Steve Carell to Voice Despicable Me

llumination Entertainment topper Chris Meledandri has kicked off his Universal Pictures-based family film unit with Despicable Me, a 3-D CG-animated film that has Steve Carell voicing the title character, says Variety. 

Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Russell Brand, Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords"), Jack McBrayer ("30 Rock") and Julie Andrews are providing the other lead voices. The film will be released in 2010. 

Carell's title character is a deplorable man known as Groo who masterminds the mother of all heists when he plots to steal the moon. Egged on by an evil mother (Andrews), Groo finds one obstacle in his way: a trio of orphan girls who temporarily come under his care and won't leave. 

The film reteams Carell, who provided one of the voices for Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who, with Meledandri, who made that animated feature as head of Fox Animation, and with "Horton" writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. 

Paul and Daurio wrote Despicable Me, which Meledandri will produce with Janet Healy and John Cohen. Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin are directing from an idea hatched by co-director Sergio Pablos.