3 No./ How Minions made the world go bananas
These small, yellow henchmen have sparked a worldwide following in its Gentleminions. Empire investigates the chaos
IT SOUNDS LIKE one of Gru’s harebrained schemes. In 2010’s
Despicable Me, Steve Carell’s loveable supervillain and his little yellow Minions plotted to steal the Moon. In 2022, the animated slapstick icons went even further: they stole the internet, with Tiktoking teens worldwide dressing in suits and flocking to cinemas in their droves to watch Minions: The Rise Of Gru.
“Who could’ve expected it?” says Pierre Coffin, who voices the Minions in the film (and directed the first
Minions). “I think it’s awesome that the movie is seen and appreciated by an unexpected age group.”
The explosion of the ‘Gentleminions’ phenomenon left unsuspecting cinemas flummoxed. It began with a Tiktok video, in which besuited teenagers rolled up in style to reverently watch and cheer for the ultimate cinematic event: the return of the Minions. Soon, everyone was doing it — some more respectfully than others, with banana-throwing antics and rowdy behaviour causing some UK cinemas to ban formally dressed youngsters.
Other Gentleminions were, well, gentler. “We didn’t want to disrupt everything or ruin the experience. There were children that wanted to see the film,” says 16-year-old Louis Jolin, who, along with six pals, recently donned suits and headed to Cineworld High Wycombe for Rise Of Gru. “It was a fun thing to do with the group. We didn’t want to cause a scene —we just wanted to have a good time and take part.” If there’s undeniably a level of irony here, the trend erupted amid a generation who grew up on the franchise, dormant since 2017’s Despicable Me 3. “It’s part of our childhoods, and it’s been so long, and suddenly this film comes out,” Jolin explains. “As much as it is a joke, we did actually really enjoy watching it.”
It wasn’t just teens getting hooked. Kim Kardashian threw a lavish Minions-themed party at her house (“How cute is this slime?!” she asked her 325 million followers, filming a cup of yellow goop). Cult music producer Jack Antonoff’s guest-packed soundtrack (led by a Diana Ross and Tame Impala collab) got audiophiles on board.
Maybe it’s the sweltering heat, the relentless marketing, or some kind of intangible virality — but the entire world is Minion-mad once more. Jolin only has one word in explanation: “Banana.” Who, really, can argue?
MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU IS OUT NOW
ON PAPER, The Wonder might seem like your standard period movie — bonnets, hardscrabble lives, Toby Jones with mutton chops. But Disobedience and Gloria Bell director Sebastián Lelio’s latest promises a bold new take on the costume drama. First of all, adapted from Room author Emma Donaghue’s 2016 novel, it has a crackerjack premise. In the 1850s, Lib (Florence Pugh), an English nurse, is summoned to an Irish village to preside over Anna O’donnell (Kila Lord Cassidy), an 11-year-old girl who has survived without food for four months. Some view it as a medical anomaly, others see the girl as a miracle.
“Lib arrives and, as a rationalist, thinks she’s going to uncover the hoax in ten minutes,” says Lelio, talking to Empire in-between final mixing sessions. “She becomes more and more involved and deeply connects with the girl. By the time she understands what is really going on, she’s prepared to do the wildest things for the love she feels for Anna.”
Lelio describes the film as “partly a psychological thriller, as Lib is connecting dots and trying to uncover the problem.” But at the heart of the drama is the intense, complex relationship between Lib and Anna. “That dual element was always going to be crucial in the film, the electricity that comes out of the collision between the two actors” says Lelio. “Florence is such a presence, that [whether] she could somehow be too strong for Kila was always a question. They made each other sweat.”
The Chilean director wanted to avoid the “sad, unbearable version” of this story, so encouraged cinematographer Ari Wegner (The Power Of The Dog) to find “pleasure in the imagery, even if the themes are challenging and dark”. Lelio also hints the film has a “meta” quality, a playfulness he attributes to his outsider status.
“If you’re invited as a foreign filmmaker to make a period film in Ireland with a British production, I don’t know if there is a stronger way to be out of your element,” he says. “But I was also aware that the mixture of fresh eyes and irresponsibility could become an asset, because I don’t carry the burden of tradition.”
As such, Lelio, Donaghue and co-writer Alice Birch (like Pugh and Wegner, another Lady Macbeth alumnus) have come up with some cheeky postmodern devices that, unlike the Fleabag-imitating frippery of Persuasion, are baked into the DNA of the narrative. “It is a film about stories and the function of stories in our lives — how stories can trap us, or how we can use them to find new levels of freedom,” says Lelio. “So, I wanted the film itself to have a certain self-awareness.” Breaking the stone fourth wall. Bring it on.
THE WONDER IS ON NETFLIX LATER THIS YEAR
WITH JUST THREE words (“I am Groot”) and a strip of bark to work with, Guardians
Of The Galaxy’s Groot isn’t the most obvious candidate for his own spin-off. But through a new five-strong series of short films for Disney+ (set before the first Guardians Of The Galaxy movie), directed by Kirsten Lepore and with Vin Diesel returning to voice his character in child form, he’s got just that. Speaking with Empire, Lepore reveals the stages of turning Baby Groot into the hero of his own story.
GET WEIRD
Lepore, who formerly worked on Cartoon Network’s surreal animated show Adventure Time, delighted in bringing her off-kilter sensibilities to a Marvel favourite. “As much as it’s still Groot and he’s still cute, he’s also a little bad baby who’s very mischievous,” she explains.
Each of the five shorts uses a quintessential childhood experience — bath time, dress-up, drawing — as a starting point. “Then we’d just go wild and make it weird and rude and sci-fi. It was a really fun sandbox to play in.” The series, confirms Lepore, will be a tonal departure for the studio. “There aren’t a lot of comedy shows on the Marvel animation roster, so even though they are shorts, we really got to play up how funny they are.”
PICK THE RIGHT TUNES
Unlike Peter Quill, this Guardian doesn’t have his own official mixtape, but I Am Groot still promises plenty of sweet needle-drops. Where Guardians included popular American tracks largely from the ’60s and ’70s, the show stays in the same era but goes global. “We have a lot of sounds from Brazil, sounds that are inspired by African music, we have a Jimmy Cliff track in there,” says Lepore. “Then there’s some electronic music, and some analogue stuff.”
TALK TO JAMES GUNN
Lepore spent time with Gunn ahead of making the show, discussing the essence of Groot. “Something he said that stuck with me is that Groot is an emoji guy,” she remembers. “All he’s got are two eyes and a mouth.” The simple nature of Groot’s face, Lepore explains, are what makes him relatable, whether he’s chomping down candy or shooting down bad guys: “It’s the bare minimum of what you need for a lot of expression.” Gunn’s involvement in the show didn’t end there either: “He may have a voice Easter egg in one of our episodes.”
BRING IN BACK-UP
As the poster for the show’s short ‘Magnum Opus’ reveals, Groot is working on a crafts project with glue, scissors, and what appear to be cheesy puffs. “I will say he maybe pilfers some things from some of his fellow Guardians who may or may not make an appearance, to create something really big and really wonderful,” says Lepore. With Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon already confirmed as a cameo, things are looking positive. The director has also created some brand-new creatures — including some four-eyed, Tic Tac-looking aliens with flippers — to become a part of the MCU. Hopefully the Guardians will be hiring some new recruits for Vol. 3.
I AM GROOT IS ON DISNEY+ FROM 10 AUGUST