LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions review

75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions stands out as a set of unique brick-built characters, paying homage to an iconic animated cast with something decidedly different for the LEGO Despicable Me 4 line-up.

75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions manages to expand on a concept first seen in 2020's 75551 Brick-built Minions and their Lair but improves almost every aspect by drastically changing the core foundation of the model. Instead of being minion-shaped homes for minifigures, the 2024 set eschews minifigures entirely and it's all the better for it.

While many of the new LEGO Despicable Me 4 sets are aimed at younger audiences, older animation enthusiasts will find a lot to love in 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions, and for a reasonable price to boot.

--- LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions set details ---

Theme: LEGO Despicable Me 4 Set name: 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions Release: May 1, 2024

Price: £49.99 / $54.99 / €54.99 Pieces: 839 Minifigures: 0

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--- Where to buy LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions ---

75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions launches on May 1, 2024, in LEGO Stores and online. As a new theme, it will likely be available in regular retail locations too for £49.99 / $54.99 / €54.99. It's available now in the UK and Europe after a surprise early release, though those in the US will need to wait a bit longer.

--- LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions build ---

There are no minifigures in 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions, unlike the rest of the LEGO Despicable Me 4 sets, as this model focuses entirely on the most accurate portrayal of Gru and five Minions to date.

Animation enthusiasts of all ages will delight in this set as it perfectly replicates the unique shape and proportions of Gru, and while the Minions are somewhat less impressive, they are by no means bad and are to scale with the larger figure.

The LEGO Despicable Me 4 designers seem to know their audience with this model as 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions is aimed at an older crowd – those that can appreciate the beauty of Illumination's animation – and it provides an interesting display set in this manner. 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions offers a LEGO take on the unique profile of Gru and it's an extremely successful recreation while being suitably odd around the head.

Aside from the main attraction – Gru – the primary feature of 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions is a turntable that can spin four of the Minions around Gru with the fifth acting as a crank. It's a simple mechanism but one that works well and allows you to appreciate each of the included Minions.

The function is hidden well enough and the colourful rainbow design distracts from the two brown splat gears used to operate the mechanism, though it being partially on show works just fine. It's reminiscent of a music box of some kind but with a distinct Minions touch.

The brick-built Gru sculpture is a fantastic recreation of the character, and far more accurate than the minifigure in 75583 Minions And Gru's Family Mansion. Rather than featuring grey, brick-built Gru embraces the black colouring of the character's signature outfit complete with the striped scarf.

The movement in the limbs is simple but functional enough to pull off a few interesting poses, and while some movement in the legs would have been appreciated, it would likely have come at the cost of stability – and the ability to grip the model by Gru without too much worry (keep a hand on the base once it's in the air though).

Gru's head is undoubtedly the most interesting part of the set. It's a great showcase of how specific LEGO elements can be used interestingly and how perspective can help the appearance of a build too. While removing a single piece on his back allows you to tilt the head upwards, removing Gru's slouch, the gaps in the head around the nose become much more noticeable. It's better to leave it on and embrace the slouch as officially designed.

Also adding to the sculpture's head are printed eyes, eyebrows and a mouth, for which enthusiasts are no doubt going to find some interesting uses. Check out the bottom of this page for a few suggestions, and note that you'll also receive two spare eyebrows and eyes to use in future custom models.

Gru is the standout part of 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions, of which there can be no doubt. Still, the Minions pull no punches either and each offers an interesting depiction of a Minion with at least a few unique aspects to them. How they will relate to the movie is unknown at this stage, but if you're wondering why a Minion is wearing a Hawaiian-inspired outfit, you probably haven't watched enough Minions movies. It feels very on-brand without any contextual knowledge of Despicable Me 4.

The four main Minions each stand on a circular plate that can be detached and rearranged around the set at will. Their designs work so well that they could serve as the debut of a LEGO Minions figure series – similar to that of LEGO Super Mario – though their designs admittedly would get stale after a while.

Everything in 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions works in a way that is fantastically befitting of Despicable Me, and it's great to see a set based on an animated movie focus this much on unique character design beyond the limitations of minifigures.

--- LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions price ---

For £49.99 / $54.99 / €54.99 with 839 pieces, it's nigh on impossible to not see the value in 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions. The Despicable Me 4 set is exceedingly reasonably priced and it makes for one of the most unique LEGO character displays around at the moment. While its lack of minifigures may be seen as a hindrance, it simply doesn't need them and Gru specifically needed a model such as this.

--- LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions pictures ---

--- LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions pros and cons ---

75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions moves beyond the minifigure trappings of the rest of the LEGO Despicable Me 4 wave, and in doing so offers a lot to love for older animation enthusiasts. It seems clear that the designers are similarly enthusiastic about the unique character design for Gru and the Minions devised by the team at Illumination, and the new set serves as a fantastic companion to 75551 Brick-built Minions and their Lair too.

In practice, the primary play feature isn't as interesting as it would appear – Gru spinning too could have made it a little more fun – which means the set is best for display rather than play, but that's arguably to its benefit. Gru works better as a brick-built figure compared to a minifigure and while it's great to finally have a Gru minifigure based on his older appearance in another new set, it's also pleasing that his unique proportions have been so perfectly captured in this one.

Animation-inspired LEGO sets focusing on character design are becoming surprisingly common and with any luck this trend will continue beyond 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions and 43249 Stitch, as there's so much more for the LEGO Group's designers to explore. The likes of banana cars, party buses and more work well for LEGO Despicable Me 4, but this set stamps out its place in the portfolio with great success.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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--- Alternatives to LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions ---

There are many similar LEGO brick-built figures on the market at a similar size to 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions, and the best alternatives to this new set include 43249 Stitch and 76421 Dobby the House-Elf. These figures are less functional than 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions though.

Also capturing a uniquely proportioned character with an interesting function is 71426 Piranha Plant, though visually we'd argue that 76421 Dobby the House-Elf is a better alternative thanks to its black base. Ultimately, the best alternative by far is the retired 75551 Brick-built Minions and their Lair but at four years old, it will be a challenge to find for a decent price.

--- LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions FAQs ---