The seventh feature film in its 16-year franchise, “Minions & Monsters” employs a sophisticated conceit with a startlingly meta adventure for these beloved yellow stooges. Though it may provide higher-brow fodder for older viewers, this escapade through 1920s Hollywood loses some of the feral charm that once garnered the love and respect from their target audience: children.
(Image courtesy Illumination)
A Screwball Synopsis
Told through a frame narrative, “Minions & Monsters” tells the sensational story of how the gaggle of Minions informed the movie-making industry from its earliest roots. The Minions, as a fictional species, do not seek autonomy. They entered public awareness as true henchmen to the bumbling villain, turned soft-hearted father Gru in the “Despicable Me” movies, and their
popularity amongst the fans has led to this: their fourth headlining feature film.
“Minions & Monsters,” more than their previous big-screen endeavors, retains the yellow mischief-makers at the center of the action. Searching for a villain to which they can provide their specific brand of mayhem, the Minions stumble into a Hollywood movie directed by Max (Christoph Waltz), a nervous filmmaker beholden to the powers of studio heads Frank and Elwood (both voiced by Jeff Bridges). The straightforward Western heist they inadvertently crashed (pun intended) turns into a slapstick train wreck (literally), and the Minions become Hollywood’s newest and greatest asset.
In need of their next Hollywood monster, the Minions recite a spell from the magical book inherited from a previous employer which unleashes Goomi (Trey Parker), a small, but smart
gooey green creature with an eye on world annihilation and access to Irene, an ancient, giant orange monster with the capability to destroy everything in her path. Tasked with fixing the problem they created, the Minions do what they do best: irreverent comedy, unbridled silliness and heaps of heartwarming, sincere, if not ludicrous exploits.
(Image courtesy Illumination)
A Dopey Disconnect
“Minions & Monsters” is an admirable film by longtime Minions writer-director Pierre Coffin, who also voices the yellow creatures, speaking in their now-infamous gibberish language known as Minionese. As an adult viewer with a particularly critical eye, this is possibly the most grown-up-friendly film within the Minions universe. There is a sophistication and ironic wink that perpetuates throughout this film which takes on Old Hollywood with clever references harkening back to pictures that serve as the bedrock for modern filmmaking.
“Play it again, Sam,” says one of the studio heads as a Black piano player tickles the ivories to “As Time Goes By.” George Lucas makes a cameo as himself, trapped in a film history museum that serves as the outer layer of the film’s Russian-nesting-doll structure. A close-up of a snow globe is followed by a reimagining of the opening sequence in “Citizen Kane,” the notorious “rose bud” line replaced with, you might be able to guess it, “poop.” There are other, much more subtle nods to monster movies of the era – “The Blob,” “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and the numerous classics released by Universal over the last century – and the fun of this film, as an informed viewer, was catching the many references that Coffin worked into the script.
But with so many inspirations, “Minions & Monsters” suffers from a lack of direction. Its pastiche hinders its originality in many ways. The Minions often feel like instruments to the inside jokes, necessitating a certain level of knowledge to appreciate fully. Unlike the other films in this franchise, this one does not have a focal human lead; the various people that flit in
and out of the story, including Jesse Eisenberg as a down-and-out robot Dort and his love interest Debbie, a suffragette voiced by Zoey Deutch, offer some recognizable dialogue, but there are long stretches of Minions-only screen time that eventually garner viewer fatigue.
While the success of the Minions’ physical comedy is in large part thanks to the likes of old-school inspiration Charlie Chaplin, “talkies” became all the rage for a reason.
(Image courtesy Illumination)
A Franken-Minion Creation
In the middle of our screening, I tried to gauge how much my two elementary-aged children understood and how much fun they were having this time around with a brand they knew well. As if on cue, my 6-year-old reached the bottom of her popcorn bucket, her head fell on my shoulder, and she was out. The slapstick elements that are inherent to the Minions franchise engaged my 8-year-old enough to keep her attention through the film’s sparse 90-minute runtime, but when asked what she enjoyed most about “Minions & Monsters,” she couldn’t give me a conclusive response.
As much as I enjoyed its elevated, thoughtful premise, I couldn’t put my finger on why this film wasn’t a satisfying watch. With some retrospection, I think it comes down to its lack of focus. There are so many inspirations that the plot feels like an afterthought, a Frankenstein monster itself that resembles a movie, without really convincing us of its legitimacy, beholden to those that came before, and not digging its own path. As an adult and a critic, I enjoyed the references and marveled at its mature handling; as a parent, I’m not sure “Minions & Monsters” will find a place in our family library of Friday night rewatches.
- MPAA Rating: PG for violence/action, language and rude/macabre humor
- Where to Watch: In theaters now
- Recommended Age: 5+
- Runtime: 90 minutes
More Parent Reviews and Family Movie Picks
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- Parent Review: “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” | Despite its colorful visuals and familiar characters, this sequel misses the mark with a chaotic pace and surprisingly thin story.
- Parent Review: “The Pout-Pout Fish” movie doesn’t match the book | See why this adaptation may disappoint families who loved the original story.
