For the 4th, I celebrated the only proper way: by seeing Minions and Monsters in 3D! Below is my review.
In Minions and Monsters, James (a minion) loves to tell stories. When he and his fellow Minions land in Hollywood, they fall in love with the art of making movies. James finds his calling in filmmaking, and dreams of winning an Oscar one day. It isn’t long before the Minions become stars of the silent film era. When Hollywood makes the transition to Talkies, the Minions are cast out due to their inability to speak English.
Dick, the harsh and abrasive leader of the Minions, takes most of them on a quest to find their next villainous boss. James and his friends, the loyal Henry and the hard of hearing Ed (who speaks in his own form of sign language), stay behind to dream up a monster movie in the hopes that might be their way back into Hollywood. When James, Henry, and Ed summon Goomi (Trey Parker), a pint-sized Cthulu-esque monster, the tiny terror promises to help them free his monster friends so James can make his big movie. Unfortunately, Goomi is nicknamed “The Deceiver” for good reason. He plans to trick our trio of Minions into summoning a Blob-esque monstrosity named Irene, who is also known as The Eater of Worlds.
An unabashed love letter to film, the history of film, silent films, sci-fi pictures, and monster movies. Minions and Monsters is chock full of references to classic movies (such as The Muybridge Experiment, From the Earth to the Moon, Modern Times, E.T., Citizen Kane, The Great Train Robbery, The Matrix, Safety Last!, and more), and famous actors and directors (including George Lucas, Charlie Chaplain, and Buster Keaton, just to name a few). It even opens with the very first logo for Universal Studios (which I had never seen before).
Pierre Coffin voices all of the Minions, co-pens the screenplay with Brian Lynch, and directs. He does an excellent job at each. You can feel the passion and love for the film he is making as well as film itself in every frame. The voice cast is surprisingly stacked. Allison Janey voices the narrator (named Olivia), Jesse Eisenberg voices Dort (The Minion’s latest ‘Big Boss’), Jeff Bridges voices Frank and Elwood Bright (Owners of the movie studio the Minions were employed at), Trey Parker voices Goomi (and sounds very much like Cartman throughout), Christoph Waltz voices Max (The director for many of the films the Minions star in, he kindly takes James under his wing and encourages him to follow his passion), and George Lucas voices himself (in a cameo).
Minions and Monsters is the best an Illumination film has ever looked, thanks to the work of art director Charlotte Hutchinson. The scenes of old Hollywood are sumptuous and the entire movie has a borderline French look to it. Simply put, it looks consistently beautiful and gorgeous. The 3-D doesn’t add much to the proceedings, but Minions and Monsters still looks colorful and pretty in this format, meaning you won’t waste your hard earned dollar should you opt for the extra dimension. The score by John Powell is beautiful as well, with plenty of homages to classic Hollywood scores and songs (like ‘Hooray for Hollywood’ or the ‘Casablanca’ theme). The score is also Illumination’s best.
The only real complaint is that the second act drags a bit. Dick and the minions follow Dort around (who strikes up a very cute relationship with Suffragette Debbie, voiced by Zoey Deutch). Meanwhile, Goomi takes James, Henry, and Ed to a far off island where two of his monster pals are frozen. These portions aren’t unwatchable, but they don’t captivate like what came before and what comes after. You shouldn’t feel the length of a ninety minute movie, but you start to during these parts.
Cinephiles should find much to delight in here, but this is more than just a film about film. There is a strong undercurrent involving friendship, following your dreams, and how there is nothing you can’t do if you dedicate yourself to a purpose and have good friends to support you. There is plenty of the zaniness/silliness you have come to expect from those chaotic little bastards known as the Minions, but this third outing in the Minions franchise surprises with its charm, sweetness, and earnestness. It’s easy to become invested in the friendship between James and Henry, and it’s this friendship that, unexpectedly, is the beating heart of the movie.
Minions and Monsters is a totally winsome film. It’s very possible this little beauty will not only get kids to fall in love with film, it very well might inspire a whole new generation to try their hands at filmmaking. The visual gags land more than they miss, the humor and chaos is strong, and this one can hit you lightly in the feels with it’s themes about friendship and following your dreams no matter what. Minions and Monsters celebrates both the big names and the underdogs of film. There is plenty here for both adults, kids, and film obsessives to love and enjoy, making Minions and Monsters the rare superb Illumination film.
4.5 STARS