Minions Henry (left), voiced by Pierre Coffin, and Goomi (left), voiced by Trey Parker, in a scene from Illumination’s “Minions & Monsters.”Illumination/AP News
minions & monsters
Directed by Pierre Coffin
Written by Brian Lynch and Pierre Coffin
Starring Pierre Coffin, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges
Recording time 90 minutes
Classification G
What if the Minions made a monster movie?
That was the idea that Illumination founder Chris Meledandri pitched to French animator and director Pierre Coffin, who co-directed the series’ four films and provided the voices for all of the world’s beloved characters. Coffin thought he was done with the Minions, but the idea of making a movie about the gibberish, bright yellow creatures was a lightbulb moment. He signed on for the project, serving as his first solo director on the series.
The plan was to tell the mischievous, ridiculous, and completely true (wink, wink) story of how the Minions conquered Hollywood, became movie stars, lost everything, split into factions, accidentally unleashed a monster that was trying to destroy the world, and then banded together to save everyone from the chaos they caused, and for the most part it worked. The film never feels overly long, staggering from one gag to the next, keeping you laughing with infectious mocking glee. The story meanders in parts to serve an absurd larger narrative purpose. Is it fun? yes. Is there a greater purpose? No. Are there an infinite number of memes? Biensur!
The film details the Minions’ long history in Hollywood.Illumination/AP News
Minions and Monsters is an ode to Hollywood. The film opens with a sequence that traces today’s Universal Pictures logo back to the studio’s origins in the 1900s. And in this make-believe world, the Minions were part of an era of crackling black-and-white silent films.
We enter the story through Olivia (Allison Janney), a tour guide at the museum. Olivia is surprised that the group of visitors is unaware of the Minions’ long history in Hollywood. That this follows a cameo by George Lucas trapped in a Perspex glass case is just the beginning of a narrative leap that defies logic. As Olivia tells an enthralled audience of young and old, the Minion tribe has existed throughout history. Their search for the most nefarious master to serve has led them through many different terrains, but these lovable mischief-makers always manage to kill the “evil boss,” as the minions like to say to their chosen leader, in a variety of hilarious disasters.
Their search eventually leads them to a movie set. There, German-accented director Max (Christoph Waltz) is about to film a carefully staged scene featuring a train robbery in the style of a classic Western. The Minions’ infiltration of the set was supposed to be a disaster, but Bright Brothers studio heads Frank and Elwood (both played by Jeff Bridges) delight in the chaos. Minions become stars overnight. It’s as if the world is at their little feet.
The German-accented director Max Minions is voiced by Christoph Waltz.Illumination/AP News
However, when the era of silent movies gave way to talkie movies, the Minions were no longer able to deliver their lines. Suddenly, they fell out of Old Hollywood’s good graces. The tribe begins searching for the evil boss again. Except for three minions: James, Henry, and Ed.
James was an outsider from the beginning, an artistic minion with a soul and a taste for storytelling. His medium is painting, and he continues to document the group’s many antics. When the Minions arrive in Hollywood, James finds purpose. His interaction with Max inspires him to dream of making his own film. Henry is James’s best friend and defender, and laughs whenever they slack off or defend James’ ideas. And Ed is the first deaf Minion to join James and Henry on their mission to make a monster movie.
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Monsters come through prior interactions with evil bosses – wizards. His magical book frees Goomi (Trey Parker). His small, green, and somewhat adorable appearance belies his true intentions. Ostensibly to help James make a monster movie, Goomi releases more monsters to take over the Earth.
Meanwhile, the remaining minions discover another evil boss, the mysterious robotic alien Dort (Jesse Eisenberg). An additional thread of the women’s suffrage movement is also thrown in for good measure. Somehow everything leads to a noisy end. Broken friendships are mended, the Minions fight monsters and save Hollywood, and James wins the Banana Award.
Does it make sense? No, nevertheless, this movie is entertaining for generations and even appears in the end credits. Young children will love the minions’ antics, devilish grins and laughs, and Esperanto-style gibberish cries. Older audiences will enjoy a throwback to old Hollywood that we rarely see or hear these days: that rollicking music, the lofty film language inspired by films like Casablanca and Singin’ in the Rain, or the slapstick comedies of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Movie buffs will recognize all sorts of Easter eggs, including references to iconic scenes from Modern Times and Citizen Kane, among others.
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