In Minions: The Rise of Gru, the story is primarily set in 1976.
The film follows Gru as an 11-year-old aspiring supervillain who tries to join the Vicious 6. Its period setting places the story in the mid-1970s, several decades before the events of the first Despicable Me film.
The 1976 setting shapes the movie’s visual style, music, clothing, and pop-culture references. It also supports the film’s connection to the original Minions movie, which presents the creatures’ earlier adventures across different historical periods.
The date can be confused with 1968, the year reached in Minions when Kevin, Stuart, and Bob travel to London. The two spin-offs use different historical settings: Minions moves toward the late 1960s, while The Rise of Gru centers on Gru’s childhood in 1976.