Quick Review: Minions & Monsters (2026)

I’ll be honest. For a long time, I did not like the minions. While I liked the first and second Despicable Me movies, The minions were something that were appearing everywhere and it just got to a point where I got sick of them. For a long time, I did not like these little guys. However over this past year something changed. Maybe it’s because my group of friends bring references to them all the time, but I finally came around to liking these guys. I watched the first two minions movies the last couple weeks and while definitely far from perfect, I enjoyed them much more than I ever thought I would. Maybe it’s because of age, but hey these little guys are actually cool in my book now. So when this new minion movie was announced, I remained skeptical, but intrigued since it would be paying homage to old Hollywood. After watching it, Minions & Monsters is easily the best minion movie and honestly a really nice tribute to old Hollywood which I can’t believe I’m saying for a minion movie.

I really loved the story much more than I thought I would in Minions & Monsters. This feels the most focused of the minion movies in presenting a coherent story. We see how the minions make their way in Hollywood and how they become stars in the process. As the film goes on it delves into two plot lines which involves the trio of James, Henry, and Ed making a movie together and the other is the rest of the minions trying to help a robot Dort in his conquest to take over Earth until he falls in love with a woman named Debbie. I really loved the plot with the trio. It feels the most focused and the trio we follow is likable. I wasn’t sure how to feel about the other side plot, but towards the end, I felt like I was won over with how it decides to conclude. The story of the movie really surprised me with how much I enjoyed it.

I was slightly disappointed when I heard the trio of Kevin, Bob, and Stuart weren’t going to be in this film. They essentially become the faces of the series and I wondered how they would carry on without them. Luckily the new trio of James, Henry, and Ed are really fun to watch on screen. I think James might be my new favorite minion because he just like me fr fr (I also like making da movies). In all seriousness though, he has an interesting arc in this movie of someone wanting to create art which I found heartwarming. Then you have Henry who wants James to succeed which I found sweet. Then there’s Ed who communicates in sign language and I would honestly fight anyone to protect Ed because he rocks. It’s funny for a character design that’s pretty simple, they do a great job distinguishing minions from one another and they stand out on their own.. You have other characters in the film as well that are fun to watch. I found Goomi especially fun considering he’s voiced by Trey Parker of South Park. The film overall has a lot of fun characters that I enjoyed watching.

In terms of animation, this is some of the best that an Illumination film has looked. The minions have always had a very simple design to them, but they do look really good here. Everything around them looks amazing and these films have come a long way compared to what the first Despicable Me looked like. The action set pieces in the film are fun and you can tell the animators have fun making these set pieces. There’s a lot going on in them that maybe some stuff doesn’t work all the time, but it is entertaining to watch.

I think what I really loved from this movie though is its tribute to old Hollywood and filmmaking. Right as this movie begins, it starts off with references of the Lumiere brothers and Georges Melies and I knew at that point it was going to be a good time. Sure there’s a lot of references that are really on the nose, but you can tell Pierre Coffin has a passion for this era of filmmaking and using the minions as a way to tell it is kinda heartwarming. Seeing references of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd in out of all things a Minions movie is wild. I think it’s even funny as it gets to talk about the commentary of moving from the silent era to the talkies which I found amusing. Not only that, but using a kids movie as a way to educate people on this era of Hollywood is smart and maybe paves the way for kids to be find out more of this era. We’re so used to this happening in more adult films that it’s nice to see in a kids movie. I don’t know guys. This movie definitely isn’t a masterpiece, but I really loved a lot that this film was doing. It just feels like it has a lot of heart that sometimes feels missing from these movies. Rather than just being mindless, it’s mindless at times, but also educational in old Hollywood. Just give me more minions movies that can educational in the topics they cover. I think that would be fascinating.

Minions & Monsters is the best minions movie and a really fun homage to old Hollywood. It surprised me in a way that I didn’t think would happen in an Illumination movie. It’s no masterpiece or anything, but it does a lot right that made me appreciate it that much more. Congratulations Minions, you won me over.