Minions: The Rise of Gru screens in China with alternative ending
Beijing, Aug 24 (EFE).- Minions: The Rise of Gru arrived in Chinese cinemas this month but viewers noticed that the ending of the movie had been altered.
The fifth instalment of the Despicable Me franchise was released in the Asian nation several weeks after its world premiere.
The changes to the movie’s ending was reported by cinema-goers on the social media site Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, which is blocked in the country.
Set in 1970s San Francisco, the animated movie tells the coming of age story of a young Gru, the reformed criminal character central to the franchise along with his yellow Minions.
In the international version of the movie, Gru’s supervillain mentor Wild Knuckles escapes the police by faking his own death. In the Chinese screening, Knuckles is arrested and sent to prison for 20 years.
The change is explained in a series of images inserted into the movie’s credits.
The post-credit message also informed viewers that while Gru was a professional villain, he eventually became one of the “good guys.”
Altered movie content is a relatively common occurrence in China, where the authorities and occasionally the distributors, censor politically sensitive issues and content.
It is unclear whether the latest Despicable Me movie was modified at the request of Chinese censors or whether producers decided it to be a more appropriate conclusion for the Chinese market. EFE
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