Minions and Monsters
- Ben Pivoz
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Despicable Me was a huge hit for Illumination in 2010. It spawned three sequels and also a spinoff series focused on its breakout stars: the cute, anarchic, little, yellow, gibberish-speaking minions. Minions and Minions: The Rise of Gru followed them on their quest to find an evil boss, serving as prequels to the mainline series. The third movie takes them in a very different direction.
Set way back in 1927, Minions and Monsters centers on another tribe of minions on a similar quest. Except theirs transports them to Hollywood, where they stumble into the movie industry. The result is a goofy, and surprisingly heartfelt, ode to old Hollywood, with tons of references and in-jokes that will go over the heads of not only kids, but a lot of adults, too. It is a largely plotless collection of gags that slows down when the plot actually kicks in (to be fair, that doesn’t happen until about ¾ of the way through).
The early section, riffing on the history of cinema, tying the minions into the lineage of the great silent comedians, is amusing and consistently entertaining. Once the monsters get involved, it is just another noisy kid’s movie. However, parts of this are genuinely inspired. For the seventh entry in a massively successful franchise, it is unexpectedly different. These little guys definitely have more life in them.
As they search for a new master, a group of minions find themselves embroiled in moviemaking, leading to instant stardom. While the rest treat it like a minor detour, James dreams of becoming a director. His drive to make his passion project could unwittingly cause the end of the world.
Minions and Monsters (85 minutes, without the end credits) succeeds because it is not afraid to venture away from the familiar story and characters. Gone are Gru, Kevin, Stuart and Bob. In their place is a totally new cast. Granted, minions are minions and these guys aren’t that distinct from the other guys. It retains the humor and pacing from the other films, so it feels like it belongs alongside them. Still, it is a risk. You have to think the studio was a tad skittish about starting something new. With a period piece, no less! It isn’t some gigantic digression, yet plugging new minions into a love letter to 1920s Hollywood is at least a small chance to take. The fact that it works owes to the creativity of the filmmakers and the enduring appeal of these subservient creatures.
Once the individual minions began getting their own personalities in Minions, they went from an interchangeable group who exist to serve to servants who also have their own hopes and dreams. In this case, James wants to create, a desire that gets him into all sorts of trouble. He is supported by Henry, a goofball who is a true friend, and Ed, who is hard of hearing. That trio goes off on their own to summon some monsters they will then have to defeat, while the remainder of the tribe begins working for a new big boss (a space robot named Dort, an amusing concept the screenplay could have done more with).
By the time James is looking for monsters for his movie, the charm has started to slip away. The madcap slapstick with a debt to Buster Keaton (who briefly appears in a funny cameo) is enjoyable; the loud, destructive, chaos is much less fun. The idea of seeing the minions wreak havoc in various periods and genres is a promising one. Hopefully, they continue down that path for the inevitable next installment.
3¼ out of 5
Voice Cast:
Pierre Coffin as Minions
Jesse Eisenberg as Dort
Trey Parker as Goomi
Christoph Waltz as Max
Zoey Deutch as Debbie
Directed by Pierre Coffin and Patrick Delage
Written by Pierre Coffin and Brian Lynch
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