A heavy dose of light-hearted fun

Minions
English (U) ¬¬¬
Director: Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin
Voiced by: Sandra Bullock, John Hamm, Michael Keaton, Pierre Coffin

Pierre Coffin seems to have really broad shoulders, having carried the Despicable Me franchise through his directing as well as voice skills. Minions seems to be the ultimate combination of this, where the eponymous creatures search for the ultimate bad guy to serve, in a prequel replete with laugh-out-loud moments that ride mostly on Coffin’s vocal prowess.

That he is co-directing the film with Kyle Balda – the man behind Lorax – does not diminish any of his achievements. However, it does raise the question: What where these two focusing so much on? Sure, the animation is top notch, but where's the story, the plot, the inevitability that leads to an edge-of-the-seat climax?

Then again, this one was probably meant for the kiddies, to whom the minions Kevin (the tall one), Stewart (the one-eyed musician) and Stewart (the childish one with different-coloured pupils) are a constant source of giggle-inducing antics. But what about the kiddies hidden inside adults that would love to indulge their goofier, more innocent sides once again?

Sandra Bullock is never too menacing as the chief antagonist, while nobody else has their characters developed beyond a point. The story has little by way of substance, the humour – barring a precious few moments – is too visual, literal and childish, and the situations are quite contrived.

So what holds Minions up? The short answer: The minions themselves. The long answer is not too different either! The troika of Kevin, Bob and Stewart is quite entertaining to watch – an unpredictable mix of bungling tomfoolery and playful wit. Their antics manage to cover up for a lot of shortcomings, but fall short of making Minions a true joy to watch.

Take your kids to this one for some rollicking, rib-tickling fun. But don’t expect to do much of the laughing yourself.