has always been about family, particularly Gru’s paternal growth as the adoptive father to this trio of orphaned girls, and the third film’s best moments echo that dynamic, including the bond between brothers. 

There’s a sweet moment, in particular, when Gru gently explains to Agnes that what she believes is a small unicorn is actually a baby goat missing one horn that every parent can relate: providing truth to a child’s fiction.

The jokes may get noisy, particularly when they involve the Minions, but Despicable Me 3’s gentle spirit carries it through.

Contact Kirk Baird at kbaird@theblade.com or 419-724-6734.

First Published June 30, 2017, 4:00 a.m.