★★★ (3 out of 4)
The Minions go Hollywood, Old Hollywood that is, in “Minions & Monsters,” a trip back in time to 1927 when gibberish speaking yellow M&Ms (there is a resemblance) decide to make their name making movies in 1927, the golden age of the silents. If you need to get your bearings for the kids, M&M (there is a resemblance) is the third installment in the “Minions” prequel series and the seventh installment overall in the “Despicable Me” franchise with Steve Carrel immortally voicing the evil Gru.
Enough homework. The Gru-less “Minions & Monsters” is a blast, a hilarious take on the early days of cinema that isn’t boring or stuffy for a minute. OK, the second half drags the slightest bit. But we’re all friends here, right? And director Pierre Coffin, who voices all the Minions with an irresistible squeak, keeps things moving as the gibbering pellets decide to make their own monster movie.
That’s the gist of the plot, nicely spun by screenwriter Brian Lynch. You won’t find this kind of thing at the Academy Museum in LA. “Minions & Monsters” is not the official story and thank the gods of animated cinema for that. The motivation is fun-fun-fun, a goal that is deliciously, dementedly achieved.
Keep your July 4th fireworks...the Minions like their explosions in laughs.
It all begins when a museum tour guide (Allison Janney) starts telling the story of Minions James and Henry. While squabbling in the desert with their friend Ed, the Minions come across a train robbery and decide to offer themselves as servants to the chief robber. These creatures love to slave away for bad guys.
But whadda ya know, the great train robbery is just a scene from a movie being directed by the tyrannical Max (voiced to the manner born by Christoph Waltz). Goaded by studio executives Frank and Elwood, both wonderfully blustered by Jeff Bridges, Max hires the Minions to be in his movies, which are hits in no time. Or at least until sound comes in. Since the Minions can’t talk, the talkies damn near finish them.
Enter Goomi, a green tentacled creature voiced by “South Park” nutjob Trey Parker, who offers to help the minions round up scary beasts to star in their own monster movie. “We are no longer evil,” says Goomi. “We work in the motion picture industry.” OK then. The Minions find a new boss in an alien robot named Dort (Jesse Eisenberg) who falls hard for women's rights activist Debbie (Zoey Deutch) but really wants nothing less than world domination.
Can the Minions save the day? You’ll have your answer and a series of monster attacks, a large orange blob called Irene, and lessons in movie history from Chaplin to “Citizen Kane” that manage to hit all the high spots from stupid to savvy. Even when “Minions & Monsters” threatens to come apart at the seams, it’ll smack a smile on your face that won’t quit. Keep your July 4th fireworks...the Minions like their explosions in laughs.