MINIONS

– Film Review –

– By Cate Marquis –

“Minions” spins off the little yellow henchmen of “Despicable Me” into their own movie. The animated comedy has plenty of comic gags as the accident- and goofiness-prone little guys search for a “boss” to serve, although perhaps not enough plot to sustain it all the way through.

Starting with the prototype Minions in the primordial soup at the dawn of time, the film follows their search for a “boss” to lead them in evil, going through a shark, a T. rex and various others before ending up with Napoleon in Russia. When that does not go well, the general abandons the Minions in the frozen steppe, where they hide out waiting for a new boss. Eventually, they send three intrepid travelers out to search for a new boss – man, er minion, with a plan Kevin, musician Stuart and little Bob (all voiced by Pierre Coffin, who speaks “Minionese,” a mix of languages and nonsense words).

The trio lands in New York City in 1968, which gives the filmmakers an excuse for plenty of ’60s music, one of the film’s best assets. Eventually they end up in London, trying to steal the Queen’s crown for a devil in a red dress named Scarlet (voiced by Sandra Bullock) and her hipster inventor husband Herb (Jon Hamm). Other characters are voiced by Michael Keaton, Allison Janney and Steve Coogan, while Geoffrey Rush narrates.

One of the most fun parts of this movie may be the way the Queen (voiced by Jennifer Saunders) is portrayed, a sassy gal who is not giving up her crown easily. A scene with the crown-less Queen hanging out in a pub was hilarious, as are the animated corgis. Jon Hamm is funny as loopy Herb but Bullock’s character is too often reduced to just raging.

There are plenty of site gags, and one using the fact that the Minions speak in nonsense, but the complicated crown-theft plot sometimes drags, despite plentiful chases and spills. When the Minions finally encounter the young Gru (Steve Carell), the film gets a lift near its end, making one wish they had spent a bit more time on that storyline.

“Minions” is funny enough but not nearly as good as “Despicable Me.” The Minions real do need to have a boss to do their best work.

© Cate Marquis