Julie Andrews, Russell Brand and Kristen Wiig show unlikability in 'Despicable Me'

Julie Andrews and Russell Brand

With a title like "Despicable Me," it’s easy to figure out that the animated 3-D flick has some characters who are unlikable. The film’s story is about Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) who prides himself on being the world’s greatest villain, until he is faced with some competition from a nerdy loner named Vector (voiced by Jason Segel), who wants that "world’s greatest villain" title. When Gru adopts three orphaned girls in order to use them for one of his schemes, his life unexpectedly changes.

Three of the supporting characters in the film are Gru’s Mom (voiced by Julie Andrews), who is cold and disapproving of Gru; the bumbling Dr. Nefario (voiced by Russell Brand), who makes inventions for Gru; and Miss Hattie (voiced by Kristen Wiig), who runs the girls’ orphanage where Gru finds his adoptive daughters. Andrews, Brand and Wiig talked about their experiences in making "Despicable Me."

Russell Brand at work on "Despicable Me"

How did you get involved in "Despicable Me"?

Brand: The project first entered my consciousness when Jason Segel, a friend of mine who’s also in the movie, told me that he was doing it. I thought, "Oh, that sounds interesting." He said it was about two vying super-villains, and that he would be one of them and Steve Carell would be the other. I thought, "Bloody hell! That sounds good." And then I was contacted for the [Dr. Nefario] part, and I thought, "Wow, now I can be in this." Finally, I’ll get an opportunity to undermine both Steve Carell and Jason Segel, two comedians who I deeply admire.

How would you describe your "Despicable Me" character?

Brand: Dr. Nefario is sort of a mentor but also a bumbling half-wit. You know how they say genius and madness are really close to each other? They’re not, are they? I know some mad people, and they’re idiots. I think Dr. Defario is an idiot. He’s old and he makes terrible mistakes, like wonderful contraptions, some of them were needlessly manufactured on account of mishearing information.

Andrews: She is a terrible lady, and I’m sometimes appalled at what I’m trying to do, and sometimes it cracks me up so badly. I love her, but she’s really a terrible lady. Something about these really sweet kids taps into her — well, I don’t know if we can even say that she has a maternal side, but they tap into her, as they do into Gru.

Julie Andrews at work on "Despicable Me"

What do you think is the message of "Despicable Me"?

Andrews: Ultimately, it’s about the power of love and about the wonder that children have. The three little munchkins in the picture have no idea that there is such a thing as evil. They just want to be loved, and they want to be taken to ballet school, and they want to be fed their peanut butter sandwiches, and so on.

How did you build your Miss Hattie character and find the voice?

Wiig: I grew up watching animated movies, and they were a big part of my childhood and youth. Plus coming from "SNL" ["Saturday Night Live"] and learning to do different things with your voice, it’s really exciting to be able to do that and have a character built around it. And then you watch the movie, and there’s this person with your voice. It’s exciting.

We did have an afternoon of finding the voice. They kind of pushed me in the direction of sweet, but not that sweet-sounding — sounding sweet but really saying nice things. And we just sort of fond this saccharine, Southern woman who’s not really to be trusted, but she sounds nice on the phone. [She laughs.]

Kristen Wiig at work on "Despicable Me"

What can you say about Steve Carell?

Andrews: I do know Steve. I’ve met him a few times. I wish we were in the studio together. Who knows what the heck would come out of all of that? But I admire him tremendously. I think his voice for this character Gru is simply brilliant. I don’t know how he found it. I’m very admiring of his talent.

Brand: I really like Steve Carell. It’s really exciting for me to be in a scene with Steve Carell. It’s really fulfilling, because I really admire him. Jason Segel, I know him already. [He says jokingly] He holds no cachet for me. He’s a man that if I wanted to ring him up, I could ring him at any time. So that’s not so exciting.

I’m not saying Jason Segel isn’t talented. He’s obviously talented. I’m not saying he isn’t nice. He’s obviously nice. I’m just saying that Steve Carell, I haven’t got his phone number, so it’s thrilling to see me talk to him. Jason? Phhht! I can talk to him now if I felt like it. I can just ring him up. "Hey Jason!" "Hey, buddy!" He’ll be all warm and friendly and affable, not like how he is in the film: evil!