I’ve spoken many times about my disdain for, not just the Minions franchise, but for Illumination as a whole, especially since the Minions films are truly the epitome of what I believe is making the industry and certain films suffer. They’ve, very non subtlely, made their films short films stitched together with the thinnest of plots, a trend that never overly goes down well with critics but sees box office results, so why should they care, and its understandable they keep doing that.
Minions & Monsters tells the story of a couple of different Minions that we haven’t seen before. This time the Minions stumble into Hollywood where they become huge successes in silent films, but once the transition to talkies happens they are outed, and come up with their own monster film to star in, unknowingly bringing a real monster into the world that they can’t control.
Before going into this, I was very much happy to miss this film, wait til it had quietened down or even hit a streaming service. Then reviews started to come out claiming that it was maybe the best one of the entire Minions/Despicable Me franchise so far. I predicted that I wondered if reviewers felt that way because it was very much about film and full of film references, which left a fun taste in the mouth of reviewers. Having seen the film, I do think that is likely the truth. There’s a really good sequence to be fair, just as the Minions arrive in Hollywood that is rammed full of references and famous actors from the time, which is wild when these films have been so heavily aimed at kids, that these references will not only go over their head but a lot of anyone that isn’t a big cinephile.
Director, Pierre Coffin returns to the franchise. He previously directed Despicable Me 1, 2 and 3 as well as the first Minions film, before being left out of the franchise for Despicable Me 4 and Minions: The Rise of Gru. It’s clear he has a slightly better grasp on what makes the franchise stand-out than the other directors. The film absolutely feels less like a few short films stitched together, and does something clever, that I think could be a good way to improve this franchise. This film very directly takes inspiration from the likes of Singing in the Rain and Babylon, which absolutely works in the films favour, and I think could’ve benefited from leaning even harder into that. For this franchise to continue, I think it could be a fun thing to see the Minions adapt these types of stories for a child audience, dipping into different genres.
This is also the first full Minions film that director Pierre Coffin has written, this time alongside Brian Lynch who has written for the characters a few times. As stated, the film is at it’s strongest with the film references that feel like genuine love and passion for the industry. About halfway through, the film does turn less into film references and becomes more generic to what we expect from this world, this actively makes the film feel slower and wildly less original and interesting. Along with a subplot about some of the Minions trying to find a boss when they stumble across what looks like a man dressed as an alien robot, that feels squished in.
The film has an outstanding cast for one of these films. Christoph Waltz, Trey Parker, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, Allison Janney and even George Lucas. They all do a great job being fair, managing to be subtle and fit into this world and story without standing out, and being obvious and wooden as some voice acting can be.
Overall, Minions & Monsters is a step in the right direction for Illumination. A short 90 minute run time crammed full of film references for cinephiles and enough humour for kids to enjoy. It might not do a great deal to take it to the next level, but it is watchable at the very least. A good time for Illumination to sort themselves out ahead of their next film in April 2027, Not Alone, an original story for the studio.
What did you think of Minions & Monsters?
Let me know in the comments below, or via social media @floodersfilms.
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