The happy return of Minions
Since 2010, these Tictac-shaped, overall-outfitted creatures have burst onto the animation landscape to globally become one of the most loved and recognisable characters in 3D. The Minions came as a side serving to the main plot in Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2 but in this prequel spin off, it’s a lot of heady fun to see what they’ve been up to before becoming the haplessly devoted henchmen to Gru.
Since the dawn of time, the Minions have been roaming the earth, biologically programmed for only one goal in life: to serve a totally bad-ass villain. Through various moments in history, they’ve tagged along and unintentionally brought about the demise of figures from T-Rex to Napoleon, with the death of the latter sending them into hiding in an Arctic cave. They collectively fall to depression without a master to serve, until a Minion named Kevin volunteers to brave the vast world in search for their new bad boss. Bob, the kiddie and teddy-bear-toting one and Stuart, who just wants to be a rock star, join him on the journey.
When the trio arrives in America 42 years B.G. (before Gru), or 1968, they head to a villain convention with hopes to work for its superstar villainess, Scarlett Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock). She tasks them with stealing the glittering crown of Queen Elizabeth, whom Kevin first mistakes as la cucaracha.
It makes one wonder how Lizzie would have felt watching “herself” in this banana-fuelled, madcap of laughs. The film is filled with clever gags, both in sound and sight, eager to make fun of the Brits. There’s a policeman pouring himself a cup of tea from a porcelain pot while driving his car and the queen herself is the butt of many jokes — the kind that would get you thrown into jail here. Still, the movie delightfully pokes fun everywhere and back in the US, the rest of the Minion tribe run rampant onto a studio that is filming astronauts fabricating their landing on the Moon.
Minions may seem like a train of mindless silly chugging full speed, but those who have a knack for languages will find it humorous on a deeper level — there is always something to laugh at from all the Euro-gibberish the Minions utter. It’s a hoot if you can understand Spanish and can catch random words from all sorts of languages thrown into the movie at the most apt moments, be it terima kasih (Southeast Asia represent!), yakitori or profiteroles, apparently used as a curse.
Compared to the previous instalments, the plot line is flatter and less sophisticated, with villains terribly one-dimensional. Minions is more childish and probably unlikely to appeal to adults who aren’t initially into cartoons, but stoppah!
For a movie with main characters that babble in an incomprehensible tongue for most of the time, yet still manages to tickle the funny bone for all its 90 minutes, Minions takes the cronah.