China Censors Change ‘Minions’ Movie to Show the Authorities Win

Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures

The ending of the new Minions: The Rise of Gru film has been changed in China so that the villain Gru becomes a good guy, and his mentor, Wild Knuckles, gets arrested because the police are not as easily tricked in the version of the film the Communist Party in China want its mainland audiences to see.

Minions: Rise of Gru was released in China on Friday, but viewers in the communist country are seeing a different ending play out, as a series of subtitled post-credit scenes explain that Gru “eventually became one of the good guys” who was “dedicated to raising his family,” according to a report by Daily Mail.

Moreover, the Chinese version of the film also shows that the authorities are not as easily tricked, and Gru’s mentor, Wild Knuckles, gets caught and locked up for 20 years for his crimes. Additionally, he becomes a reformed man while in jail.

These events are in stark contrast to what moviegoers in the West are seeing. In the version of the film that is not airing in Communist China, viewers are shown how both Gru and Wild Knuckles trick the police. Gru is able to overcome his rivals, and Wild Knuckles evades capture by faking his own death.

Minions: The Rise of Gru is a prequel to Despicable Me, in which Gru does eventually become a better person. But this transition does not happen in the original version of the prequel film.

This is not the first time an ending of a Western film has been changed in China.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Communist China censored the ending of the 1999 movie Fight Club so that the government authorities win.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

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