After becoming everybody’s favorite thing to come out of the Despicable Me movies, the Minions have arrived on the big stage to headline their very own movie. Minions takes us back to the beginning and fills in the blanks when it comes to their origins and their millennium-long desire to serve the most evil of masters.
The first third of the film does a fantastic job of exploring how they came to be and how they grew to serve everyone from a T. Rex to Dracula and Napoleon. When they hit a dry spell, they retreat into a snowy cavern and build a life, but soon the lack of evil in their lives causes the Minions widespread depression and overall misery. So, three brave Minions — Kevin, Bob and Stuart — head out into the world in search of their next master.
They find Scarlett Overkill, voiced by Sandra Bullock. It’s 1968 and she is the most notorious villain in the world, who is pleasantly surprised at our little yellow trio’s abilities when put to the test. They’re just who she needs to pull off her ultimate life goal — to steal the crown jewels (including the crown) and become the Queen of England.
Of course, that’s not exactly how things go once our story shifts to Britain, and Overkill and her Minions hatch their devious plan (along with Scarlett’s husband Herb — voiced brilliantly by Jon Hamm).
At this time, Minions deviates from being a somewhat original story and spin-off film and drifts into familiar animated fun fare that we’ve seen before, complete with madcap chases, moments of redemption and over-the-top plot turns. Adults may find the film a bit tiring at this point, but for the youngest of filmgoers, this movie is pure eye and ear candy.
And that’s just it. That is who Minions is for, and the filmmakers behind it and creators of the lovable yellow beings don’t even try to apologize for it, nor should they. This is not a Pixar movie, such as Inside Out, that speaks to audiences of the broadest of ages.
That is not to say that there is not anything for teens or adults to enjoy. For one, the soundtrack is incredible. It’s a who’s-who (pun intended) of British Invasion bands’ greatest hits from The Who, The Beatles, The Kinks and more. One of the best parts of seeing Minions with your kids is the questions about the music from the little ones after the flick has ended. What a fantastic way to introduce some of the greatest rock music ever recorded to a new generation!
There is also a large group of us older folks who simply could watch these little mayhem creators do anything for 90 minutes and leave with a smile on our face! Lest we finish our Minions review without mentioning the fantastic voice cast that supports Bullock and Hamm, standouts include Steve Coogan, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Geoffrey Rush and Jennifer Saunders.
To answer the question about whether Minions is despicable or delightful — let’s just say it lands more on the enjoyable side of things.
Grade: B