Sam Amico
Gru as a good guy? That’s the way things end in the Chinese version of Minions: The Rise of Gru after an edit to the film.
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In the actual movie, or the original version, Gru ends up a bad guy, with the movie serving as a prequel to the Despicable Me series. Eventually, yes, Gru becomes good. But at the end of this particular movie, he only becomes good in China.
China’s edit turns Gru from an evil kid to a good one, as the credits at the end explain “eventually became one of the good guys” and became “dedicated to raising his family.”
Still, at this point in his life, Gru is not yet a man of honor (unless you count his love of the Minions).
There’s more. China also showed the arrest of Gru’s mentor, Wild Knuckles,
Per the New York Post:
“Other post-credit scenes also feature the cops arresting Gru’s mentor, Wild Knuckles. In the Chinese adaptation, though, the police are not deceived and instead apprehend Knuckles, who is later jailed for two decades for his crimes. While Knuckles is in prison, he finds a new passion for singing and dancing.”
Gru, The Good Guy
Altering the endings to movies is actually nothing new in China. Last year, it changed the ending to the 1999 Brad Pitt classic Fight Club, much to the chagrin of many. Instead of the characters of Pitt and co-star Edward Norton forming “Project Mayhem” and bombing Los Angeles, the Chinese ending consists of a typed-out paragraph about how the day was rescued by authorities.
Also, the Chinese government tried to delete the Statue of Liberty from Spider-Man: No Way Home, but at least asked Sony first. Sony, the film’s parent company, rejected the idea.
So yes, Gru eventually becomes good. But at the end of the movie in question, he’s still on his way to being bad. Unless, of course, you live in China.
