‘Minions & Monsters’ Review: Romp Through A Villainous Cinephile’s History

Nearly exactly four years after the release of Minions: The Rise of Gru, Illumination has released the third film in the Minions franchise and the seventh film in the Despicable Me franchise, Minions & Monsters.

Illumination certainly gets a lot of flack for its prioritization of quality over quantity, which a large portion of the studio’s output aimed at fulfilling business objectives over artistic ones. Minions & Monsters reminds audiences that Illumination not only cares about the art, but their deep value for the form and its history is pivotal in the creation of these movies.

Starring director Pierre Coffin as the Minions, the film follows James, Henry, Ed, and Dick as they quest to find a villainous master to settle down with. James, in an effort to exhibit artistic tendencies, takes a break from his mission to become a filmmaker and create Minions y Monstras. To secure a monster, and instead of creating one, he summons some (Trey Parker, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LeMarr). Meanwhile, Dick and the rest of the Minions begin to serve Dort (Jesse Eisenberg), an alien who plans to conquer planet Earth.

From the very get go, the movie is very playful with its Hollywood references, referencing The Matrix, ET, Hitchcock and George Lucas. This is where adult film fans will likely get the most enjoyment from the film, besides the humour, which is obviously quite childlike in nature and very immature, but its endearing. If you already hate Minions humour though, this will not win you over.

The film fails to hold itself together when it comes to a main plot. The Minions want to make a movie! So they summon Goomie (Parker), who leads them to find better monsters (Moynihan, LeMarr) who then summon another monster, Irene. It’s very “and this happened and this happened” which would point me in the direction of thinking the film isn’t written very well, though the humour and the referential nature of the film to the 1920s is pretty great. At one point, the movie riffs on Citizen Kane, which is absolutely something that I would not think would ever happen in a Minions movie, which largely consists of fart and bum jokes.

The Dort subplot is built as a way to solve the film, in a way that I won’t spoil, but also as a way to keep the other horde of Minion’s busy. Dort falls in love with an activist (Zoey Deutch) and the Minion’s become advocates for the Women’s Rights Movement, thinking that it is something villainous. It is such a random way to spend screentime, though it does make for plenty good jokes.

As much as I like the time setting here, I can’t help but feel it is somewhat wasted. The opportunity to put Minions in influential films throughout the decades was right there, and with the movie partly taking place in the transition from silent film to talkies, I was anticipating a spoof on Singin’ in the Rain ala Babylon.

Minions & Monsters is a good time for families, children, and those with a love for movies, though if you are a Minions hater, steer well clear.

Minions & Monsters is directed by Pierre Coffin and stars Trey Parker, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan and Phil LeMarr. The film hits Australian theatres on Thursday, June 25th, and US theatres on July 1st, 2026.

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