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Saturday, April 27, 2024
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HOLLYWOOD MINIONS
EDITOR'S PICK
'Minions'
- Great family entertainer (IANS Review)
Rating:
***1/2
Minions, who?
For the uninitiated, they are those 'tiny, yellow-pill shaped, jabbering
creatures', who first made their appearance as the innocuously helpful
henchmen to the dastardly, yet well meaning villain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell)
in the 'Despicable Me' franchise, which was released in 2010 and 2013
respectively.
This film is the prequel to 'Despicable Me'. It is dedicated solely to
the Minions, they literally take centrestage. The plot reveals their journey,
right from prehistoric times, till how they find Gru.
With the song whose lyrics are, 'So happy to be together' as the
backdrop, the narration rolls off with a voiceover of Geoffrey Rush explaining
the Minions' tortured history and their affinity to serve wicked masters. This
includes the dinosaurs and pre-historic man. Then over a period of time, the
narration continues to tell us about how the Minions served the Egyptians,
Dracula and other historic characters. And after an unfortunate incident with
Napoleon, they are banished to Antarctica where they lead an uneventful life for
centuries.
Now without a master, the Minions fall into a deep depression. Finally, sometime
around 1968, Kevin, their leader decides to go in search of a new evil boss. So
he sets out on a journey taking along with him, the 'not strong
enough' childlike Bob and the one-eyed, guitar strumming Stuart, 'who
is not too sure why he was chosen'.
And while they head to Orlando, their journey is eventful. They are helped by a
bad family headed by Walter (Michael Keaton) and Madge Nelson (Allison Janney),
who are heading to the Villain Convention in New York City.
At the convention, Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), the first ever woman
villain and the equally roguish Herb (Jon Hamm) are looking out for henchmen to
be a part of their team. To qualify, the henchmen are subjected to a challenge.
Our trio Minions, Kevin, Bob and Stuart accept the challenge and are soon
initiated into Scarlet's group to execute her plan of stealing Queen Elizabeth's
crown. This forms the major part of the narrative.
Packed with ample period and fantasy gags strewn at regular intervals, the
script by Brian Lynch is fast paced and energetic, there is never a dull moment.
Every sequence is well thought of and appropriately slotted.
The voices of the star cast are equally vigorous and dynamic. They bring every
character to life and the dialogues in English and gibberish Spanish add to the
humour quotient.
On the visual front, the locales are photo-realistic and the animations along
with the 3D effects are appealing.
The soundtrack, filled with songs of the 1960s, includes several Beatles works
and those of The Rolling Stones, The Turtles, The Doors and Donovan's - Mellow
Yellow, which mesh well with the narrative. They enhance the viewing experience.
Overall, directors Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, have ensured that Minions have
all the elements and star power to be a great family entertainer.
