Minions not the first animated supporters to get top billing
Other characters also found their way to fame after secondary roles
Minions live to serve, so being the stars of their own feature film might seem contrary to their raison d’être.
But the little yellow guys are not the first subordinate creatures in cartoon land to be thrust into the spotlight — or given a show of their own. “The Simpsons” got their start on “The Tracey Ullman Show,” and “Count Duckula” was the offspring of “Danger Mouse.” Here are a few others.
“The Bullwinkle Show” (1961-’64): A proud graduate of Wottsamatta U., Bullwinkle J. Moose began his career as the learning-impaired sidekick to Rocket J. Squirrel on the 1959 cartoon show “Rocky and His Friends.” When the show made the switch from ABC to NBC, however, it became “The Bullwinkle Show.” Mr. Squirrel was unavailable for comment.
“Josie and the Pussycats” (1970-’72): Originally, they were a sidebar to the “Archie” universe, which also spawned the whole “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” phenomenon. “The Archie Show” had been a huge Saturday morning success for CBS during the 1968-’69 season, and the alleged pop group The Archies had a No. 1 Billboard hit with “Sugar, Sugar.” So Josie et al. were drafted into their own music-driven animated series.
“Postcards From Buster” (2004-’08, 2012): This spinoff of PBS’ “Arthur” blended animated and live action as it followed Arthur’s pal Buster across the United States to meet other children and learn about their lives.
“Finding Dory” (2016): Scheduled for release next summer, this Disney-Pixar production will center on Dory the hippo tang (that’s what she is) that was the daffy sidekick to the offspring-hunting Marlin (Albert Brooks) in “Finding Nemo.” Ellen DeGeneres will again voice Dory; co-stars will include Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Idris Elba and Eugene Levy.