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Despicable Me is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment as its debut film and project and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the first installment in the Despicable Me franchise. The film was animated by the French animation studio Mac Guff, which was later acquired by Illumination. Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud in their directorial debuts with a story by Sergio Pablos and screenplay by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, the film is eponymous with the main character and its theme song, composed by Pharrell Williams. The film stars Steve Carell as the voice of Gru, a supervillain who adopts three girls (voiced by Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher) from an orphanage; and Jason Segel as the voice of Vector, a rival of Gru that steals the Great Pyramid of Giza. When Gru learns of Vector's heist, he plans an even greater heist: to shrink and steal the Moon. However, despite Gru's villainous intentions, he grows increasingly touched by the girls' growing love for him and finds himself changing for the better because of it. Released theatrically on July 9, 2010 in the United States, the film received positive reviews and grossed over $546 million worldwide against a budget of $69 million. The film launched a media franchise consisting of two sequels and two prequels, starting with Despicable Me 2 (2013).