We know about Minions. They served Gru with honor in Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2, but what did they do in the years before they met Gru? Turns out Minions have been part of our world since the beginning and have always tried to serve the most despicable master they could find. The new film
Minions looks at the origin story for our favorite little yellow guys.
Without a master to serve and living in an isolated community, the Minions are aimless and without purpose. Kevin leads the charge to find a new master and brings Stuart and Bob with him. Their journey leads them to Villain-Con in Orlando (think Comic-Con for villains). It is there that they find out who the most despicable of the despicable is at this moment — Scarlet Overkill.
Scarlet has a dream. She wants to rule England and wear the crown. Kevin, Stuart and Bob want to prove their loyalty to Scarlet, so she sends them on a mission to get the Crown Jewels. While the guys face difficulties actually stealing the jewels, Bob finds a way to become king. The Minions have taken over Buckingham Palace, which of course infuriates Scarlet, so she heads to England on a mission to destroy them.
Animated sequels can mean box office gold, but when you start branching off into individual pieces of a film, things can get a little hairier. It’s not always the recipe for success to pull a fun piece from a bigger film and explode it to a feature-length film. I’m happy to report that withM inions, it actually does work!
In Despicable Me and its sequel, the Minions were a great part of what made the film successful, and an origin story outside of Gru and the girls was a natural place to go. No, you don’t need to have seen those films to enjoy Minions, but if you have experienced them, your enjoyment will be enhanced.
These guys are just plain funny.
Sure, sometimes the Minions are indecipherable, but the magic is in the words you can understand and watching animated physical comedy at its best. If the last gimmick didn’t work, the next one will, and giggles abound in this family-friendly and sometimes subversive animated film.
Adding star voice talent to the cast is Sandra Bullock as Scarlet, but I can’t believe Bullock would be bad. Jon Hamm voices her husband, the clever but cool Herb Overkill. Michael Keaton, Allison Janney and Steve Coogan in smaller voice roles, and the amazing Geoffrey Rush as our narrator, fill out the cast.
The stars are good, but the true star voicework in the film is by none other than Pierre Coffin. Who is Pierre Coffin? In addition to co-directing the film, Coffin is the voice of the Minions, combining a number of languages — some you may not recognize — to create a language all its own.
Fun and funny, the Minions rock in this film the whole family can enjoy. We love these little yellow guys. Make sure you stay through the credits for one last musical number to rock out with our friends — Minions love bananas and we love Minions.
Minions
Rated: PG
Stars: Voices of Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm
Directors: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin
Grade: B