KUALA LUMPUR: Grumpy supervillain Gru and his adorable, bumbling yellow Minions from the Despicable Me movies can be seen dishing out advice to stay safe and stay home in a new public service announcement (PSA).
According to news reports, the PSA, which was released yesterday on YouTube, was produced by the animation studio behind Despicable Me, Illumination, together with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Foundation.
The 60-second-long video clip, which sees Gru being voiced by Hollywood actor Steve Carell, is expected to be translated into various languages that include Spanish, French, Portuguese and Arabic.
In it, Gru urges viewers to practise social distancing and regularly wash hands, as well as to carry out fun activities at home such as dancing and cooking.
The popular villain also uncharacteristically tells people to be kind to others.
In a statement by WHO, its director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom, said: "At this challenging time, we must find all ways possible to provide hope to people while sharing advice that can protect our health."
Aside from getting the public to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the PSA was also produced in support of the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO.
Visit www.covid19responsefund.org for more details.
