July 7 2026- To my surprise, one of the most unique films of the summer just so happens to be a continuation of the “Minions” franchise, which I absolutely loved. Illumination’s “Minions and Monsters” takes the Minions (first seen in 2010’s Despicable Me) and sets them within 1920s Hollywood. This movie is by far the best Minions project since Despicable Me 2 and serves as a breath of fresh air that this franchise most desperately needs.
The Story
In a surprising twist, this film focuses on a different tribe of minions than the ones we are used to (still voiced by franchise favorite and the film’s director, Pierre Coffin).
As they search for the next villain to serve, James keeps getting them into trouble, to the dismay of Dick, the tribe of minions’s leader. Through a strange twist of fate, they all end up in Los Angeles at the height of the silent film boom, and because of this, James wants to make his own movie (appropriately called Minions and Monsters- more on that later).
The only problem is, he does not have any monsters for his monster movie. That’s when he and his only friends in the Minion Tribe (Henry and Ed) summon Goomi (Trey Parker), a small Cthulu-Like creature who is more than willing to help. Or so they think, as Goomi works with the monsters that he tricked our heroes into summoning to bring about a larger threat (a blob creature named Irene). It’s now up to James, Henry, and Ed, along with the rest of the minion tribe who had been off working for the robotic Dort (Jesse Eisenberg), to save Hollywood and the world.
While I absolutely love the film, I have one main issue with its narrative structure.
At the end of the film, it is revealed that the entire plot up to that point was a story within a story, and that the Minions were retelling the “true story” of what had happened in the film, as they were just actors recounting these events. This creates an interesting plot hole in the conversation about where this film fits within the timeline of the rest of the Despicable Me franchise.
During the film’s end credits sequences, which create a major plot hole in the context of the rest of the Despicable Me franchise. Once the film ends, the spellbook that causes the film’s chaos somehow ends up in the hands of franchise favorites Kevin, Stua, rt, and Bob (with cameos by both the younger and older Gru and Agnes). This makes me wonder, how exactly did Henry, James, Ed, and the rest of the minions that we have been following over the course of “Minions and Monsters” eventually meet up with the cast of Minions, whom we were following up to this point in the Minions releases “Minions” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru”
The Voice Acting
One of the things that drew me to the film was its voice cast, most notably the film’s main antagonist, Goomi, being voiced by South Park and The Book of Mormon co-creator Trey Parker. Going in, I wasn’t sure how similar his voice would sound to Cartman’s from South Park, but Parker provides a perfectly cartoonish evil villain who deceives the main trio of Minions into helping him nearly destroy the world.
Two other characters that stood out to me throughout Minions and Monsters were the robot Dort and newcomer minion Ed.
In a nod to 1951’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, the film’s B-Plot features Dort, a goofy robot (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) who wants to take over and enslave humanity. Because the Minion’s main purpose throughout the entire franchise is to serve the biggest and meanest bosses available, Dort seems like a perfect boss for the Minion tribe at the center of the film after being fired from the film industry. However, Dort becomes smitten with Debbie (voiced by Zoey Deutsch), a suffragette who convinces Dort and The Minions to call off the invasion long enough for the minions who left Henry, James, and Ed to rejoin them in time for the climactic battle against Irene.
A Love Letter to Film
Fitting enough for a film set mostly in Hollywood, the film references cinema history throughout its runtime. The references include, but aren’t limited to, how the character Irene (summoned by Goomi in the film’s third act) moves like The Blob in 1951’s “The Blob,” as well as more direct callbacks to iconic gags from films like Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” and Buster Keaton’s “Steamboat Bill Jr”.
However, my two favorites are among the most hidden in the film’s opening scene. In this scene, George Lucas has a two-second cameo, and there are small references littered throughout the scene to Universal classics ranging from “ET: The Extra-Terrestrial” to “Jaws” and “Back to the Future Part II.”
The Score
Noted film composer John Powell is involved with Minions and Monsters, having worked on other recent Universal projects, including the live-action adaptation of “How To Train Your Dragon” and both “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good.” He imbues the film with aoth old Hollywood cinematic glamour and the chaos the franchise is known for. This is notably shown early on in the film when they go from jazzy music over a retro version of the Universal logo and the Minions interacting with classic silent films like “A Trip to the Moon” to a Minionese version of the sea shanty “Blow the man down” because… sure, why not.
Conclusion
“Minions and Monsters” combines the franchise’s usual cinematic mayhem with a reverence for film history, making it stand out from the rest of the increasingly generic franchise. By doing so, it provides both a comedic adventure for younger audiences and a fun-filled Easter egg hunt for classic cinema fans. However, the film could use a bit more work to explain how it fits within the “Despicable Me” franchise.
