Few things become an instant hit like the banana loving Minions from Despicable Me and their own movie seemed, inevitable. Since Despicable Me 2, I saw that a story centred around the minions could work. Though the question remained that whether they could lead a movie on their own. The film-makers have served up a clever premise here where the minions existed for thousands of years and their only purpose, to serve the most despicable being alive. Could it actually work?
The story mainly follows our three leading minion characters Kevin Stuart and Bob, who try to find a new master to serve because the Minion family is getting bored without a master. So they find themselves in the 1960's and into service for Scarlett Overkill (Sandra Bullock), the first female villain-star and an assigment to steal Queen Elizabeth's crown. Though things don't go as planned which pits Scarlett and the Minions against each other. Let the hilarity ensue...
Firstly I must address the significant increase in the quality of animation, the Minions have never looked better, the amount of eye-candy is very impressive (and that is me after watching Inside out) which is supported with a nice colour palette which does illustrate the vibrancy of the 60's. The animation power here does not disappoint and executes itself with style.
The humour with the Minions has never been subtle, or even that clever since it relies heavily on physical humour and the weird yet enjoyable language that they have. I never had a problem with this style of comedy when done right, and it always was done right in the case of the minions. However I do understand situations where you might feel that the jokes feel too much of the same thing, because they do work best as a side-gag. But there are some jokes which are genuinely good such as the opening montage (narrated amusingly by Geoffrey Rush) and the Football game. But if you happen to be a kid, you will laugh your heart out and be immune to all such issues as I was assured by the kids in the theatre.
One thing I really liked in the story is that they really played off on the innocence of the Minions and never for once were they actually 'bad guys' and it was just sometimes they lost track of things or they were just plain clumsy and their actions made them perceive as bad even though their intentions were good-natured right till the end. I also like that it added to how close knit this group is and how much they care for each other.
The minions Kevin, Stuart and Bob are very well written which makes each of the three distinct personalities where Kevin the optimistic leader, Bob is over-enthusiastic and adorable and lastly Stuart is more of a ukulele playing guy who just wants to be famous. By the way, all voiced to great enjoyment by Co-director Pierre Coffin. Scarlett Overkill voiced by Sandra Bullock also makes a nice foil to the minions and has a motivation that actually made sense for her character. The film also has other voice talents such as Jon Hamm as Scarlett's Husband/inventor Herb (really good voice acting and a different role for him). Micheal Keaton as Peter Nelson, the husband of a villain family (and hitching the minions a ride), among others.
So to answer the question did it work? could the minions hold up themselves, and...yeah I think they did because I felt more enjoyment just seeing minions bored out of their minds in a cave rather than the humans. The main minion characters were also great with individual personalities. The animation and setting were superb. And also the soundtrack by Hector Pereira had a very 60's Beatles/Hendrix-y rock vibe with also your normal orchestrations. Furthermore, The third act of this movie is some of the best minion action/comedy there is. Its just a solid movie that delivers what it sets out to deliver, nothing more nothing less.
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