MOVIE OF THE WEEK (7/1/26): MINIONS & MONSTERS

"Look at my idea - it's better than yet another Star Wars sequel, right?!" Jerry (left) and James (right) present the latter's idea for a Hollywood movie in a scene from co-writer/director Pierre Coffin's MINIONS & MONSTERS. Credit: Illumination & Universal Pictures © Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

CAST: Pierre Coffin | Trey Parker | Allison Janney | Christoph Waltz | Jesse Eisenberg | Jeff Bridges | Bobby Moynihan | Zoey Deutch | Phil LaMarr

WRITER: Pierre Coffin & Brian Lynch

DIRECTOR: Pierre Coffin

TRAILER:

 

 

THE STORY: The minions (mainly voiced by director Pierre Coffin) have long been a fan-favorite group of little yellow buddies that longed to serve the most evil master they can. But in MINIONS & MONSTERS, we are told the story of how three of them – James,  along with buddies Henry and the hard-of-hearing Ed – inadvertently became the biggest small things in Hollywood. It is a tale of overcoming the odds, overcoming adversity ... And learning how following one's dreams is always a worthwhile pursuit. 

THE REVIEW: At first, MINIONS & MONSTERS feels a bit flat. The opening scenes feel a little tedious while necessary to establish the minions' longstanding history of trying to find an evil master to serve properly. The minion language – an amalgamation of English, Spanish, French (?) and jibberish – at points feels a bit overdone. (How can they understand their counterparts but still can't adapt to communicate effectively with them?) Then, the film transitions to the little yellow moneymakers unexpected arrival to Hollywood, where it becomes a movie-within-a-movie scenario that feels more gimmicky than original and inspired ... At first. 

What makes MINIONS & MONSTERS enjoyable, however,  are the unexpected touches that give the film more heart and humor than one might expect. That is seen in the heartfelt notion of its main one-eyed star James and his desire to do something creative for himself, Trey Parker channeling a less-vulgar/racist/yet-still-angry-and-funny version of South Park's Eric Cartman into his scene stealing performance as Goomi and the perfectly retro is-he-or-isn't-he-a-robot performance of Jesse Eisenberg as Dort. Whereas the addition of new characters into a franchise could be a Poochie performance, Goomi and Dort – alongside Zoey Deutch's perfectly campy performance as Dort's human paramour Debbie – help the film find his footing. 

Save for some early violence – have you ever expected to see a beheading in a minions movie? – that would be perfect for "Itchy & Scratchy" (bonus Simpsons reference!), MINIONS & MONSTERS starts off as film more suitable for those of single digit age before eventually working its way back around to the core audience that has been watching the minions for the last 16 years.  

Throw in some nice homages to the Despicable Me franchise that gave them life and an easily digestible 90 minute run time and MINIONS & MONSTERS boasts a lot of what a summer animation movie should be: Fun and cheeky without overstaying its welcome or veering off into too many different directions. 

RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):