MOVIE REVIEW: MINIONS & MONSTERS

 

The Minions band together to save the day after unleashing monsters upon an unsuspecting world.

Director: Pierre Coffin

Cast: Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr

Release Date: July 1, 2026

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Family, Sci-Fi

Rated PG for violence/action, language and rude/macabre humor.

Runtime: 1h 29m

Review:

Minion and Monsters, the seventh film in the Despicable Me franchise, is as chaotic and funny as you expect from the hapless wide eyed yellow creatures with this entry serving as loving tribute to old Hollywood and the power of friendship.  Writer/Director/Voice of the Minions, Pierre Coffin, has a firm grasp of what makes the franchise work and has continued to fine tune the world and character along the way.  This prequel offers him an ability to have his characters recreate some legendary cinematic moments from Charlin Chaplin to Citizen Kane along with many more.  Introducing James, an artistic minion, who finds a love for filmmaking offers him an opportunity to explore so many facets of the creative process, all done in the usual Minion fashion of course, that you get the feeling that the character is semi-autobiographical in a way.  The character’s journey is filled with the kind of kinetic hijinks that have made these characters so popular but this entry does keep a solid undercurrent of the meaning of friendship via Henry, James long time, supportive best friend.  It gives this entry a bit more emotional resonance than previous entries which is a welcome surprise.  The supporting characters are voiced by Hollywood stalwarts like Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Trey Parker and Jesse Eisenberg.  Eisenberg gets a fun supporting story as Dort, an homage to Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still, that culminates in the film’s 50’s era sci-fi finale that has kaijus and flying saucers battle it out in a dizzying display of colorful mayhem that’s sure to wow the younger kids.  The film stumbles a as it works to merge the two story threads together into a cohesive whole but that doesn’t keep Minions and Monsters from being one of the more enjoyable entries in the franchise.  

B+

Cindy Prascik's Review of Despicable Me 3

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas with approximately eight million children for Despicable Me 3.

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

 

Having failed to apprehend his arch-nemesis, Gru and his Minions turn back to villainy(ish).

 

Despicable Me is a "family" franchise that usually has plenty of laughs for fans of any age, and the third installment is no different. It boasts fun, funny characters who are easy to love. You'll have seen most of Gru's best bits in DM3 trailers, but there's plenty of cuteness from Margo, Edith, and Agnes to earn the price of a ticket. Judicious use of the Minions makes their appearances both entertaining and welcome; they are, as usual, the movie's highlight. Series newcomer Trey Parker is hilarious as this outing's stuck-in-the-80s super-villain. His musical choices and pop-culture references are clearly filmmakers throwing parents a bone for bringing their darling eight-year-olds to the show, but they are totally rad! Despicable Me 3 features bright, colorful art, constant-motion animation, and lively tunes sure to keep the kidlets engaged. I had a full house for my screening, and it didn't seem anyone in the room was much in agreement with the picture's mostly middling reviews; rather, kids and grownups alike were all laughing and having a great time.

 

Despicable Me 3 runs 90 minutes and is rated PG for "action and rude humor."

 

The Despicable Me franchise may have lost some of its magic along the way, but Despicable Me 3 is still a huge step up from 2015's standalone Minions movie (for whatever that's worth!). Of a possible nine Weasleys, Despicable Me 3 gets five and a half.

 

Until next time...