* AluminumChristmasTrees: Lucy uses a lipstick taser on Gru, a moment showcased in the trailer. Stun guns disguised as lipstick [[http://www.defensedevices.com/lipstick-stun-gun.html actually exist]].
* AssPull: Dr. Nefario and the [[spoiler: Super-Serum Antidote]]. Could be justified, as he has been working with El Macho, and had plenty of time to examine the serum and know how to counteract it. He may even have created it in advance, feeling enough loyalty to his former boss to take steps in case El Macho attacked him instead of just accepting a "no thanks" answer, which he did.
* AwardSnub: The film dominated the 2014 Kids' Choice Awards winning "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie" for Creator/MirandaCosgrove and "Favorite Mobile App," but getting shut out of "Favorite Animated Movie" by ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013''. Yes, ''Frozen'' was ''a lot'' bigger than ''[=DM2=]'' was, but still, it put a blemish on a despicable night of awards.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Minion who falls in love with Lucy at first sight, having a whole fantasy montage with her. This is never acknowledged in any way afterwards.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM Pharrell Williams' "Happy"]].
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Shannon, the annoying woman Gru gets set up on a date with. This is partly due to her being voiced by Kristen Schaal, a voice actor whose popularity has exploded recently due to her brilliantly [[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls voicing certain other]] [[WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers eccentric female characters]].
* EvenBetterSequel: People who preferred the sequel to the first movie felt that the sequel had much better jokes, a more interesting story and, at the very least, put the Minions to better use.
* FanNickname: "Village Minions" for the Minions mimicking the Music/VillagePeople in the DancePartyEnding. It's even in Youtube's auto-complete now!
* FanPreferredCouple: [[spoiler: Even though Antonio dumped Margo for another girl, leading to Margo's current "hatred" for boys, many fans have a different idea. Some fanfictions and music videos still pair up Antonio and Margo.]]
* HarsherInHindsight: Lucy smiling while watching Gru and his daughters interact and then referring to him as a "fun dad" takes a sadder note when WordOfGod revealed later on that Lucy's parents were killed when she was very young.
* HeartwarmingInHindsight: This was not the [[Film/Anchorman2TheLegendContinues only film released in 2013]] [[spoiler:where Creator/SteveCarell and Creator/KristenWiig's character fall in love and get married]].
* HilariousInHindsight:
** In the first film, Gru tries to keep his supervillain identity a secret by claiming he was a spy. Cut to this movie, and he is hired as a spy for the Anti-Villain league.
** There's the small gag when the girls try to set Gru up for online dating, and he claims he looks like a bit like Creator/BruceWillis. What makes this scene hilarious is that Gru is voiced by Creator/SteveCarell, and both of the actors worked together on [[WesternAnimation/OverTheHedge another movie]] in which Carell's character looked up to Willis' character.
** The girls were not fond of their foster mother in the first film, but they open up immediately to Lucy. Hilariously, both women are voiced by the same person. The fact that Gru flirts (unsuccessfully) with Miss Hattie in the first film is also quite funny as he [[spoiler: marries Lucy in this one]].
** The Russian dub has an actress named Irina Kireeva voice a character named Lucy. This wouldn't be the first time she would voice a LoveInterest ActionGirl [[spoiler: [[WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie with the same name...]]]]
** The climax has the heroes armed with gunge-shooting firearms and are against a ZergRush of mutated creatures capable of mass-destruction against civilisation, which aptly describes the "Salmon Run" mode introduced in ''VideoGame/Splatoon2''. Gru even [[GunsAkimbo dual-wields two jelly guns]] just like the Dualies introduced in that game.
** While talking to Margo, Antonio admits that he wants to play video games for a living, which, when this movie came out, was meant to sound like a childish fantasy. However, with the rise of things like E-Sports or streaming, Antonio's dream isn't so farfetched anymore.
* IKnewIt: Many fans correctly guessed that [[spoiler:Gru and Lucy would become a couple.]]
* MagnificentBastard: Eduardo "[[MaskedLuchador El Macho]]" Perez is a legendary supervillain famous for being ruthless, dangerous and, as the name implies, [[TestosteronePoisoning very macho]]. Faking his death to get to evade his enemies, he returns twenty years laters where he plans to create an army to help him conquer the world: creating his army by stealing a secret laboratory from the Arctic Circle; recruiting [[MadScientist Dr. Nefario]] and having him create the mind-controlling mutagen PX-41; and kidnapping the Minions to experiment on, using the PX-41 to bring them under his control. El Macho also offers the retired super villain Felonious Gru an opportunity to rule by his side, but when Gru refuses to, El Macho kidnaps Gru's LoveInterest, Lucy Wilde, and holds her hostage to keep Gru from interfering before drinking the PX-11 to gain monstrous strength in his attempt to kill Gru.
* MemeticMutation: See this film's section on the [[Memes/DespicableMe franchise's meme page]].
* NightmareRetardant: The Evil Minions. They look like deformed Build-A-Bears and sound like they're vomiting. Not exactly scary is it? But don't forget - they may look goofy, but they can shrug off bullets and devour police cars. [[SpaceWhaleAesop Keep jelly with you at all times, just in case.]]
* PortmanteauCoupleName:
** Grucy (Gru and Lucy).
** Martonio (Margo and Antonio).
* StrangledByTheRedString: Gru and Lucy don't show much attraction or chemistry for the first half of the film, and their feelings for each other seem to come out of nowhere for the sake of them being in love. With that said, their chemistry when actually in love is considered actually pretty decent.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
** Most of the villains from Despicable Me [[KarmaHoudini go unpunished]] - in fact, don't even appear. Mr. Perkins still presumably runs the Bank of Evil, Miss Hattie presumably still runs the orphanage and neither of them figure in the plot. The sequel instead focuses on a LoveInterest for Gru.
** It looks like LittleMissBadass Edith will finally get a moment in the spotlight to fight the Monster!Minion in her ninja costume...[[spoiler:then Dr. Nefario shows up in the nick of time and injects it with anti-serum.]]
** The Margo/Antonio subplot is immediately dropped after Gru goes PapaWolf on Antonio. Antonio completely disappears from the plot after that.
** There were a good amount of fans hoping the sequel would have the girls now working in the family business of villainy, only for it to show Gru is no longer a super villain.