After searching far and wide for an evil villain to take orders from, the minions stumble upon a movie set in the 1920s, and accidentally become the biggest stars in Hollywood. This eventually leads them, specifically James, Henry, and Ed, to make their own action packed movie full of monsters, the only problem is actually finding the monsters to be in their movie.
Directed by Pierre Coffin, who is also the co-writer alongside Brian Lynch, and is the main voice of the minions, Minions & Monsters is the 7th movie in the Despicable Me and Minions franchise, and probably the most memorable. By no means are these movies expected to be high brow art house features; they are popcorn movies through and through and appeal to a generally younger audience. Their main job is to entertain, and they hit the nail right on the head.
I found myself surprisingly laughing along to so many more jokes in the movie than I thought I would. For those that have a fond love for Hollywood, there are industry jokes sprinkled throughout the movie that you can’t help but chuckle at; the origins of the Hollywood sign, the Buster Keaton house falling stunt, the adorned lifestyles of the rich and the famous, and so much more. There are so many literal “bits” in the movie that will no doubt get a giggle out of you, no matter how much you love or hate the minions.
Though, with all these nods to Hollywood, it genuinely felt like a love letter to the City of Angels disguised as a minions movie, which I know sounds odd given that I’m referencing these little yellow henchmen. But not only did they pay homage to the very first movies ever filmed, but they also included film noir aspects of the movies all inclusive of a damsel in distress, a tour of the Universal Studios Tour, and a surprise cameo from George Lucas. It all somehow felt like a lesson of the history of film.
To add onto the references to Hollywood and filmmaking, there were also parts of the movie that felt like live action sequences, showcasing what felt like proper filmmaking techniques, but they could have just been really good animations – cut to the shot of the studio backlots and the splash of water onto the mysterious leading man in a feature film (the leading man being a minion, of course). But just know that these scenes did take me out of the minions world for just a second, and had me reeling over how impressive it was to have this featured in a children’s movie.
The end of the movie also felt like a babushka doll being unpacked. We’re first introduced to the story of the minions through a studio tour, with the enthusiastic tour guide named Olivia (Allison Janney) passionately recalling the humble beginnings of James and Henry. Then when she’s finished with her retelling of the epic tale, the scene shifts to James and Henry walking on screen and calling cut, revealing that the studio tour was a scene in a movie they were making, then they verbally cut to the credits of their movie, then finally the real movie credits roll through. A hilarious unexpected meta moment that added to the tally of chuckles this movie got out of me.
The side story of Dort (Jesse Eisenberg), an alien robot who had big plans to take over Earth (and who the rest of the minions eventually chose as their big boss), instead falls for a women’s right activist Debbie (Zoey Deutch). It was a sweet narrative that also surprisingly gave light to a bit of American history (lightly touching on the victory of the 19th Amendment). But the best part was also the fact that James and Henry were both gay lovers, fighting for their place in a creative industry, because go off sweet little henchmen, and happy pride to them both.
Minions & Monsters was a wholesome and completely entertaining watch, and maybe due to the fact that it closely resembled a Damien Chazelle Hollywood love letter type movie is the reason why I enjoyed it so much (more than I thought). It’s also just harmless fun packed in a short and sweet hour and a half. And whether you love or hate them, there is something in the movie for everyone.
