Many movies make you cry, many movies make you scared, but this movie makes you laugh a lot. The movie I’m talking about is the 2015 animated movie called Minions. This movie showcases the hilarious yellow pill shaped creatures from the Despicable Me series in their own movie. Many laughs and many surprisingly heartfelt moments exist in this bombastic animated comedy. This story explains many questions about the Minions, such as where they got their trademark overalls and how those little guys even got to the Despicable Me villainous protagonist Felonius Gru.
The leading aspect of this film is the humor which shows. My favorite joke would have to be the montage of historical leaders and prehistoric creatures that the Minions have served and then killed, with my favorite of those being a scene where the Minions cause a dinosaur to fall into a volcano. A hilarious feature in the joke is when the Minion that caused the final push (on accident) into a volcano gets punched. Despite the surprising amount of death, Illumination keeps the movie light hearted and funny.
The animation is not very complex, artistic, and fancy like in Pixar movies or in Spider Verse, but is still fun to view. Every character is expressive and can pass any silhouette test, well except for the minions themselves. There are no boring characters in this film and even Queen Elizabeth (yes she is in this movie) is hilarious and expressive in her character. I do have to gripe about the pacing with at times the pacing feeling like it is way too fast, especially at the start, and the pacing felt way too slow at the end, creating an asymmetrical viewing experience. The plot can also be criticized as there is one story going on at all times, which is at first finding a new boss and then saving themselves from the villain (who will not be mentioned due to spoilers) which makes the movie feel shallow and having a lack of true meaning.
Compared to many films with deep plots and messages this movie does not stand out, however if you are looking for a laugh and characters that you can surprisingly care about it. This movie has its problems, but it has numerous pros. I would rate this film 4 stars out of 5. The recommended audience for this movie would be children (not preschoolers as there are a couple surprisingly lewd jokes) and adults who are looking to laugh harder than their child while viewing a film meant for them.
