Kyle Balda: “Minions: The Rise of Gru” (Movie Review)

Most of the movies in the Despicable Me cinematic universe are just long advertisements to sell merchandise of the franchise’s mascots, the Minions. Is Minions: The Rise of Gru one of these movies? Without a doubt. What separates it from the rest is a real effort to also make the film entertaining. Although marketed primarily towards children, there is definitely a focus on appealing to a wider audience. While it’s not anything major, the subtle “adult humor” and ‘70s references help to add a layer of fun to the movie.

The humor in Minions: The Rise of Gru largely operates on two levels. The first level is direct, with a lot of hit-or-miss jokes. While it’s thankfully less than previous installments, this is where the toilet humor lies. Fortunately, this movie isn’t all fart jokes and butts (which are prominently showcased a scarily large amount of times throughout the franchise). Slapstick humor and visual gags are used in some basic ways, but there is entertainment through its simplicity. The second level of humor is the more meta and absurdist jokes, which is where the funniest parts of the movie come from. Watching a scene where the Minions form a choir to sing at a funeral feels like a fever dream, and it just works. 

With the #GentleMinions trend, it’s easy to see how the casualness of the film is such a big attraction. Of course, dressing up in suits to see an animated children’s movie is full of irony, but Minions: The Rise of Gru brings together many people to go to theaters in a way that many other movies can’t. Despite being a part of a long-running franchise, as a prequel, it’s a watch that requires no knowledge of the previous films to understand. 

This is a movie that has a solid understanding of its flaws, and makes the strange yet great decision to ignore them. The plot of the Minions needing to find a mysterious MacGuffin to save Gru is pretty weak. Knowing this, the focus is placed on the jokes they can tell through this story, in favor of focusing on the story itself. Choosing to do so, makes the movie a much bearable and less boring watch than it otherwise could have been. 

Minions: The Rise of Gru isn’t the most complex or meaningful movie ever created, but it doesn’t need to be. This is an animated comedy for children, and the emphasis placed on visual aesthetics and joke telling is evident. The quality of jokes are high enough that they can be enjoyed by everyone, for the most part. Most of this movie’s successes and failures can be attributed to the film’s low amount of ambition. While not striving to do anything incredible, the end result is a piece of work with smaller, yet well-crafted parts.

Enjoyment: Low 8

Critically: Low 6

Arbitrary Number: 6.3/10