BANANA!! Minions is the origin of, well, the Minions from the Despicable Me franchise. Minions Kevin, Stuart and Bob are on the hunt for a new boss to follow. The journey takes them from the Artic, to New York, to Orlando and finally to England. This is almost like getting an origin story of the Ewoks from the Return of the Jedi, except the Minions are awesome and full of love and sarcasm and the Ewoks are not. While I loved this movie and laughed and smiled a lot, there were a few drawbacks. So let's start off with what works -"“ the voices.
Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm are almost unrecognizable as the villainous married couple Scarlett and Herb Overkill. They bring a cool, hipster (not that kind of hipster) vibe to 1968 New York. The couple has stolen everything except the last piece de la résistance "“- the Queen's royal crown. I don't want to give too much away because there are some very funny interactions that I don't want to spoil. Michael Keaton and Allison Janney are fantastic actors and fantastic voice actors, but sadly their roles are minimized in order to fit in the rest of the Minion storyline. I will tell you this much; I never get tired of hearing or seeing the Minions. You have to pay attention to get the subtext, and that is one of the big problems that I will get to in a bit. Bedoo Bedoo.
The Minions are basically immortal, having been around for millions of years, and they are always searching for the biggest and baddest boss to serve, which takes them to Villain Con in Orlando, which was a hilarious spoof on the San Diego Comic Con, from the booths to the "stars" all the way to the fans looking for their autographs. The writing and subtext to the characters is fantastic. Love the subtext to the Minions. The sarcasm is there in full force, and the small nods to a variety of pop culture were great. You have to pay very close attention to understand what Kevin, Stuart and Bob are saying. This is where one of the main faults to the movie comes into play.
The kids in the theaters loved it because it has funny sounds and colorful shapes moving around. The only problem is that they are not getting the subtext to the film, not only that, but for the older kids and "kids" you can't just zone out with this kind of film. It is not a film that you can throw on and do stuff around the house. You have to actually pay very close attention to get what's going on around them. The other slight draw back is that there are a few scenes that seem to drag on a bit too long every once and awhile. Still, even as they drag on I still felt myself smiling at the same time.
Go see this movie if you have kids, if you loved the Despicable Me movies or if you just like a good laugh. Parents! Listen to me, the kids sat still for the 91 minutes.. Even the adults who were covering it in the press section were laughing and smiling along with it. I will say thing, if you are on the fence about it, then wait until DVD or until it's on television.
