Hello, yellow fellows
The Minions return with their very own movie. Yakitori! Banana!
Minions Directors: Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda Cast: Pierre Coffin, Sandra Bullock, Geoffrey rush, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, allison Janney
MORE Minions! Millions of Minions!
That’s what I wished for after the last Despicable Me movie in 2013. Those cute yellow little critters were, for me, the best part of the two Despicable Me films.
Sure, those two instalments were mainly about Gru and his three adopted daughters, but the Minions, I felt at the time, were funnier, more entertaining, and a whole lot more fun to watch than Steve Carell’s Gru. Or so I thought.
So when it was announced that they would have their own spinoff movie, I was happier than a Minion with a banana.
Well, in hindsight, maybe having a movie starring only the Minions probably wasn’t such a good idea after all.
You know how they say that you only miss something when it’s gone? Well, after watching Minions, I ended up missing Gru and the kids more than I thought I would.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, Minions is still stupidly fun, hugely entertaining, and funny as hell, but after sitting through almost two hours of those yellow fellows babbling in Minion- speak, I was hoping for some, you know, normal people to show up.
Minions is set 42 years before the first Despicable Me, in 1966, to be exact, and focuses on the origin of the adorable Minions. Ever since they were single- celled organisms, these adorable creatures have been searching for the biggest, baddest boss to serve. Unfortunately, finding a master is the easy part – it’s keeping them alive that seems to be the Minions’ biggest problem.
From the mighty T- Rex to the first cavemen, from Dracula to Napoleon, all have fallen victim to the Minions’ enthusiastic but otherwise tragically fatal “assistance”.
With their tribe stuck in a rut with no master to serve, and threatened with extinction ( by boredom), three Minions – Kevin, Stuart and Bob – head out into the world to find a new boss. One thing leads to another, and they wind up in Villain- Con, where they accidently become the henchmen of the biggest, baddest villain of them all – Scarlet Overkill ( Sandra Bullock).
So, off they go to England, where Scarlet gives them a task – steal the Queen’s crown for her, so that she can fulfil her dream of becoming the Queen Of England. Yeah, it’s a plot even a Minion could understand, so don’t think too much about it, OK?
If you already loved the Minions in the first place, then you’ll love this movie. It’s hard not to like it, actually, especially since those fellows are just so cute and adorable. Kevin, being the ringleader of the yellow trio, is the serious one, Stuart is the cool musician dude, while Bob is the cutest one of the lot, and gets the best gags and most “awws” of the lot.
Oh, and pay close attention to what they are actually saying, and chances are there will be a few phrases you will understand, including one that only Malaysians would appreciate.
Even though the movie mostly focuses on just three Minions, it can still get a little too ... Minion- y at times, and by the time the finale comes around, you’d be hankering for Gru to appear and freeze- ray everyone in sight.
As much as I hate to admit it, Gru and his family were absolutely essential in the Despicable Me movies after all. They were the anchors of the films, and the Minions were just the sideshow gags that helped to add a light- hearted balance.
That’s not to say Minions isn’t great. It’s still a whole lot of fun for the whole family, and you might just be tempted to run around yelling “YAKITORI!” or “BANANA!” at everyone after watching it.