The animated film Despicable Me had a not too shabby opening this weekend with an estimated $60.1 million, making it the number-one movie. Starring the voice of Steve Carell (Date Night, The 40 Year Old Virgin, television’s The Office) as “Gru” it tells the story of a super-villain with plans to steal the moon, only to be derailed–and softened–by three little orphaned girls.
The wicked, fun, and endearing flick is only enhanced by rapper and producer Pharrell Williams who scored the music for Despicable Me. The Grammy Award-winning artist of The Neptunes and N.E.R.D. has been interested in scoring films for a while and when his friend, music supervisor Kathy Nelson, got the call for this animated caper, she knew Pharrell was a perfect fit.
“What I like about the philosophy on Despicable Me is that the filmmakers don’t make children’s films,” Pharrell says. “They make films for humans that use some of the tricks and treats of youthful entertainment, but at the same time, there’s an amazing story line.”
Pharrell says he was inspired by the whimsical narrative of the lyrics from Annie, and wanted to write lyrics [for the title track] that were kid-friendly as that musical, but also as moody as Gru’s character. “I’ve never made a song about having a bad day and being in a super bad mood,” he said. “So I thought I would make it really fun, but at the same time, if you were to hear it without the lyrics, it would sound like this track that you’d want to hear coming out of someone’s truck.”
