The Minions
Director: Kyle Balda
Starring: Pierre Coffin, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm
91mins; Class PG;
KRS Releasing Ltd
The Minions, of course, started life as the, um, minions of supervillain Gru in 2010’s Despicable Me and its 2013 sequel, effortlessly stealing the limelight in both episodes and meriting a film all of their own.
There was always something mysterious about these bright yellow, capsule-shaped, be-goggled, dungaree’d creatures; and screenwriter Brian Lynch goes a long way in satisfying that curiosity with an extended and highly entertaining opening sequence that gives us a concise history of the Minions through the ages.
The sequence is narrated by the honeyed tones of Geoffrey Rush. It is clever, funny and occasionally manic, as we learn that these creatures evolved from single-cell organisms and their sole purpose in life is to serve evil people.
Through millennia they search for a despicable boss – they run the gamut from a T-Rex through to Napoleon via Egyptian pharaohs and more without quite finding The One. That they inadvertently kill off their bosses oftentimes doesn’t help.
Adorably insane characters
After spending years in depressing exile in Antarctica, an enterprising Minion named Kevin sets off to find them a permanent boss, accompanied by the ukulele-playing Stuart and the immature Bob and his teddy bear.
After an extended journey that takes them to New York and the Villain Convention in Florida, our enterprising trio find themselves in 1968 in London in the service of supervillain Scarlet Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock).
Her mission? To steal the St Edward’s Crown, the crown traditionally used by British monarchs in their coronations. Much mayhem and slapstick ensues.
What has always been so endearing about the Minions is their completely madcap behaviour. Add to that their ability to communicate despite an incoherent language (an eclectic mix of some English, some Spanish, plenty of gibberish and more – and kudos to co-director Pierre Coffin for voicing them all) to deservedly earn them themselves the title of most adorably insane cartoon characters. And while they certainly merit this outing of their own, however, the story does tend to sag a little at around the half-way point.
Nothing quite matches the humour of the opening sequence. While plenty of laughs are to be had throughout, the main storyline doesn’t quite exploit its full humour potential, as the crown-stealing business does not quite go as expected and Bob ends up dethroning Elizabeth and becoming King himself and while the little Minionettes in the audience will be highly entertained throughout, the older ones may find their attention wondering.
There isn’t much time for complete ennui to set in however – with many set pieces entertain-ing enough to keep the momentum going.
An added bonus to the proceedings is Jennifer Saunders, voicing the feisty Queen as she has to contend with these yellow creatures that have invaded Buckingham Palace.
Bullock voices Scarlet Overkill with zest, making for a solid villain with great support from a laconic Jon Hamm as her husband Herb.
Allison Janney and Michael Keaton provide giggles as the Nelsons, parents of a typical American nuclear family who just happen to be bank robbers.
It’s entirely nonsensical and it ties in with the Despicable Me storyline neatly as a young Gru eventually turns up; with more manic Minion action to be served up soon with Despicable Me 3 currently in the works.