Illumination’s oddball Minions embark on another wild misadventure with Minions & Monsters. However, the fun of the Minions crashing Old Hollywood isn’t strong enough to outweigh its severe lack of focus and titular monsters.
Instead of focusing on Gru’s Minions, Minions & Monsters follows a separate tribe of the yellow misfits (all voiced by the film’s writer/director Pierre Coffin), which is awesome. It’s nice to know that there are other Minions stories happening outside of the Despicable Me storyline, and fans get to see the Minions work alongside other evil masters throughout history. From a one-eyed giant who smashes everything in sight to a vile wizard with a book full of monsters, the film features a couple bad guys the Minions serve and hilariously foil. It’s pure comedy how the Minions completely ruin their masters’ nefarious plans shortly after cozying up to them.
The film kicks things off on a familiar, but incredibly fun note that gets better as its two main Minions, James and Henry, bond over a passion for storytelling. There’s a warm spark that forms from these two drawing up stories on their group’s boat and finding ways for their fantasies to become reality. It’s genuinely adorable, and it gives the film a nice main story thread that evolves excellently as James and Henry’s group find themselves in the Silent era of Hollywood.
Surprisingly, Minions & Monsters is a grand love letter to the formative years of Hollywood filmmaking. The first scene offers pure eye candy for film lovers, as it features tons of visual nods to Universal classics like E.T. and Jaws, as well as a funny cameo from George Lucas. The opening credits are a Minion-ified glimpse into the evolution of film, which is a treat for the eyes and a deeply impactful look at important history. It’s rare for modern films—especially those geared towards kids—to highlight Old Hollywood like this. So, it’s very meaningful for Minions & Monsters to show younger generations of moviegoers where it all began, and Coffin and company clearly had a lot of fun building this experience. It’s an absolute romp to see the Minions craze happen in the Silent era, and the parodies are peak Minions hilarity. Even the tough transition the Minions face in the rise of “talkies” is hilarious because of their performances for scenes in Humphrey Bogart noir films and Citizen Kane going totally awry. There are also some fun meta references tied to Illumination’s lack of Oscar wins and fandom that longtime fans will really enjoy and build this wildly comical look into film. Minions & Monsters is an unexpected treat for cinephiles that wider audiences can easily, equally enjoy…that is, until we start to inject some monsters into the mix.
As James and Henry find themselves needing to make a monster movie to stay afloat, they summon a strange little Cthulhu-inspired friend named Goomie (Trey Parker) who helps them look for more monsters. Now, there are a couple of highlights to the new plot direction that lead to crowd-pleasing laughs and thrills. Illumination’s character designs continue to be excellent and the crisp visual quality and action sequences are top-tier. The monster-fueled turn in the story feels warranted and brings some chaotic fun to the finale that younger audiences will adore. However, Minions & Monsters never fully lives up the second half of its title. In short, there are only a few, and none of them are all that special. It’s such an unambitious approach that lacks the eye-busting amount of action and rambunctious delight a kaiju vs Minions concept deserves. It’s also where the movie-making inspiration takes a backseat for other story arcs and characters that aren’t as enjoyable.
Max (Christoph Waltz), a director James and Henry befriend when they first arrive in Hollywood, fades to the background in disappointing fashion. Waltz gives such a warm performance, and he’s replaced by Parker’s Goomie who’s fun but flawed. It’s probably the most adorable depiction of Cthulhu we’ll ever see and he shares some comical scenes with the Minions. But Parker’s performance is distractingly similar to some character he’d write on South Park, but with a PG-feel that doesn’t tap into the best parts of his voice work. There are also some extra storylines that clog up the pacing and overall experience. While it’s fun to see the other Minions in James and Henry’s group work under a man cosplaying as a wannabe alien robot dictator named Dort (Jesse Eisenberg), it doesn’t leave much of an impression. Eisenberg delivers a great performance as Dort and his presence as a loving nod to ’50s sci-fi villains is incredible. But, it doesn’t push things along at a good pace and becomes overcomplicated by a needless romance sub-plot and too much time away from what’s happening with James and Henry. It’s why Minions & Monsters loses its momentum about halfway through and rarely regains it.
Minions & Monsters delivers more than enough laughs, beloved film nods and animated antics for audiences to leave plenty satisfied. But, its distinct lack of monstrous foes and overstuffed story keep it from reaching greater heights.
