Minions & Monsters (2026) Universal/Comedy-Horror RT: 90 minutes Rated PG (violence/action, language, rude/macabre humor) Director: Pierre Coffin Screenplay: Brian Lynch and Pierre Coffin Music: John Powell Release date: July 1, 2026 (US) Cast: Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr, George Lucas.
Rating: *** ½
I was once asked how I’d describe the Minions to somebody who’s never heard of them. My answer was one word: “Chaos”. That’s exactly what they are. That’s exactly what makes them so appealing.
In their latest escapade Minions & Monsters, the little yellow troublemakers find themselves in 1920s Hollywood, right around the time of the shift from silent movies to sound. Naturally, they turn the world of filmmaking topsy-turvy just by being Minions.
Pierre Coffin, the voice of all the Minions, co-directed the first three Despicable Me films. Minions & Monsters marks his first solo effort. It’s the best of the sequels. I’m probably biased in my thinking given my love of film and its history. This third entry in the prequel (i.e. pre-Despicable Me) series is like a silly, heavily cleaned-up, kid-friendly version of Babylon (no pooping elephants here, sorry). It shows an industry in transition before it unleashes the monsters promised by the title. It’s obvious what the kiddies will be more interested in.
The bad news for fans of the Minions is that Kevin, Stuart and Bob are nowhere to be found in Minions & Monsters (not until the mid-credits anyway). The good news is that the new Minions are just as fun and capable of creating mayhem. This new movie follows a different tribe of Minions who, true to their species, are always looking for a new villain to serve. They travel the world throughout history searching for the worst humanity has to offer only to kill their new masters with their comical misdeeds. But why am I telling you this? You know how the Minions operate.
The main Minions in Minions & Monsters are James, Henry and Ed. James is a non-conformist type who loves to create. He writes and illustrates stories much to the dismay of the tribe’s leader Dick who just wants him to follow the rest of the flock. Henry and Ed (a deaf Minion who communicates with sign language) are his best friends and partners in mischief.
If there’s one thing the Minions know, it’s how to make an entrance. They arrive in Tinsel Town while pursuing what they think is a bank robber. He turns out to be an actor making a western. The director of the film (Waltz, Django Unchained), in an attempt to please twin studio bosses Frank and Elwood Bright (Bridges, The Big Lebowski), hires the whole gang to be in pictures. They’re successful for a while until sound comes along and ends their careers. Might it have something to do nobody being able to understand their gibberish?
James comes up with the brilliant idea of making his own movie to be called Minions & Monsters. The only thing he needs, besides equipment, sets and a budget, is monsters. That shouldn’t be a problem seeing that Ed swiped a spellbook belonging to one of their late masters, a wizard. They use it to summon a little green monster named Goomi (Parker, South Park) who offers to help the trio find additional monsters for their movie. What are the chances he has a different agenda? I’d say about 150%!
A subplot has the rest of the Minions latching onto Dort (Eisenberg, Zombieland 1 & 2), a robot from outer space who claims to be leading an invasion of Earth. HA! He’s not invading anything. He’s a joke as well as a homage to a certain 1951 sci-fi classic. In any event, Dort is distracted from his endeavor when he meets and falls in love with Debbie (Deutch, Zombieland: Double Tap), a perky suffragette who doesn’t seem to be fazed by her new beau being made of metal.
The cool thing about Minions is that they’re for all ages not just children. Adults can have just as fun as their offspring. For one thing, the Minions’ antics are legitimately funny without being cruel or mean-spirited. They’re a just a wild bunch enjoying life which, for them, typically entails causing chaos and making a mess. For another thing, there’s plenty of humor aimed at adults. During the chaotic chase that accompanies their entrance to Hollywood, the Minions crash sets of famous movies featuring silent film comic actors like Charles Chaplin (Modern Times), Harold Lloyd (Safety Last) and Buster Keaton (Steamboat Bill Jr.). As a lifelong movie buff, I laughed the loudest at this bit. Then again, I laughed a lot at Minions & Monsters. And unlike last week’s Jackass movie, it was for the right reasons.
The collection of voice talents, which also includes Allison Janney (Finding Nemo) as a museum tour guide and Star Wars creator George Lucas as himself, assembled for Minions & Monsters is mighty impressive. Coffin is every bit as amazing as Mel Blanc in providing the unique voices of the Minions. I don’t know what it says about me that I’m starting to understand what they say. Bridges does a great job providing voices for two different characters who sound almost the same but different. Eisenberg lightens up considerably to play Dort. Deutch, soon to be on screens in the future cult comedy Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, is a wonderful and welcome presence.
The animation is colorful and bright with an energy that matches the titular beings. The artists who work on these Minions films know what they’re doing. The story is both silly and smart. It doesn’t pander to the younger set, but it doesn’t make them feel left out either. The makers strike the right balance which is harder to do than one might think. It’s not easy to make a kid’s movie that doesn’t treat them like dumb kids. There’s a difference between accessibility and dumbing down. Too many movies do the latter and not just kid’s movies either. Thankfully, Minions & Monsters isn’t guilty of that. It’s supremely silly and a total blast!
