The Minions finally return to the big screen, in this fast-paced action-comedy for all ages.
It’s the 1970s and the Minions are now working for an 11-year-old Gru. Gru is a fanboy of a team of supervillains known as the Vicious 6, which Gru hopes to join. When he has an interview with Vicious 6, he is rejected by them for his age. He decides to take a precious stone but this just puts Gru hit on their hit list. Now on the run, he turns to the former leader of the Vicious 6, Wild Knuckles, for guidance.
The movie was a long time coming! It was announced back in 2019 and it was supposed to be released in 2022. Due to COVID conditions, most theaters shut their doors. In 2021 people still weren’t 100% comfortable going back to the theaters, so Universal Pictures decided to wait. Universal did release a lot of other animated films to home instead of the big screen. Seeing the popularity of the Despicable Me franchise, it made sense to wait until a theater release. It was worth it.
Steve Carell reprises his roll as Gru. This time around, it’s a much younger version of Gru, but Carell does a great job making his voice a little higher to simulate the age. Works perfectly.
Though Gru is one of the focuses of this film, the other is on the Minions. Once again the spotlight is on Kevin, Stewart, and Bob, and they are joined by Otto. As always Pierre Coffin does an incredible job of the voice of all the Minions, Coffin really gives each Minion their own personality.
These two are backed up by a great supporting cast: Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, Alan Arkin, Russell Brand, RZA, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, Russell Brand, and Julie Andrews. They all just really add to the story.
What I find amazing is when you look back at the first Despicable Me film, how the animation has improved. Not by leaps and bounds, but it’s more subtle. It’s really in the facial expressions where you really see it.
The film encapsulates the 70s. There are so many references to the 1970s, you’ll be explaining them to your children for days. But don’t work there is still enough kid stuff in this film to make them happy.
With a run time of about 86 minutes, this film moves from start to finish. It’s all at a good pace and doesn’t drag, but it does know when to slow it down a little.
I highly recommend this film. How can anyone not be a fan of the Minions?
Minions: The Rise of Gru opens everywhere on Friday, July 1st.
Dan Kleiner 
Newsdesk