Film Review – Minions & Monsters (2026)

      Minions & Monsters, 2026.

      Directed by Pierre Coffin and Patrick Delage.

      Featuring the voice talents of Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr, and George Lucas.

      SYNOPSIS:

      Set in 1920s Hollywood, this film follows the Minions as they seek out terrifying creatures for their monster movie, team up with a green being, and work to save the planet after unleashing monsters.

      Minions & Monsters introduces a clever creative approach to rejuvenate a worn-out gimmick. The slapstick mischief of the cheeky Minions has always appeared partly inspired by the comedic stunt performances of legendary figures like Buster Keaton (with one scene featuring a house crashing down on a Minion in homage) and Charlie Chaplin, making it a natural fit for director Pierre Coffin (who continues to voice all the Minions) to place them in the Golden Age of Hollywood. These movies are largely immune to criticism and are bound to generate over a billion dollars, and it could be argued that the filmmakers could have easily opted for a financially safer choice, so it is a refreshing change that Coffin (co-directing with Patrick Delage and writing the screenplay with Brian Lynch) chooses to weave these yellow characters into a love letter to Hollywood that also provides a gateway for children and others to develop an appreciation for that era.

      Typically, when nostalgia and Easter Eggs are prevalent in cinema, it often aims to appease fans under the guise of corporate obligation to ensure a film's financial success. However, Minions & Monsters opens with a rewind of the Universal Pictures logo, taking us back to when it was known as The Trans-Atlantic Film Company, and begins with a scene featuring The Horse in Motion, the earliest example of photography resembling a film. From there, it becomes an adventure with the Minions in Hollywood, eagerly referencing anything possible, from classic monsters to Humphrey Bogart, Westerns, Citizen Kane, and even a plot point that feels reminiscent of the more cynical and vulgar Babylon, with the beloved Minions struggling to adapt to the shift from silent films to talkies.

      The film offers a stronger narrative (more so than the first two installments, contributing significantly to its effectiveness alongside its genuine heart) featuring a modern-day Hollywood museum tour guide (voiced by Allison Janney) who teaches kids about E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Matrix, George Lucas (who voices himself while encased in glass), and more, eventually encountering a pair of Minions named James and Henry, who share a sweet friendship and a story worth telling. Its early segments align with what we already know about the Minions, who have perpetually existed seeking out evildoers to serve, this time coming across a cyclops, a wizard, a mummy, a Viking, and others that they inadvertently eliminate in slapstick fashion.

      Their chaotic, tumultuous journey leads them to Hollywood, where they disrupt the filming of an intense train robbery scene, throwing its director Max (voiced by Christoph Waltz) into a state of neurotic panic, until studio executives, the Bright Brothers (voiced by Jeff Bridges), express that they find these yellow troublemakers utterly hilarious and captivating. As previously noted, good things don’t last forever, and the Minions soon find themselves sidelined in a changing filmmaking landscape, but not before a montage celebrating a myriad of genres from silent films, leaving James and Henry with a dream to create “the best movie ever,” Minions & Monsters.

      This is where the film somewhat falters, slipping into a more familiar animated feature/Minions narrative, as they break out an ancient spellbook to summon Cthulhu as their monstrous antagonist. Instead, they end up conjuring a small blob named Goomi (voiced by Trey Parker, who portrays a different character in the franchise this time, sounding like a blend of various South Park characters with strong echoes of Cartman) who doesn’t quite fit the role of their movie's monster but can assist in finding other appropriate ones, all while being joined by sidekicks Philips and Howard (voiced by Bobby Moynihan and Phil LaMarr).

      As James and Henry (joined by Ed as their cinematographer) strive to realize their dream, the other Minions hunt for another villain to serve, encountering the robot Dort (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg as a character reminiscent of Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still), who proves to be ineffective at being evil despite his fervent desire to turn to the dark side. Amusingly, he befriends a suffragette (voiced by Zoey Deutch) in a bizarre, random subplot that oddly works due to its unpredictability. Nonetheless, much of it constitutes filler until the Minions face