The Lovable Yellow Mischief-Makers Return in an Uneven but Entertaining Animated Adventure
In 2010, Illumination and Universal Pictures debuted Despicable Me in theaters nationwide. The animated movie about a super villain named Gru (Steve Carell; The 40-Year-Old Virgin), who was plotting to steal the moon, became an instant success and launched a franchise that included three more movies, merchandising, and a spin-off trilogy of films. The movie also introduced the adorable, little, yellow creatures who became Gru's underlings, known to the world as the Minions. This week audiences will once again get to watch these mischievous characters as they make mistakes leading to all sorts of mayhem when Minions & Monsters hits theaters worldwide.
Before the Minions (Pierre Coffin; Pat & Stan) became Gru's henchmen/servants, their ancestors looked far and wide for a "Big Boss" to serve, and in the early twentieth century they made their way to California, where they saw a bank robber escaping the law on horseback. They decided to follow him and proclaim their undying devotion only to discover he was an actor on a movie set. Making an impression on the Bright Brothers (Jeff Bridges; The Big Lebowski), the Minions are offered a movie deal by film director Max (Christoph Waltz; Django Unchained). Max also takes budding filmmaker James under his wing, and the director and the Minions create several blockbuster movies.
However, when "talkies" came into existence, it created a language barrier between the little, yellow guys and their audience. Suddenly out of work, they once again go hunting for a Big Boss to serve, all except James and his two friends, Henry and Ed. The three of them ask Max for advice and help and decide to make their own movie with a scary monster. Using a book of spells they took from a previous boss, they conjure up Goomi (Trey Parker; South Park). Goomi then uses James, Ed, and Henry to free his monster friends, who bring an orange blob named Irene to Earth to devour everything and everyone.
One of the things that made the Minions so appealing in the first Despicable Me movie was their cuteness and innocence mixed with their humor. Now, seven movies later, those elements still exist, and they are what keep audiences coming back time and time again. While not necessarily as good as the first two Minion movies, this third installment has enough of the things we love to make it a decent entry into the spin-off franchise.
If Minions & Monsters has one thing going for it, it is the cast of voice actors utilized to play the supporting characters. Allison Janney (I, Tonya) plays the movie museum tour guide/narrator with the same enthusiasm she used to play Peach the Starfish in Finding Nemo. Waltz shows his more playful side as Max, the film director, and Bridges' voice is perfect for the Bright Brothers who own a film studio. Goomi, voiced by Parker, has moments when he sounds like Eric Cartman, one of the characters Parker voices from South Park.
Minions & Monsters has a solid first act and is great in the last five minutes (including the "twist" at the end) and the end credit scenes; however, the middle of the film becomes slow and tedious, which is saying a lot for the 90-minute feature film. The animation is the same as the previous two movies, which is relatively strong, but the plot isn't as good. The Minions' language has also seemed to morph from gibberish into a mix of gibberish, French, Spanish, and English, making it somewhat easier to understand them without subtitles. While this may seem like a positive change, one of the things we loved originally was the inability to understand them.
Kids will love this latest entry, and parents will tolerate it, but I think Illuminations should think long and hard before greenlighting a fourth film in the franchise.
Grade: C+
