Directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud wrote a language for the gibberish the minions speak throughout this movie. They called it "minion-ese". Each word the minions speak in this movie translates into an actual word.
While Gru is floating in space and orbiting the moon, we see that the number on Gru's "Swan Lake" ticket is 072069 - July 20, 1969 is the date of first moon landing, which Gru is seen watching in flashbacks.
To make Elsie Fisher laugh during recordings, her dad would sometimes sneak up behind her and tickle her.
The bedtime story "Sleepy Kittens" was made into a tie-in board book that can be purchased, although it does not include the pull out brush that was featured in this movie.
Gru (Steve Carell) tells Miss Hattie (Kristen Wiig), in Spanish, that her face is "como un burro". This means "like a donkey."