Pierre Coffin, creator of the Minions, knows who and what they are. They do slapstick with the best. Their constant scurrying, screaming, shuffling, mumbling, fumbling, and getting smashed in the face is hilarious. In Minions & Monsters these little, yellow beings are at their slapsticky best as they take Hollywood by storm. Literally. They storm into it. Doing Minion-like things.
Their frenetic fits of aggressive silliness make them masters of physical comedy. They don’t feel pain but they’re afraid of it. They are battered and jolted and bonked and misshapen as they’re chased through the Golden Age of filmmaking. They’re on a quest to find their next “Big Boss,” which takes them around the world, culture to culture. But these are the Minions. Things go wrong.
Minions & Monsters is silly like the first Minion-focused movie, Minions: Rise of Gru. But there’s something more to this one. It parodies like Mel Brooks. The Minions pratfall like Buster Keaton. But they aren’t deadpanned like the iconic silent-era stuntman. They are relentlessly goofy. You need to embrace the silliness. I did. And I laughed and laughed and laughed, alongside my kids.
I wasn’t sure where this movie was going for more than half of it, and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. Even when the purpose of the movie becomes clear, it still surprises you as the story segments in two, then reconnects at the end. Minions & Monsters is one of the best movies about making movies. You see sets being built, audio recorded, shots being framed — it is an ode to early filmmaking — in what it shows and how it feels. Like Keaton or Charlie Chaplin, Minions are at their best when things go off the rails.
Minions & Monsters probably won’t be preserved by the Library of Congress. But as a lampoon of Hollywood, it stands out. The incessant absurdity and charming story make it a fantastic family movie night pick, especially if your kids are into filmmaking. It shows the kind of magic needed to coordinate a thousand moving pieces to meet the fickle expectations of studio execs who approve projects and the moviegoers whom filmmakers rely on to make their next film. Support the silliness. See this movie so we can see another Minions film take chances like in the early days of cinema.
Where to watch
Rating: PG (Me: 5+)
Director: Pierre Coffin
Starring: Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges
Run time: 1h 30m
Post-credits scenes: Several mid-credits scenes. No post-credits scene
Bathroom breaks, according to Run Pee:
- 28:50 as the news montage begins.
- 49:40 when Dort slams the bathroom door.
Sequel? Nothing announced. But, c’mon, we all know it’s 100% happening, in some form and era.
If you liked Minions & Monsters, check out these films:
- Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) (5+)
- Despicable Me (2010) (5+)
- Hugo (2011) (8+)
- Super 8 (2011) (10+)
- The Gate (1987) (10+)
See more Pint-Sized Reviews
Find this title on the Family Film Recommendations list
