‘Despicable Me 2′ Says Happy Thanksgiving

Though most people are either preparing to or have stuffed themselves in accordance with the Thanksgiving holiday, 'Despicable Me 2' is using the Thanksgiving holiday to sell themselves, even though their release date isn't until July 3, 2013. They've produced a short advert that features the minions.

And if one thing has defined 'Despicable Me 2' so far it's that Universal is aggressively marketing the film. The first 'Despicable Me' opened in 2010, and did over $250 million domestically and over half a billion worldwide. Those are good numbers, and Universal already has the sequel for next year and a spin-off movie starring the Minions set for December 2014. They see this as a huge deal for them, and they've capitalized on it in ways that would make Disney blush.

The Minions must be exceptionally popular with young children for this to be getting this bug a push, or Universal thinks that they can be a popular item for them. And - as Disney proved with the 'Cars' films, the merchandise is often more profitable than the films, and keeping that brand in front of children is often more important than profitability of the films themselves. Oh well. Here's that promo, the film opens July 3, 2013: