Minions (English, 2015)

The way the film opens with the Minions first voicing the 20th Century Fox theme & subsequently searching for an evil master across the ages, narrated by Geoffrey Rush in an extremely funny & tongue-in-cheek manner, will leave you in splits. Only in a movie with Minions the evilness looks cute on screen! The scenes showcasing their adventures in America until they meet Scarlett Overkill are a treat to watch.

It is evident that the plot is more of an excuse to place the minions in abnormal situations to create humorous set-pieces. The gibberish mix of languages that the Minions speak are delightful enough to bring out the child in the adult.

The film also takes admirable potshots at various happenings throughout history in politics, movies, personalities etc. The “Forget it Jake; it’s Chinatown”, reprise brought the roof down in the theatre. The fact that the movie is historically accurate is also commendable. A trivia that I came across was that when the remaining Minions make the journey to Sydney in the late 1960s, the Opera House is rightly under construction as it wasn’t complete until 1973.

Illuminations have done a good job on the animation front. The character models look very unique and distinguishable, with no model looking similar to another. The sound mixing of the film also stands out.

While the two previous movies involving the Minions, Despicable Me 1 & 2, had them only as, let’s say Comedians, here they are the protagonists. That in combination with the underdeveloped villain character of Scarlett Overkill who is unable to bring out the personality that Gru exuded effortlessly in the other two films. Of course, this is a prequel focusing on the Minions but the lack of likeable/powerful supporting characters make it underwhelming comparatively.