Minions (2015)

Number Rolled: 13

Movie Name/Year: Minions (2015)

Tagline: Uh oh.

Genre: Family, Comedy

Length: 90 minutes

Rating: PG

Production Companies: Illumination Entertainment, Universal Pictures

Producer: Janet Healy, Brett Hoffman, Christopher Meledandri, Chris Renaud, Dave Rosenbaum, Robert Taylor

Director: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin

Writer: Brian Lynch

Actors: Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Steve Coogan, Jennifer Saunders, Geoffrey Rush, Steve Carell, Pierre Coffin, Katy Mixon, Michael Beattle, Dave Rosenbaum, Alex Dowding, Mindy Sterling, Tara Strong, Zachary Alexander Rice, Hiroyuki Sanada

Stunt Doubles: N/A

Languages

Speech Available: English

Subtitles Available: English

Blurb from Netflix: The banana-yellow, linguistically garbled henchmen of “Despicable Me” star in this prequel, recounting the story of their villain-worshipping history.

Selina’s Point of View:

I’ve been saving this film for the blog and it’s been KILLING me. I love the series it’s from and I’ve been dying to see it – but I wanted the blog to get my first reaction. A few more months and I would have given in.

I thought this film was absolutely adorable. I knew it would be, of course, that was never the question. The only questions that really mattered going into this film was whether or not the story would be decent and if it would work as the prequel it was meant to be.

Oh, and if anyone would be able to understand what the hell was going on. Minions don’t exactly come with subtitles.

I found that the film was actually really easy to follow, the storyline was good, and it was a hell of a prequel. In fact, as a prequel it definitely was one of the best I’ve seen. There weren’t any glaring errors or issues of continuity.

All that said, I did prefer the original Despicable Me (2010) and Despicable Me 2 (2013). I think both of those movies were highly creative and hilarious. I could watch them back-to-back on any given day.

There was a part of Minions, however, that was… eerie. Like the writers could see into the future. I know it was supposed to be an amusing/funny moment, but I found it relatively impossible to laugh at. It would have been much funnier before the election.

I don’t think I’ll wait to see Despicable Me 3 (2017). That may require a theater trip.

Cat’s Point of View:

This wasn’t my first time to watch this movie, though I was overjoyed when the dice landed on this one. I’d gladly watch it many more times. Needless to say, I loved the movie.

This is one of those that no matter how many times you watch it over again, you’re likely to find something new you didn’t notice in prior viewings. This film is jam-packed with little ‘hidden’ nuggets of geekdom via “cameos” and references to both the Despicable Me (2010/2014) movies, other cartoons (both print and animated), as well as actual tidbits from pop culture and ‘reality.’ For example, the carpet from the Overlook Hotel in The Shining (1980) makes an appearance; as well as a little teddy bear that would make Mr. Bean (1990-1995) jealous due to the fact it’s nearly identical to his own.

Aside from all the little bits that inspire an exclamation of ‘hey, wait, was that [insert aforementioned ‘nugget’ here],’ the movie was adorable, inventive, and hilarious. This movie answers the question that everyone had to be asking themselves after watching the Despicable Me movies – where did those Minions come from?!

One of the non-spoiler answers to that question is one of the directors of the movie - Pierre Coffin (Pat et Stanley, Despicable Me, Brad & Gary). He single-handedly voiced all of the Minions seen in the movie. Talk about a Herculean task and surely a labor of love. This film is said to boast over 800 of the little yellow guys.

Sandra Bullock (Two Weeks Notice, All About Steve, The Blind Side) and John Hamm (The A-Team, Friends with Kids, Shrek Forever After) were sensational in their roles and made a fabulous dastardly dynamic duo as Scarlett and Herb Overkill. This was Bullock’s first villain role. It will be interesting to see if she opts to join the dark side in future movies, now that she’s sampled the cookies.

I had a personal giggle over the role for Hiroyuki Sanada (Lost, 47 Ronin, Helix). He’s always in super serious projects – often samurai-type roles and sci-fi. It was great to see him in a role with a bit of humor to it as the sumo-wrestler.

My final note is for parents and those contemplating how appropriate this movie is for varying ages of kids. I remember that when the trailers were first running for this film, the selection of clips it showed were put together in such a way that it seemed like the movie would be full of innuendo and inappropriate content. I am pleased to say that is not the case. The MPAA gave it a PG rating for action and rude humor – but the ‘suggestive’ variety of humor is practically nonexistent.

Minions has fun for the whole family to enjoy again and again.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 56%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 49%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 4/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 4/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 4.5/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 5/5

P.S. There are small scenes throughout the credits and one long scene after.

Movie Trailer: