by Jason Mack, Contributing Writer
The Minions are like pineapple on pizza: you either love them or hate them. There is no middle ground.
I’m firmly in the camps of loving both the Minions and pineapple on pizza. I have an odd hunch that most people either love both or hate both, and I’d love to see a poll and the resulting Venn diagrams to test that theory.
If you are amused by the antics of the Minions, you’ll have a good time with Minions: The Rise of Gru. If you aren’t, nothing elevates this movie enough to change anyone’s mind.
The Minion movies utilize mostly base-level humor to get their laughs, so I get why they aren’t for everyone. I also typically don’t enjoy when animated movies load up on fart jokes and violence for their humor. For some reason, with the Minions, it works for me. Maybe it’s the heart and joyous nature they possess beyond their sophomoric humor. Maybe it’s just that they are cute. Maybe it’s the nonsense language that adds a different feel.
I will give the creators credit for always going the extra mile to layer in loads of background jokes and details. Simple additions can make a big difference, like in this movie when one Minion gets set ablaze during a construction scene, and moments later, during a meeting, you can spot him among the crowd with his head still smoldering.
My wife and I laughed consistently throughout Minions: The Rise of Gru. It knows what works with the Minions and leans heavily into it. Based on the family next to us, I can also attest to the movie’s impact on young children. They were distracted throughout the trailers and playing on tablets, but they were laser focused for the full 90 minutes once the movie started.
While the Minions are dependent on finding a villain to serve, for the movie, it’s the other way around. Without the children from the Despicable Me franchise existing in the prequel, the human characters are of little interest, and serve simply as plot devices to get us to the next round of Minion antics.
The young Gru has a couple funny jokes, but is mostly one-dimensional. I would have enjoyed a movie subtitled, The Rise of Gru giving some insight into his motivations for wanting to be evil. Instead, you get a straightforward story with little depth. When he is mocked for his youth in an audition with the Vicious 6, he steals a powerful amulet from them. The rest of the way is Gru on the run from various villains while the Minions attempt to rescue him.
The only non-Minion development with any weight is the relationship between Gru and supervillain Wild Knuckles. Gru is desperate for a mentor to look up to, and Wild Knuckles feels abandoned and forgotten. It is a touching bond that develops between them, but it is rushed and underdeveloped.
Alan Arkin is one of few noteworthy vocal performances as Wild Knuckles. He brings a gravitas to the character and makes you feel his loneliness and desire to be taken seriously as he comes to terms with being past his prime. Steve Carell is fine as Gru, but isn’t asked to do too much. Michelle Yeoh also isn’t given much to do, but is solid as Master Chow, who trains three of the Minions in martial arts. Pierre Coffin is amusing as always as the voice of the Minions, and the rest of the characters are too inconsequential to have an impact.
The backdrop of the 1970s is mostly wasted. There’s an amusing scene early with several Minions dressed in ‘70s attire, the lead villain Belle Bottom is obviously a product of the era, and the headquarters of the Vicious 6 are located below a record store. Beyond that, you wouldn’t have much of an idea when this is taking place. A little more era-specific references and humor would have added to the atmosphere.
Minions: The Rise of Gru is unfortunately not immune to the tropes of prequel movies overindulging in showcasing the origins of future content. Sometimes they work, like the introduction of Dr. Nefario, or when Gru is told to “shoot for the moon.” Other references feel forced, like Gru’s use of a cheese ray instead of a freeze ray.
A better prequel could be around the corner if they decide to do another movie following Gru’s budding relationship with Dr. Nefario as he grows into a young adult and embarks on true villainy. There isn’t much room for character growth there, but the story would at least have more places to go than in Minions: The Rise of Gru. Another idea could be a Despicable Me sequel with one of the daughters secretly becoming a superhero and Gru finding out and coming to terms with her choosing a different path.
The story alone wasn’t nearly enough to drive Minions: The Rise of Gru. There has been a clear pattern of diminishing returns since the original Despicable Me. They aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but the antics of the Minions alone is enough for you to have a good time.
Score: 6/10
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