Minions and Monsters is the biggest surprise of the summer. Being the third Minions film and the seventh in the long-running Despicable Me franchise it would have been easy to make a film that didn’t need to try because kids would love it and it would make bank from the parents taking them and buying them toys. But Illumination and director and co-writer (and voice of all the Minions since the first film) Pierre Coffin did something bold: they tried. Not only tried but did something fresh and different from the previous films. And not just that but the results are shockingly great because Minions and Monsters might be my favorite movie about making movies since One Cut of the Dead, with a surprisingly higher kill count than that one.
Acting more as a one-off separate from the larger story of Despicable Me (I don’t know Minion lore so don’t know if this could be considered canon or not) this film follows the rise and fall of a Minion named James. Unlike the other ones who are pre-occupied with finding biggest baddest guy in the world to follow, a big boss as they say, James spends his time doodling wanting to tell stories but lacking the means to do so. When the gang find themselves in 1920s Hollywood where they quickly become silent movie stars but just a quickly fall into obscurity once talkies are invented. Undeterred James sets out to make the monster film he’s always dreamed of making.
What surprised me the most out of anything in Minions and Monsters is there’s a warm beating heart underneath it all. Sure the Minions for the most part are vehicle for non-stop sight gags devoid of any character outside the lead Minions. For example the leader only defining trait is being a grumpy jerk named Dick Richard. Which honestly is pretty funny and highlights how this movie pushes its PG rating outside the frequent gags of objects being shoved up peoples’ asses. However, there’s something endearing about James’s drive to create that feels relatable and the camaraderie he shares with his best friend (possibly secret lover) Henry and their deaf friend Ed who communicates through sign language is sweet and their scenes had me smiling.
However you don’t go to a Minions movie to feel all sentimental you come to laugh and Minions and Monsters is one of the funnier movies I’ve seen in 2026. It’s broad slapstick but the way it’s portrayed calls to mind the classic silent comedies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton (both of which get direct references here). These scenes are animated frequently with wide shots that play with blocking as well as timing and feel that will have you laughing at best and at smiling and chuckling at worst. But the comedy kicks into overdrive once Dort, played Jesse Eisenberg, arrives. Dort is, or at least claims to be, a conquerer from another planet who the Minions instantly gravitate towards. Eisenberg is clearly having a blast as he shouts his lines with a 50s sci-fi cadence and matching voice filter to boot and the visual gags they get out of the way his character moves and interacts with the world around him had me dying laughing.
It’s clear that this probably started life as a pure silent film or at least one spoken in entirely Minionese (the character’s made up gibberish language) due to how much of it plays out with visual storytelling. It feels like though a studio executive probably demanded dialogue from celebrities because tickets sales and a distrust in audiences not being able to follow something purely visual. Which results in a framing device of a film museum curator, played by an admittedly delightful Allison Janney, telling the story of the Minions that kind of zaps away the energy due to her narrating not adding much to the comedy. Or worse cutting back to her mid-movie to have banter with the museum goers in scenes that don’t really mesh with the rest of the film. But not all of the celebrity voice actors are wasted potential, like Eisenberg as mentioned before but especially with Christoph Waltz who acts like he forgot he’s in a Minion movie. He plays Max, a film director who befriends the Minions and not only is he funny but he has a tenderness to his performance that’s charming and his dialogue talking about films and encouraging James to make his own lead to some heartfelt moments.
Minions and Monsters is one of those films that should not be a good as it is but it’s a rare sequel late in a franchise that somehow surpasses all before it. I’d argue it probably makes better viewing for adults with how rich in film history it is but it might inspire kids to check out older films and learn more about their history. Even with it’s stumbles, Minions and Monsters a fun time at the movies.
4/5
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