Minions & Monsters Review

The Minions have returned for a third spin-off and a seventh film overall. The prequel sees the yellow creatures conquering Hollywood and summoning monsters.

A tribe of Minions finds itself in 1920s Hollywood while searching for a new fiendish master. They quickly become the toast of the town because of their slapstick antics, but their film careers are cut short when the film industry transitions to sound. One member of the tribe, James, has a creative spark and sets out to make a monster movie. To achieve this, James and his friends summon a monster called Goomi (Trey Parker), who promises to help.

There’s no denying the Minions’ success. Their films make money hand over fist, and they have a big fanbase. Minions & Monsters will probably also make a boatload of money. My nephews were excited to see the film, and they enjoyed it.

Minions & Monsters did the job it set out to do: be a broad slapstick for the whole family. This has been the Minions’ bread and butter since their introduction in 2010. That was why the Minions became so popular in the first place. Putting them in the Golden Era of Silent Cinema was a stroke of genius since they got to play to their strengths. They even got to be a part of some famous scenes in silent comedies: it’s a great way to introduce kids to the classics. It had genuinely funny moments, even for adults. I personally enjoyed the new character of Dort (Jesse Eisenberg).

The Minions have always been chaotic beings, and chaotic is a perfect word to describe Minions & Monsters. The film opens with a framing device at a museum, then re-enacts the opening sequence of the first Minions movie, which involves killing and injuring potential masters before they end up in Los Angeles. The first act showed the Minions conquering Hollywood before the introduction of sound, which made this part of the film feel like a mini version of Singing in the Rain, The Artist, and Babylon. The animated film even referenced the elephant party in Babylon. Like the previously mentioned films, Minions & Monsters wanted to be a love letter to cinema and the filmmaking process. There were plenty of references to classic movies from Modern Times to E.T., and there was even a cameo from a famous movie maker.

The second act shows the Minions split into two groups: James, Henry, and Ed focused on filmmaking and monster summoning, whilst Dick led the rest of the tribes to find a new master. Minions & Monsters felt like three different films because the filmmakers focused on jokes rather than the story. The filmmakers just threw everything at the wall to see what would stick.

Minions & Monsters didn’t have the emotional depth or thematic complexity of some of their recent rivals, such as Hoppers, Arco and Toy Story 5. This film’s primary goal was to entertain, although the first Despicable Me film and Minions: The Rise of Gru did have emotional cores. Minions & Monsters attempted this through its main trio of James, Henry, and Ed. They were the outsiders of their group who just wanted to tell stories. Their friendship was what kept the trio going, and it was tested by the Cartman-sounding mini Cthulhu. He was a demonic form of temptation who caused a rift between James and Henry.

The seventh Minions adventure offered more anarchic slapstick silliness and appealed to movie geeks for its celebration of cinema.