Universal Pictures
It seems that those brightly yellow-colored minions in goofy goggles and denim bib overalls are just about everywhere I look these days. I find myself passing them on billboards on my way to work. Their annoying memes pop up on my Facebook newsfeed more often than I’d care to see. I was in a dollar store on vacation last week and was surprised to even find them on a display for Swiffer sweepers. It was seriously called the Minions Duster. What do those little yellow cartoon guys have to do with dusting? They can be found on Twinkies now (which I’ll admit that one makes sense to me, as they look sort of like Twinkies), and they’ve even made their way to the Golden Arches in both the form of Happy Meal toys (albeit slightly controversial ones due to what they may or may not be saying in their Minionese speak) and in a sweepstakes game that is similar to McDonalds’ annual Monopoly game.
It seems Minions madness has descended upon the masses. Having still never seen either of the Despicable Me films yet, I tried to avoid it as long as I could. However, there’s just no escaping the beloved cartoon characters from Universal Pictures’ highly successful Despicable Me franchise. They’re everywhere! Resistance is futile. And if you can’t beat ‘em, you might as well join ‘em I guess. I found myself buying a Minions Twinkie (for research purposes only of course), as I sat down to review the Minions prequel, because just like the Penguins of Madagascar, it was really only a matter of time before they were given their own full-length feature film.
Stuart, Bob, Kevin and all the rest of their diminutive yellow buddies are finally given a backstory – how did these odd creatures come to exist and serve such a despicable person as Gru? Do they enjoy being minions, or do they wish for a higher purpose in life? All your burning questions and more are answered in Minions, which is a surprisingly fun film for cartoon fans of all ages. It features a talented cast, including Geoffrey Rush as the film’s narrator, Sandra Bullock as Scarlett Overkill, Jon Hamm as Scarlett’s husband Herb Overkill and Pierre Coffin as the minions (he’s also the film’s director) and wonderful supporting cast, including Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Allison Janney and Jennifer Saunders. Steve Carell also makes a cameo as Gru at the film’s end, which nicely paves the way for the other two films.
Minions have apparently been around since the dawn of time. Evolving from single-celled yellow organisms, minions must serve a despicable master of the highest degree or they become quite depressed. They’ve bounced from baddie to baddie over the years, serving the earliest and most savage cavemen, the fierce Tyrannosaurus Rex, the evil Count Dracula and even General Napoleon Bonaparte. After spending many eons feeling idle and forgotten without an evil genius to serve, a minion named Kevin boldly suggests to go forth from the minions’ hiding place and search for the ultimate villain for them to serve. When he asks for volunteers to join him on his quest, he’s forced to take along an adorably overenthusiastic childlike Bob and Stuart, a minion with a guitar and stars in his eye who dreams of being a rock ‘n’ roll superstar one day.
The trio bravely sets out on their journey with the time frame for the majority of the film being set in the psychedelic 1960s, which allows for some vibrant animation and a powerhouse of a soundtrack which of course includes Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow” by film’s end. I believe the film’s setting and music makes it more tolerable for the parents who will be forced to take their children to see it. After attending an outlandish super villain convention in Orlando, Florida (because, really, why wouldn’t such a thing exist in our comic con obsessed culture?), and quickly winning the heart of super villainess and keynote speaker Scarlett Overkill, the minions find themselves in swinging 1960s England in a delightful crime spree that involves kidnapping the Queen and stealing the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Hooray – it seems the minions finally have a purpose again and an evil boss worthy of their servitude! Or do they? Scarlett and Herb were probably my two favorite characters because they’re just over the top enough to become caricatures of the types of villains you’d come to expect in the James Bond films of the era.
Pierre Coffin must be some sort of an understated genius. tweet
Overall, I found Minions enjoyable and it made me curious about the other two films. It’s not the best animated film I’ve seen in a while, but it’s definitely not the worst either. While it might grate on some adults’ nerves, I especially liked the minions’ language, which seems to be a blend of several real languages (including English, Spanish and French) and nonsense words and sounds. I think Pierre Coffin must be some sort of an understated genius to be able to pull off that language and have it communicate so much about the minions and what they’re thinking or feeling at any given moment. I imagine it must be difficult to stay in character. My biggest gripe with Minions is that the 3D animation leaves something to be desired. It felt like they pulled out all the 3D stops in the bonus scene after the credits, so that’s definitely worth staying and keeping your glasses on for, especially if you’re a Beatles fan! But why didn’t they invest in more 3D animation during the actual film?
Despite its shortcomings, just like the Twinkie, I predict minions will have an equally long shelf life. If all of the excited kids in my early film screening are any indication, I don’t think their popularity or charm will be dying out any time soon. Minions madness is probably here to stay, for at least the time being.
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