Drew’s Review: ‘Minions & Monsters’ silly but funny homage to Hollywood

The Minions are back –those crazy, little, yellow, sometimes one-eyed, scuba-masked, hyperactive dudes who giggle constantly, speak with a silly Italian dialect and endlessly roam the earth in search of an evil boss.

“Minions and Monsters” marks their third, stand-alone feature film, following “Minions” (2015) and “Minions: The Rise of Gru” (2022). The success of their first two movies — $2 billion worldwide, combined — guaranteed their return.

Audiences love the Minions. Audiences love movie monsters. So, why not combine the two? It’s a comedy formula dating back to movies like “Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948).

“Minions & Monsters” mines a lot of movie history. The opening credits roll the Universal Studios logo back to the 1920s where we find the Minions, on their quest to find an evil master. Their attachment to a cyclops, a pirate, an Egyptian mummy and a powerful sorcerer all have disastrously funny results.

Their journey takes them to what appears to be a Wild West train robbery, which turns out to be the filming of a Hollywood movie. While their madcap, disastrous intrusion leads the movie director, Max (voiced by Christoph Waltz) to think his career is over, their antics turn out to be a big hit with the studio’s bosses, who immediately sign them to a contract.

They achieve instant stardom as the peers of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, whose famous comedy scenes are recreated and parodied. “Minions and Monsters” is a movie buff’s delight with its behind-the-scenes depiction of the early Hollywood dream factories. The comical scenes of multiple movies being simultaneously staged and shot on adjacent studio sets is reminiscent of a similar famous sequence in “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952).

Another borrowed element from “Singin’ in the Rain” involves the advent of “talking pictures” and the shattering impact it had on the silent movie industry. As with many real-life silent film stars, sound technology brought about a sudden end to the Minions short lived movie career.

Undaunted, the two central Minion characters in this film, James and Henry, come up with a big idea that could put them back on top — the creation of a monster movie. It’s a great idea, but their friend Max reminds them the story would require a monster.

Luckily, their encounter with the aforementioned sorcerer left them in possession of a secret book of magic, and, like Mickey Mouse in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (“Fantasia,” 1942), they decide to use it to unleash some dark powers and scary creatures. As with all sci-fi/horror tales, the makers of monsters soon discover their inability to control what they have created.

Such is the case with the three conniving creatures summoned to life. They trick the Minions into creating another, more ominous monster, Irene — a gigantic orange blob with hundreds of eyes (perhaps inspired by the 1955 horror flick “The Beast with a Million Eyes” and the 1958 horror classic “The Blob.”)

The classic standoff with military troops and weapons follows, but with a hilarious Minions movie spin. 

Illumination Studios has struck comedy gold with the creation of the Minions, who initially appeared in the “Despicable Me” movies. The characters are charming and cute, and their exploits tap into a mother lode of slapstick comedy dating back to the days of silent film. One funny homage sequence briefly replicates the sped-up action that made the Keystone Kops silent comedies famous.

The brilliance of The Minions is their cross cultural, worldwide appeal. Language isn’t an issue. Their brand of comedy is what made Chaplin the first international celebrity. His work transcended cultural barriers and allowed everyone to laugh, across multiple continents and generations.

Watch: Minions & Monsters | Official Trailer

“Minions & Monsters” is a movie for everyone, young and old.  It’s silly, but it’s funny.

Film buffs will enjoy it even more for its inside jokes, starting with a studio backlot tour that includes “Star Wars” director George Lucas on display in a glass case (voiced by George Lucas himself). There are nods to film pioneers such as Georges Méliès, Eadweard Muybridge and the Lumière Brothers. There’s also a funny scene showing how the Minions supposedly turned the famous Hollywoodland sign into the current one that just says Hollywood.

It’s the kind of timeless, frenetic, crazy, anarchistic comedy that made the Marx Brothers famous. Done properly, it still works.

“Minions and Monsters” is rated PG

“Minions & Monsters” is the third stand-alone Minions movie in a fan-favorite franchise, following in the footsteps of the first two films that brought in $2 billion worldwide.