In a year with Denis Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg in theaters, the greatest tribute to the seventh art came from the unlikeliest of places: the new Minions movie. Illumination’s franchise returned to the big screen with the goal of retelling the characters’ journey through the very history of Hollywood. The result was Minions & Monsters, a delightful sequence of carefully chosen parodies by Pierre Coffin, who directs, writes, and voices all the Minions.

In the new film, we once again see the Minions searching for their favorite villain. The characters cross oceans and continents, serving all kinds of evildoers. But they all meet the same fate: they end up wiped out by the little yellow troublemakers’ antics. The culprits are always the same: James and Henry. After a long string of failures, the duo clashes with the group’s leader, Dick, and are defended by the burly Ed, a deaf Minion. The confrontation spirals out of control and turns into an all-out brawl. During the chaos, the characters catch sight of what could be their new master. A Wild West villain flees from the police while trying to jump onto a moving train and reach the rope ladder of a single-engine plane.

The scene, which looks like the climax of some random western, is exactly that. In their pilgrimage in search of a villain, the group ends up in old Hollywood, already established as the city of cinema. From there, the film’s plot begins to come together through the characters’ mishaps. Before long, the Minions’ natural charm takes over Hollywood’s screens and the “Bright Brothers Studios,” with James and Henry becoming La La Land’s absolute stars, enjoying unlimited access to bananas and fun.

But everything changes when movies begin to have sound, and the protagonists’ illiteracy makes them obsolete to the industry. Out of work, they are cut off from all the luxury they had gained — until a brilliant idea pops into James’s head. On a sleepless night, the character comes up with his most brilliant idea yet: turning the Minions’ centuries-old adventures into a film titled “Minions & Monsters.” Unfortunately for him, the idea is rejected by Dick and his companions, leaving him with only Henry and Ed’s support. Together, they summon legendary beasts to serve as the production’s cast, but everything that follows becomes an adventure to save the world and, above all, the movies.

The coolest thing about the production is that every step of the characters’ misadventure through Hollywood is accompanied by a nod or tribute to the history of American cinema. Whether through direct references to George Lucas or Keanu Reeves, recreations of Citizen Kane and Modern Times, or even subtler nods like The Blob, RoboCop and Independence Day, the screenplay travels through every era of the seventh art. More than just the joke itself, the film’s respect for cinema’s legacy and for the Academy Awards is clear — in this world, the prize is a golden banana statuette.

Still, no matter how well-intentioned and fun the feature may be, the formula remains the same: Minions causing chaos in search of their ideal villain. And don’t get me wrong, dear reader, I know full well that repeated formulas tend to be more successful with child audiences — the film’s target demographic. But the moment Illumination chooses to salute cinema, there is room to learn from the industry itself and bet on a more innovative film, or at least a different one.

Even so, Minions & Monsters has plenty to offer, both for those who love movies and for those who just want to have fun — and that’s really all some films need.

Minions & Monstros

Minions & Monsters

2026

89 min

Country: EUA

Rating: 10 years

Duração: 89 min

Director(s): Patrick Delage, Pierre Coffin

Screenplay: Brian Lynch, Pierre Coffin

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Christoph Waltz, George Lucas, Jesse Eisenberg, Pierre Coffin

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