Film Review: "Minions" (2015).

One of the taglines for the film reads "Before Gru, they had a history of bad bosses", this is that story for Minions. This 3D computer-animated family comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda. It is a prequel/spin-off to the Despicable Me franchise. The film follows Minions, Stuart, Kevin and Bob, forty-two years B.G. (Before Gru) as they are recruited by Scarlet Overkill, a super-villain who, alongside her inventor husband Herb, hatches a plot to take over the world.

The film was first foreshadowed in the ending credits of Despicable Me 2 (2013), where Stuart, Kevin, and Bob, three of the Minions, are seen auditioning for the film. In July 2012, Universal Studios and Illumination Entertainment announced that the Minions from Despicable Me (2010) would get their own spin-off film, and was planned for a 2014 release. On August 21, 2012, it was announced that the film would be released on December 19, 2014. In February 2013, Sandra Bullock joined the cast to voice Scarlet Overkill, with Jon Hamm joining two months later as her husband Herb Overkill. On September 20, 2013, the film's release date was pushed back from December 19, 2014 to July 10, 2015, due to Universal's satisfaction with the July release of Despicable Me 2 and desire to exploit fully the merchandising potential of a summer film. Upon hearing this, I couldn't be more intrigued and excited for this film. I thought "what could go wrong? It's a movie with the Minions!"

The film stars Coffin (as the Minions), Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Steve Coogan, and Geoffrey Rush. The performances the cast gave in this film were just as hilarious and comical as the two Despicable Me films. But the true stars are the title characters. In every scene they steal the show with their adorable, lovable and comical flair. They are the reason that children and adults alike flock to the movie theaters and thus helps the films make a truck-load full of money. The most interesting and memorable thing about the minions themselves is their language. The language known as "Minionese" which is spoken by the minions is a mix between several languages including English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hebrew and Gibberish.

Minions doesn't scale the heights of Despicable Me, but it is still funny family entertainment for viewers of any age. The film is true to the spirit of the previous films and matches its tone. But it never seems content to turn over old ground. Furthermore, it is cute, and funny, and the animation, though not exactly inspired, is certainly colorful. It might not be as gifted as some of its other movies, but sometimes it's alright to be ok. It's all infectious fun, despite the lack of originality. This minor film with major charms still deserves to have kids dragging their parents to the multiplex for one more peek at the minions. It is one of those movies that has absolutely no reason to exist, but once you've seen it, you're kind of glad it does.

Simon says Minions receives:

Also, see my review for Despicable Me 2.