Movie Review: Minions

Minions/Dir. by Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin/Rated PG/Universal Pictures/91 min.

There has been a trend emerging in the world of animated film of giving side characters their own feature films.  Many critics have slammed this trend, saying that these characters were designed for short shots of comic relief and don't have the substance to sustain an entire film.  Personally, I disagree.  These films succeed and fail not because of the origins of the main characters, but on the strength of the screenplay.  The Penguins of Madagascar may have failed at the box-office, but it's actually my favorite of the Madagascar films, partly because the penguins are far more interesting than the leads of the other movies, but mostly because it's written with the wit and manic energy of a Monty Python movie.  Cars 2 may have succeeded at the box-office, but it's the worst of the Pixar films not because it put Mater in the narrative drivers seat, but because it's the only film Pixar has ever made where it's obvious they were more interested in cool toy designs than clear plotting and engaging character arcs.

Well, it's my sad duty to report that Minions, the new film featuring the scene-stealing, gibberish-speaking, villain-serving characters from the Despicable Me films, is more Cars 2 than Penguins of Madagascar, but it's certainly not the fault of the little yellow guys.  They're as lovable and hysterical as ever.  No, it's all because of lazy writing.  A film that, by all means, should have been the funniest of the series, generates fewer belly laughs than either of the previous films.  Heck, it actually generates fewer laughs than its main animated competition at the box-office, the far more cerebral Inside Out.

It begins with a delightful prologue detailing the history of the minions, from single cell organisms to unfulfilled pill-shaped henchmen.  You see, the minions were created with the innate desire to find the most evil villain in the land and serve as his or her devoted....well.. minions.  This opening, most of which was unfortunately spoiled by the trailers, is easily the most imaginative and exciting set piece of the film.  In fact, I almost wish the the writers would have just expanded these little vignettes to feature length.  If they had this could have been something special.  Instead, the bulk of the movie focuses on three minions, the confident Kevin, the enthusiastic but easily frightened Bob, and the head-banger at heart Stewart, and their search for a master, a search that leads them to Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock, clearly having the time of her life) and her husband Herb (Jon Hamm, doing such a great Jason Segel impersonation that they may as well have just hired Jason Segel).  Scarlet, being evil, wants to rule England and she agrees to employ the entire minion colony if they can obtain the queens crown for her.

On the plus side, the movie has such an irreverent view of history that some of the plot twists are genuinely surprising.  Sequences involving Excalibur and Queen Elizabeth fly in the face of history and mythology and decorum just enough to give the film an air of subversive glee.  The problem is that these and, indeed most of the sequences of the 2nd act, feel haphazardly constructed and retread the same comic material over and over again.  You say that the first Despicable Me movie had a funny bit involving a minion's bare backside?  Well six such bits should be six times more funny!  The first time Scarlet slowly grows from cloyingly sweet to maniacally evil in a sentence was a hoot?  Let's do that with each of her speeches then!  From a story stand-point, so little happens in this 2nd act that it becomes little more than slightly amusing filler.

The movie almost regains its footing in the final act though.  It embraces the gonzo energy of the best animated comedies, bringing images and jokes to life in a way that life-action films simply can't approach.  However, it's all a case of too little too late.

It's not that Minions is a bad movie.  On a hot summer afternoon, it's a perfectly enjoyable way to spend a few hours in an air-conditioned theater.  It's just a disappointment from this series, which has consistently brought the funny and the heart.  Minions has a fraction of the humor and none of the heart.  But, still, the minions themselves are still pretty darned entertaining.  Here's hoping that there is a better written adventure in their future.

Grade: B-