The cartoon character, called Minions, is popular enough to hold two seemingly discrete animated film franchises, small capsule-shaped yellow yamalers equipped with goggles and overalls, most of which at the same time. Hyper and unfriendly. One of their numbers looks like a relatively capable DJ, but the rest of this myriad lots aren’t very skilled, especially as a Henchminion. Kids love them. Parents tolerate them as far as they can see.
Their latest outing, directed by Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val, is the “Minions Feeling of Guru”. Here, arguably the epic creatures try to help the Master Guru again. Is a kid and is a 1970s cartoon. The movie begins with a soothing Earth, Wind & Fire song that provokes nostalgia. Given the conventions of modern cinema, it’s not surprising. A gang called Vicious Six engages in Indiana Jones-style hyzink for a supernatural stone robbery. Double Cross follows: Vicious Six tries to ax a small Gru audition for their senior member Wild Knuckles (spoken by Alan Arkin) and a gangster, after being insulted by the bad guys mentioned above. Take off with a stone.
The title character has a classic toon precedent — remember TexAvery’s 1950 “The Peachy Cobbler” Maladoroito Elf, or its Bugs Bunny cartoon Gremlin? The peculiar disorder of the Minions is the strangest when they hijack an aircraft and successfully fly it to San Francisco without any clue as to what they are doing.
Throughout, the gang speaks speedy Gibberish derived from at least six recognizable European languages — perhaps a westernized variant of Stitch-speak. Michelle Yeoh lends her voice to a character who is also a kung fu master and acupuncturist. And that’s it. People are amiable and colorful in their own right, but movies are also brilliantly insignificant.
Minions: The rise of glue
Rating PG for action, violence and rude humor. Execution time: 1 hour 27 minutes. At the theater.
