Minions & Monsters: reviews

What the critics say average 7.2 from 82 outlets

• 10 The TelegraphRobbie Collin The yellow mischief-makers arrive in 1920s Hollywood for a surprisingly cine-literate romp that will make adults laugh more than children. Read
• 9.0 EspinofBelén Prieto Set in silent-era Hollywood, the film works as a love letter to classic cinema, to monster stories and to all those dreamers who try to tell impossible stories. And I also think it is the first Minions film that really tells us something exciting about the Minions themselves. Read
• 9.0 CinemasComicsCarlos Gallego Guzmán Minions & Monsters shows that the franchise can still reinvent itself with a fun love letter to classic Hollywood. Pierre Coffin recovers the essence of the Minions' physical humour while paying tribute to the great pioneers of silent film, delivering probably the most inspired instalment of the whole saga. Read
• 9.0 InfobaeBeatriz Martínez Minions & Monsters lacks nothing and has nothing to spare. It is a self-aware film, but also a deeply free one, outside every established rule, that breaks the moulds to offer a film-within-a-film adventure that works wonderfully for adults and children alike and is full of memorable set pieces. Read
• 8.8 New York PostJohnny Oleksinski Improbably, this fantastic animated kids movie, sure to be a highlight of the summer, is an adult cinephile’s dream. Read
• 8.8 Roger EbertClint Worthington It’s a genuine triumph, not just in its construction as a kid’s movie comedy sequence but also as a distillation of all the cinematic pioneers who paved the way for something like the Minions to exist, let alone succeed. Read
• 8.8 The Independent CriticRichard Propes This is a wonderful film for adults and children alike, a film guaranteed to captivate film history buffs while still being frenzied and fun enough to please the kiddoes. Read
• 8.8 MovieFreakSara Michelle Fetters The filmmakers made this animated jolt of anarchic madness to be watched communally, in darkness, and, most importantly, in a theater. Read
• 8.5 Rolling Stone en EspañolAndré Didyme-Dôme But the greatest triumph of Minions & Monsters lies not in its references or its flawless craftsmanship. It lies in understanding that cinema was born as an act of wonder, of play and of absolute freedom. Read
• 8.5 La EstatuillaJorge Espinoza Lasso The wonderful thing is how far this approach is from being pretentious or alienating: for all its odes to classic cinema, they always come with well-crafted punchlines that make the viewer laugh even without getting the reference. Read
• 8.3 The Film VerdictAlonso Duralde Returning director Pierre Coffin bombards viewers with the slapstick and gibberish you expect in a Minions movie, but the references to cinema history — and the love letter to both moviemaking and moviegoing — give this kiddie sequel a wonderful jolt of smarts and sentiment. Read
• 8.3 FilmInkCain Noble-Davies It’s still all kinds of goofy, but at such a purity to be inspiring. Read
• 8.0 VarietyGuy Lodge Even as it ultimately bends to convention, the film is such a weird, willful popular entertainment for much of its (blessedly snappy) running time that it holds your goodwill: It’s almost bellissima but it’s fully, madly moviosa, and that’s more than the seventh entry in any animated franchise has a right to be. Read
• 8.0 The WrapDrew Taylor It’s a charming, brightly animated love letter to Hollywood’s heyday and a celebration of the moviegoing experience. Read
• 8.0 Next Best PictureMax Borg Minions & Monsters is the most refreshing entry in the franchise, in that it completely sets itself apart from the group of characters we’ve been following for almost two decades. Read
• 8.0 Radio TimesJames Mottram Arriving equipped with a fabulous voice cast (including three Oscar winners, no less), and visual gags aplenty, this is a charming, frequently funny adventure. Make no mistake, there’s still life in the Minions franchise yet. Read
• 8.0 IGNEric Goldman Who would have thought it, but the seventh movie in the Despicable Me franchise may be the best one yet, as Minions & Monsters uses those little banana-loving dudes to make an ode to early Hollywood and to the power of cinema and storytelling. Read
• 8.0 Los Angeles TimesAmy Nicholson Coffin is fine inviting them into the big tent with the rest of us, if only to show where the Hollywood blockbuster machine can find its next gear. Go back to basics, his film says. Entertain, invigorate and charm. Not every movie has to be “Citizen Kane.” Just get everyone laughing. Read
• 8.0 VultureAlison Willmore Before it surrenders to the conventional in its final act, Minions & Monsters is irresistibly awash in the liberty of being the seventh installment of a franchise so consistently successful that the powers that be approved a story line that pivots on the advent of sound. Read
• 8.0 Time OutPhil de Semlyen The ending goes a bit Monsters vs Aliens, delivering a generic payoff to all the Criterion Collection lunacy that came before. But for the most part, it’s pure giddy fun – and it may even spark a Letterboxd boom among the under-10s. Read
• 8.0 NPRBob Mondello All goofy enough to delight kids who won't get the references and sophisticated enough to please cinephiles who will, which is a lovely change. Read
• 8.0 Phantom TollboothMarie Asner A continuation into the movie industry was an intelligent stroke of writing. Understanding language is not difficult when there are many hand gestures and eye-rolls. Enjoy. Read
• 8.0 The Saturday Evening PostBill Newcott Minions and Monsters is one of the smartest movies of the summer. Read
• 8.0 Irish ExaminerCara O'Doherty Packed with nods to cinema throughout, it offers film fans plenty to enjoy in every frame. For younger audiences, the slapstick comedy and wonderfully wacky action sequences are sure to be a hit. Read
• 8.0 The ObserverWendy Ide The unstoppable yellow force of the Despicable Me/Minions franchise continues unabated with one of the strongest, silliest instalments to date. Read
• 8.0 The TimesEd Potton This is a hoot, combining world-class slapstick with the Pixar-approved strategy of catering to parents, which here means a wave of movie references, from Citizen Kane and Jaws to Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. Read
• 8.0 Screen DailyNikki Baughan And while its cute protagonists and slapstick comedy are aimed squarely at the family market, older viewers will find much to enjoy in its historical and cultural details. Read
• 8.0 JoBloMichael Conway It’s fast, funny, charming, and way more clever than I expected. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Minions and Monsters is the best the Despicable Me franchise has ever been. Read
• 8.0 FotogramasFausto Fernández The Minions have not only stolen a film once again, this time one of their own, but have turned it into the definitive visual, conceptual and historical encyclopedia of the origins of cinema. A fiercely funny one. Read
• 8.0 Otros CinesDiego Batlle So, just when it seemed that nothing very new could come out of that world, Minions & Monsters restores our faith in the franchise, in animated cinema and in the artists who, when they could have gone for the easy, safe option and kept cashing in on autopilot, came up with an admirable cinephile comedy. Read
• 8.0 Ara (en castellano)Ignasi Franch The filmmakers have struck a remarkable balance between the boisterous comedy of the Minions and a more structured story that branches into a couple of converging plots. Read
• 8.0 La VanguardiaPhilipp Engel An overwhelming tribute to cinema, packed with more or less obvious film references, with humour as savage as it is hilarious (with Once Upon a Time... Man style beheadings, as if from another era), and a frantic but not exhausting pace (this is not Mario), designed to delight every audience, from the most hardcore cinephiles to the youngest viewers, who will find here endless reasons to embrace the seventh art. Read
• 8.0 HobbyConsolasRaquel Hernández Luján The best Minions movie so far and one of the most inventive and effervescent animated films of the year, made out of an unconditional love of cinema. Read
• 8.0 La NaciónMarcelo Stiletano It is a sincere, moving and very funny declaration of gratitude to cinema, and above all to the Hollywood era in which all that heritage was forged: the one that coincides with the transition from the farewell to silent film to the arrival of sound. Read
• 8.0 MoviementariosVicky Carras One way or another, the Minions manage to come back without wearing thin. With new and original ideas for the whole family. Read
• 7.5 The Boston GlobeOdie Henderson Their antics speak to my inner 6-year-old. The script, by Coffin and Brian Lynch, builds several gags on a foundation of intelligent movie knowledge, which speaks to the cinephile in me. The 90-minute runtime is also a big plus. Read
• 7.5 The Seattle TimesSoren Andersen Frequently very funny and often insightful as it zooms through what amounts to a crash course in the early days of Hollywood moviemaking, this “Minions” is a compact delight (at just 90 minutes). It brings the happy to this holiday. Enjoy. Read
• 7.5 IndiewireWilson Chapman Even when Minions & Monsters is at its weakest, there is a sense of genuine creative glee within it that’s all too often missing from franchise films of its nature, a genuine appreciation for film and its history and its creative power to enchant and delight that bleeds through the screen. Read
• 7.5 ReelViewsJames Berardinelli When it comes to animated sequels, I can be something of a curmudgeon, but Minions & Monsters hits the right spot for me. It's the first mainstream release of the summer that I feel comfortable wholeheartedly recommending for family viewing, and the first one that didn't leave me with at least an inkling of disappointment. Read
• 7.5 The Travers TakePeter Travers The motivation is fun-fun-fun, a goal that is deliciously, dementedly achieved. Keep your July 4th fireworks...the Minions like their explosions in laughs. Read
• 7.5 Third Coast ReviewSteven Prokopy In the moments where director Coffin takes a real look at how Minions were put on this earth to serve and put in the movies to entertain, we get a sense of what he’s trying to say with these movies. Read
• 7.5 Me gusta el cineSebastián Zavala Kahn Minions & Monsters is among the best things Illumination has done with the franchise, well, since the first Despicable Me. Let's hope they stay this ambitious when they make the (inevitable) next instalment. Read
• 7.5 Heraldo de AragónEnrique Abenia The best part is that this striking appearance comes from one of the Minions' longing to shoot a monster movie, a premise framed in turn by the aim of Illumination and director Pierre Coffin to turn the pastime into a singular and captivating tribute to cinema. Read
• 7.4 Mac the Movie GuyJohn Stark For kids, it’s entertainment. For adults, it’s a love letter to an entire era of cinema, and a reminder of the extraordinary artists who laid the foundation for everything that came afterward. Read
• 7.0 ColliderCharlie Ridgely Minions & Monsters may not be everyone's cup of tea. It sees the threshold that makes you ask, "Is this too much?" written on the wall and proceeds to blast straight through it with the force of a bulldozer. But that kind of loud, in-your-face approach to comedy is what the Minions are supposed to be. Read
• 7.0 LooperDominic Griffin Minions & Monsters is a big, bright, flashy cartoon meant to pacify children and manipulate their parents into purchasing merch, but within that framework, it houses so much genuine adoration for the art of cinema. Read
• 7.0 New York TimesBrandon Yu It’s a lot, but the film punches things up with enough gags that don’t simply resort to the Minions’ trademark gibberish-and-mishap humor. And even as it dips into about a dozen different worlds, it rarely feels haphazard nor frenetically diversionary. The kids will be sucked in, but the parents might even join the babble, too. Read
• 7.0 The Irish TimesTara Brady Director Pierre Coffin, making his first solo outing on the franchise while once again providing the voices of every single Minion, leans heavily into the characters’ roots in slapstick. The result is packed with affectionate nods to pre-Code Hollywood, while also finding room for playful references to Singin’ in the Rain, Jaws, The Blob and The Matrix. Read
• 7.0 DeciderJohn Serba Fun movie? Yeah. Fun enough for children and their adults. We can’t really expect anything more from a Minions melee. Read
• 7.0 The Blu SpotJeff Beck It may get held back a bit by its filler B-story, but overall it's a rather pleasant surprise that will likely please viewers of all ages with its charming story & gorgeous animation. Read
• 7.0 The Globe and MailAparita Bhandari Does it make sense? No. Nevertheless, the film is entertaining across generations and well into the credits roll. Read
• 7.0 The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck But for a good while at least, it’s surprisingly sophisticated and effective in its satirical humor, with so many visual gags and Easter eggs that you’ll need multiple viewings to catch them all. Read
• 7.0 South China Morning PostJames Mottram Everyone’s favourite Despicable Me sidekicks are back, this time in Hollywood in the 1920s, with plenty of nods to films and culture. Read
• 7.0 CinemaníaAdrián Carande However, and although it never aims to be more than first-class summer entertainment (and there is real merit in that!), we can find in it a sincere tribute to the value of the shared cinema experience. Read
• 7.0 AccionCineJesús Usero Moving the world of the Minions to Hollywood in its early days is a real success. Film lovers will recognise all the ideas, nods and tributes to the birth of the movie capital, and will also see the shift from silent films to talkies, which ended many careers that could not adapt to the new medium. Read
• 7.0 Página/12Ezequiel Boetti After six films in which they built their popularity on humour based almost entirely on gesture, physical chaos and a cartoonish streak taken to the extreme, the Minions only now seem to have found the format in which they feel truly at home. Read
• 7.0 CulturizarteVictoria Bustos Arancibia Minions & Monsters finds its own identity in its world, which makes it one of the most inspired instalments compared with its predecessors. It may not keep that level throughout, but when it chooses to look back at the history of film it discovers, paradoxically, both its own origins as an appealing film phenomenon and the freshest path for the future of the Minions. Read
• 6.7 The A.V. ClubJesse Hassenger It’s shocking how well the gambit of crowbarring the Minions into cinema history works. For the better part of 90 minutes, movie fans might actually feel like cackling kids, or at least boomers on Facebook. Read
• 6.7 The Film MavenKristen Lopez A pure throwback to the early days of cinema, not just in content but in execution. Give me more of these little yellow guys taking on different genres and I'd be there. Someone who loves movies will love this. Read
• 6.3 Slant MagazineDerek Smith The film does at least freshen up the series formula, slyly using the kid-favorite Minions to smuggle in a celebratory message about the theater-going experience and the enduring power of cinema. Read
• 6.3 The Film FrenzyMatt Brunson Minions & Monsters offers several hearty laughs, particularly when it’s tweaking the movie business, but some sections tend to drag. Read
• 6.0 EmpireJohn Nugent The overall tone remains as juvenile as ever. It is goofy and giggly and resolutely wedded to stupidity. There’s little attempt to add much depth to the story, in the way that Pixar might try to — it is essentially, once again, just a series of contrived opportunities for the little guys to get up to chaotic mischief. And so it goes. The world keeps on turning. Read
• 6.0 Screen RantLiz Declan Admittedly, it's also still pretty hard to get past the way the Minions speak, even if it's what the kids love. Yet, Minions & Monsters shines in so many other ways that it's easy to forgive how lightning-fast the plot feels. Read
• 6.0 Movie MarkerNicola Austin With a brilliant new trio of heroes, an even more chaotic quest and a loving ode to the Golden Age of Hollywood, Minions & Monsters is one of the most surprising films of the year so far. Read
• 6.0 Rough Draft AtlantaSammie Purcell So it seems the real target audience for this one is "cinephiles with kids." And, for the most part, "Minions & Monsters" does a pretty good job at combining the respective humors of both of those demographics. Read
• 6.0 Film AuthorityEddie Harrison Only the Minions could supplant Gods in a famous film title and not come off as self-seeking; they’re likeable little mites who aim to do little more than make us laugh. Read
• 6.0 DeadlineDamon Wise The pace is hectic but not exhausting, and the squeaky, Alvin & the Chipmunks-style Esperanto that is “Minionese” is actually a lot more infectious than it first appears. Read
• 6.0 EspinofRandy Meeks In the end nobody will come away disappointed, because it is exactly what we all expect, for better or worse: a film that nosedives in the few shots where the Minions are absent, the sole engine and reason for this spin-off to exist. Read
• 6.0 ABCOti Rodríguez Marchante But it is not serious: the film and its cinephile interest suffer, yet the fun stays high for children only, with an adventure that is by then rather slight in purpose and scope. Read
• 6.0 ClarinPablo O. Scholz But go with the kids, who will have a better time than the adults, knowing that, apart from the opening moments, the humour stops being for all ages and becomes fun just for the little ones. Read
• 6.0 El Diario VascoBegoña del Teso That is where things go wrong for us. That is where Minions & Monsters runs out of gas, steam and substance. That is when some of us start to miss, quite a lot, really a lot, our favourite villain. Read
• 6.0 EscribiendoCineLaia Cabuli Despite this, Minions & Monsters manages to hold up as an entertaining film. It keeps the trademark essence of the franchise. Read
• 6.0 GamereactorJavier Escribano Minions & Monsters leaves the same love/hate impression as the Minions themselves: chaotic, unpredictable, oblivious to any rule or logic. One moment they can surprise you with a flash of genius, only to disappoint you minutes later by going back to their usual silliness. Read
• 6.0 ContrasteYoel González Pierre Coffin takes the Minions to 1920s Hollywood to blend entertainment with an ode to cinema. Although the film flags in its final stretch, it leaves a pleasant taste and keeps the little ones entertained. Read
• 5.8 AwardsWatchTrace Sauveur Minions & Monsters is filled with lighthearted, disordered caricatures and lampoons of dozens of films from the Golden Age and earlier, all dispersed without much rhyme or reason other than adhering to the movie’s theme. Read
• 5.0 The Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones M&M makes a bid for the anticness of classic Looney Tunes, but misses the essential part that a contrasting quiet plays in comedy. Read
• 5.0 San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson Manic and breezily entertaining, it’s a fun ride, but even at 90 minutes, it feels overlong. Read
• 5.0 The Indian ExpressShubhra Gupta This time around, the fun quotient gets buried under familiar stretches in which the minions squeak and squawk in tongues– French and Spanish accents– commingling with the cartoony voices of a starry star cast. Read
• 4.0 The GuardianRafaela Bassili Had the film been contained by its clever premise - the Minions must fight to preserve their place in Hollywood – it might have achieved the crystalline simplicity that is a hallmark of good children’s films. But aiming to both lead the Minions in a newer, smarter direction and appease the gibberish-fest expectations set by the franchise, Coffin bites off more than he can chew. Read
• 3.8 Associated PressMark Kennedy Minions & Monsters — the third chapter in the ongoing standalone adventures of the “Despicable Me” pint-sized enablers — is about the sheer greatness of moviemaking, and it’s a navel-gazing misfire. Read
• 3.8 Reel Film ReviewsDavid Nusair Minions & Monsters‘ grip on the viewer is loosened by a progressively frenetic midsection and second half. Read
• 3.0 The Wall Street JournalKyle Smith Mr. [Pierre] Coffin et al. stage a colorful but uninteresting clatter of random mayhem, only occasionally interrupted by an ironic wink. Read