In Defense of Minions (2015): My Journey as its Strongest Soldier
December 1, 2023 • Written by Sophia Dedek
Do you know how hard it is being the target audience of the Minions movie when nobody believes you?
People are so quick to harp on the film because “Oh, those freaks are just little yellow annoyances meant for kids!” And while yes, I must admit those little yellow freaks can be annoying, there is so much more to their 2015 spinoff prequel and I need everyone to understand this. For a bit of context: I have an insanely unnecessary wealth of knowledge of pop culture from the late 60s. And thankfully for me, that’s basically this whole movie. Kids would never understand the references, and I don’t think most parents would have cared. But ME, however? I’m right in that sweet sweet third category: extremely obsessive art students. The first time I watched it, I was blown away by how not bad it was, compared to the things I had heard about it.
The film follows the three main minion characters, Kevin, Bob, and Stuart as they traverse the world in search of their new boss. See, the minions serve whoever the most evil person is on earth at any given time, but they keep accidentally killing their previous employers. They send a T-Rex toppling into an active volcano, and they blow up Napoleon with a cannon, sending him flying into exile. Years of searching around the world for a new boss to no avail leads them to living alone in an arctic cave. Eventually, the group of bean-shaped buddies elect our main three minions to lead a final scouting mission that lands them in the U.S. in 1968. In Orlando, they find the most powerful supervillain and forthcoming MILF, Scarlet Overkill, as well as her submissive husband (and master inventor) Herb. I suppose the minions just never ran into Charles Manson.
Stuart, Bob, and Kevin with their new boss, Scarlett Overkill
Scarlet really loves British music and culture, so she enlists the Minions to help her steal Queen Elizabeth’s crown (rip dizzy miss Lizzy) so she can become the new queen. Let’s take a quick aside to note this radically left anti-monarchy messaging that I think children can definitely learn a lot from. Scarlet’s infatuation with the classic rock music and culture of England is so funny to me because that era of pop culture was iconic for revolutionary art, anti-establishment ideology, and advocating for radical political change, but she aims to become the very thing that the artists she idolizes are protesting. It’s a really smart and somewhat subtle way of showing just how deranged and tone-deaf she is, giving us the idea that she may not be as threatening as we are led to believe.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s get this out of the way first: there are straight up weapons in this movie. Like actual guns. There’s a specific scene where the minions find themselves on a road trip with a murderous villain family who haven’t revealed their true nature yet. The family reveals themselves by pulling a full-on glock out of the glove box, and even the baby has a tiny knife. This is actually genius. They then shoot a rocket launcher at cop cars causing a three-car pile up, definitely killing somebody in the process because it was an absolutely brutal crash. This is a Bold departure from the farfetched, sillier acts of violence shown in the original Despicable Me movie.
There's also a scene where they’re at VillainCon in Orlando, and there’s a genius inventor showing off his new invention: a time machine where he tales versions of himself from the future and brings them into the past to be his minions. However, one of his future selves has butterfingers, and lets go of a machine part that swings towards the original’s head and snaps his neck. His lifeless corpse then sits there ON SCREEN as the future selves disappear from existence forever as a result of his death. This is incredibly raw, and also the funniest thing I think I’ve ever seen.
In regards to the movie’s pop cultural references,, there’s quite a bit to unpack. Firstly, the fashion and aesthetics of the film are spectacular. All of the outfits are not only fairly period-appropriate but also very stylish. I particularly love the woman in the banana-print dress and thick-rimmed sunglasses who appears briefly in a car that Stuart(?) jumps into towards the beginning of the film. Herb, as well, is just a delight. Looking uncannily like Pete Townshend of The Who, he absolutely rocks a teal pinstripe suit and shaggy mullet, giving off that perfect British rocker vibe. The film even throws in a couple nods to Nixon’s election and him just “wanting to make a better America.” I found this to be quite amusing, though I don’t know why the producers of this film thought children would feel the same. Keen-eyed viewers may also notice that Richard Nixon himself can be seen in the audience attending VillainCon. Later in the scene he is punched directly in the face by an excited villain; an appropriate nod to our former president if I do say so myself. The film also squeezed in references to incredibly outdated children’s television, which I’m positive nobody under the age of 40 would appreciate. (The minions give a gleeful cry of “hey hey we’re the minions” – referencing the theme to the, at the time, popular 1966 show The Monkees– before getting locked in a torture chamber - yes, that happens). I personally have an embarrassing relationship with that show; I may or may not have magazine clippings of the band members on my bedroom wall… but I digress. One discrepancy, I will admit, comes in a pop culture reference that I believe was a bit of a miss. During one of the final chase scenes, the minions are running through the sewers and popping their heads out of storm drains. They happen to pop out at a zebra crossing that's revealed to be the shooting location for the Abbey Road album cover when the drain gets stomped down by four men as the first few notes of Love Me Do play out.
On the right, former president Richard Nixon can be seen attending Scarlet’s keynote speech at VillainCon Orlando
That point then brings me to talking about the absolutely banger soundtrack. For absolutely no reason, the editors decided to put their whole entire existence into giving this movie the best soundtrack ever. With some of the artists featured being the Rolling Stones with their song You Really Got Me, and The Who with My Generation, I felt like I was back in my mom’s car on the way to school while listening to all her favorite classic rock musicians. There is even a very fitting Donovan feature of the song Mellow Yellow which I greatly appreciated because I don’t think good ol’ Donny gets enough love. The end credits also close out with a tasteful Got to Get You Into My Life off of the album Revolver by the Beatles (arguably one of their best yet underappreciated albums – proving that these filmmakers are NOT entry-level), representing the newfound fellowship between a young Gru and his new minions.
