MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU
***
Director: Kyle Balda. Co-directors: Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val
Screenplay: Brian Lynch and Matthew Fogel, based on characters developed by Cinco Paul
Principal cast:
Steve Carell
Pierre Coffin
Alan Arkin
Taraji P. Henson
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Michelle Yeoh
Country: USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 87 mins.
Australian release date: 23 June 2022.
The latest outing from US animation studio Illumination continues the successful Minions franchise that began in 2015 as a spin-off series from the Despicable Me films. Chris Meledandri set up the studio after leaving 20th Century Fox in 2007 and he has followed a successful ‘low-cost’ (well, kind of) model for producing animated films ever since, by outsourcing the work to other production houses. He’s done it again with this film, Minions: The Rise of Gru, which was made in Paris, as were some of the titles in its other on-going franchises, Sing and The Secret Life of Pets. It’s a formula that has paid off at the box office, with both the original Minions and 2017’s Despicable Me 3 grossing over a billion dollars each. Whether this effort will reach those lofty heights remains to be seen but I suspect not.
Minions: The Rise of Gru is an origin story of sorts. It’s set in the 1970s, when Gru is a boy aged 11¾ dreaming of becoming a “super-villain”, which has given the writers lots of opportunity to both send up that psychedelic era and celebrate its music (the movie has a terrific soundtrack put together by Grammy Award-winning producer Jack Antonoff). When Gru hears there’s an opening in the infamous Vicious 6 gang, he applies for the position and is dismayed when they dismiss him as ‘just a kid’. Insulted, he sets out to prove himself by stealing a magic Chinese amulet from them, thus setting in motion a chase across the country to San Francisco, with the minions and the Vicious 6 on his tail.
As usual, the movie features an outstanding voice cast. Steve Carrell is back as Gru and Pierre Coffin reprises his roles as the minions - all of them - with his hilarious vocalisations of multi-lingual gibberish. The gang is voiced by Alan Arkin, Taraji P. Henson, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren and Danny Trejo, and other famous names joining them are Michelle Yeoh, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews and RZA. It’s quite the ensemble. The animation style sticks with the series’ winning look and its clean, sharp lines, although it does play around a bit with Asian art when Gru, the minions and the Vicious 6 get caught up in Chinese New Year celebrations in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Little kids will get the most enjoyment out of Minions: The Rise of Gru this time. Bigger kids will raise a smile and an occasional chuckle. It’s fun, and the minions are still delightful, but the script doesn’t have the same spark as some of the earlier films in the franchise.
Screenplay: Brian Lynch and Matthew Fogel, based on characters developed by Cinco Paul
Principal cast:
Steve Carell
Pierre Coffin
Alan Arkin
Taraji P. Henson
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Michelle Yeoh
Country: USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 87 mins.
Australian release date: 23 June 2022.
The latest outing from US animation studio Illumination continues the successful Minions franchise that began in 2015 as a spin-off series from the Despicable Me films. Chris Meledandri set up the studio after leaving 20th Century Fox in 2007 and he has followed a successful ‘low-cost’ (well, kind of) model for producing animated films ever since, by outsourcing the work to other production houses. He’s done it again with this film, Minions: The Rise of Gru, which was made in Paris, as were some of the titles in its other on-going franchises, Sing and The Secret Life of Pets. It’s a formula that has paid off at the box office, with both the original Minions and 2017’s Despicable Me 3 grossing over a billion dollars each. Whether this effort will reach those lofty heights remains to be seen but I suspect not.
Minions: The Rise of Gru is an origin story of sorts. It’s set in the 1970s, when Gru is a boy aged 11¾ dreaming of becoming a “super-villain”, which has given the writers lots of opportunity to both send up that psychedelic era and celebrate its music (the movie has a terrific soundtrack put together by Grammy Award-winning producer Jack Antonoff). When Gru hears there’s an opening in the infamous Vicious 6 gang, he applies for the position and is dismayed when they dismiss him as ‘just a kid’. Insulted, he sets out to prove himself by stealing a magic Chinese amulet from them, thus setting in motion a chase across the country to San Francisco, with the minions and the Vicious 6 on his tail.
As usual, the movie features an outstanding voice cast. Steve Carrell is back as Gru and Pierre Coffin reprises his roles as the minions - all of them - with his hilarious vocalisations of multi-lingual gibberish. The gang is voiced by Alan Arkin, Taraji P. Henson, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren and Danny Trejo, and other famous names joining them are Michelle Yeoh, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews and RZA. It’s quite the ensemble. The animation style sticks with the series’ winning look and its clean, sharp lines, although it does play around a bit with Asian art when Gru, the minions and the Vicious 6 get caught up in Chinese New Year celebrations in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Little kids will get the most enjoyment out of Minions: The Rise of Gru this time. Bigger kids will raise a smile and an occasional chuckle. It’s fun, and the minions are still delightful, but the script doesn’t have the same spark as some of the earlier films in the franchise.