OVERVIEW
Because these yellow, interchangeable creatures make an obscene amount of money, the Minions are back for their third solo feature. Their previous two solo films served as prequels to the Despicable Me movies and told both their origin story and first encounter with Gru, leaving one wondering what is left to tell. But commercial logic does not require much narrative necessity. This time, the film adopts a looser structure, with a series of connected sketches, similar to a spin-off television series that may or may not be canon. It begins in ancient times, where they are once again searching for an evil boss, before crashing into silent-era Hollywood, stumbling into show business, summoning monsters, and helping an otherworldly creature find true love. All of this unfolds while they fall back on the same chaotic slapstick, babbled nonsense, and indestructible cartoon violence that has made them one of animation’s most reliable modern cash machines.
BACKGROUND
The film is directed by Pierre Coffin, co-director of the first three Despicable Me films and the first Minions film, who stepped away from the last two entries while continuing to voice every single Minion. Chris Meledandri, Illumination CEO, pitched him the film with one idea: “What if a Minion wants to make a monster movie using real monsters, and it backfires?” Coffin found the idea promising and an opportunity to pay homage to the films he loved as a child. The film was originally slated for a full year later, but took Shrek 5’s slot after that film was moved due to production issues.
THE REVIEW
We can make peace with the fact that these Minion movies will keep getting made for eternity. The films are almost as interchangeable as the creatures themselves, but as long as there are new costumes to put them in, there will be a reason to keep the machine running. Like the previous entries, Minions & Monsters, a title already used in one of their shorts, earns the occasional chuckle with its instantly readable nonsense humor, here built around cheeky recreations of the silent era and classic cinema. It also keeps pushing the franchise’s subtle adult jokes, with a few bits of sexual innuendo that leave children wondering why their parents are laughing. Yet for the most part, it recycles the same Minion things we have seen since the first Despicable Me: they hit each other, annoy serious humans trying to keep order, turn simple tasks into disasters, and occasionally let a recognizable word slip through the Minionese.
More than the previous, Minions & Monsters feels like many short films stitched together. Every ten minutes, a new character is introduced, or the Minions are taken to a totally new location with new challenges. The monster arc that is in the title, for example, makes its first appearance more than halfway into the film. There is a central friendship between two more devilish than usual Minions, who are hinted to feel something for each other more than mere friendship, but don’t expect them to have any arc. The character who does so is Dort, a supposedly alien robot who may want to dominate Earth but finds a new priority when he meets the strong suffragette Debbie, played by Zoey Deutch. It is an amusing sideplot that is one of the film’s most memorable aspects, and Jesse Eisenberg has a lot of fun voicing the character. The rest is just disposable nonsense.
Sprinkled throughout the film are many references and recreations of classic cinema, from Georges Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon and Charlie Chaplin’s filmography to Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and, as the monster subplot begins, the Universal monster movies, King Kong, The Blob, and Plan 9 from Outer Space. Ideally, the Minions’ stupidity would cause these famous cinematic images to unfold in surprising ways, but for the most part, it is recreation for recreation’s sake. The film tries to fit in as many references as possible, and some cinephiles and critics may have fun spotting them, but in the end, it is not that different from having the Minions visit and dress as many countries as possible, with no real narrative reason for it. Want children to learn about the classics? Have them watch Chaplin instead!
The one real-life reference I liked to spot most was that even in old silent-era Hollywood, grotesque-looking producers would recognize the mindless appeal of Minions.
It all turns tiring very fast, and outstays its welcome despite being short. The third act in particular is a chore to sit through, as the Minions must defeat monsters gone loose in attacks we have seen in countless animated climaxes.
As always with Illumination, the film’s animation is strong, full of detail in the characters’ movements and in its attention to texture, and once again for the studio, it is undermined by how generic and boring some of the designs are, especially the new monsters. The most curious aspect of the whole production is its score. Heitor Pereira, who scored all the previous films in the franchise, does not return, and the film is handed to animation veteran John Powell. He drops Pereira’s familiar Minions theme entirely, yet gets to play loose with as many classic sounds as humanly possible, referencing classics like Casablanca’s “As Time Goes By” and “Hooray for Hollywood.” Powell provides the film with a few seconds of real orchestral bravado here and there, but the hectic pace of these movies often makes even the well-composed score feel as annoying and tiring as the rest.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In classic Minion fashion, Minions & Monsters offers a collection of gags that will either work or grate, depending on your tolerance. Some viewers may find enough pleasure in spotting the endless references to classic films, but the approach is not that different from the Scary Movie school of parody, where recognition is treated as the whole joke. Children will probably not be bored by the constant noise, but this is the kind of film that leaves nothing behind. Want to spend some time with the Minions? Watch any of the other films or shorts, and you will not be able to tell the difference. Better yet, watch the trailer, which already plays like the best jokes compilation, and you will get your yearly Minion dosage right there. See you at Minions 54, where once again we will watch them point and laugh at a naked one while yelling “banana.”