(Credits: Universal Pictures)

Animation was never really a genre just for kids. If it were, the adult animated programs wouldn’t have existed in the first place. While on Netflix, the audience will find animated titles suitable for every age; nothing tops the craze surrounding the Despicable Me movies.

In the week dated October 6th to October 12th, the third film from the super-popular franchise, Despicable Me 3, stormed the Netflix charts, landing straight in the fifth position on its weekly most popular movies list.

The animated summer flick is currently on its ten-week run on the Netflix charts, although the tenure may not be consecutive. But it makes one fact crystal clear: whenever the platform adds this movie, it draws more and more audience, irrespective of whether they’re here for repeat viewing or as first-time viewers.

The franchise primarily follows the supervillain-turned-clandestine agent Gru, his three daughters, Margo, Edith, and Agnes, and their yellow-coloured minions, who have time and again cemented their place in pop culture. Meanwhile, Despicable Me 3 serves as the sequel to Despicable Me 2, bringing a star-studded ensemble of voice cast, which includes Steve Carell, Miranda Cosgrove, Kristen Wiig, and Trey Parker, among others.

Despicable Me 3 picks up the story when Gru is dismissed from the Anti-Villain League as the new boss takes over the squad operations. While the troublesome minions expect Gru to return to the life of crime he once left behind, the latter decides to make peace with his retirement, travelling to Freedonia to meet his estranged twin brother Dru instead.

But just because Gru longs for a life of peace, it doesn’t exactly come easy. As he reunites with his long-lost brother, they are forced to form an unlikely alliance to confront and beat the evasive Balthazar Bratt, an ex-child celebrity from the 1980s, on a mission to exact revenge by taking down Hollywood with his villainous forces for cancelling his show long ago.

Pierre Coffine and Kyle Balda have co-directed Despicable Me 3 from a script written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Additionally, Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams were brought back for the music from the first two instalments of the animated movie series. Just a few days ago, it was Despicable Me 2, rising through the ranks on the Netflix weekly charts. And now, it’s the equally formidable successor making waves on the platform.

Although the reviews were massively polarised at the time of its release, the box office earnings say completely otherwise. Having grossed a staggering $1.035billion worldwide from a reported budget of $75-$80million, it became the fourth-highest-grossing movie of 2017 as well as the fourth-highest-grossing animated movie of all time during its box office run. While one might expect the frenzy to fade in the time to come, that’s clearly not the case with the Despicable Me franchise at least.