Why Are the ‘Despicable Me’ Minions So Addictive?

The Big Picture

• The Minions were born as side characters in the movie
  Despicable Me
  and soon became the stars of their own franchise.
• Their appeal lies in their physical slapstick comedy and relatable desire to do their best, even if things often go wrong.
• The Minions have become a cultural sensation, with multiple movies, spin-offs, shorts, and theme park attractions, and have left a lasting impact on audiences.

All hail the minions! The little yellow sidekicks that went from comic relief to global superstars over the course of the decade. But where did they come from? The journey started thanks to a new studio animation department. Illumination Entertainment was founded by former Fox/Blue Sky executive Chris Meledandri after being lured away by Universal Studios. In addition to the Minions movies, Illumination is responsible for The Lorax, franchises Sing and TheSecret Life of Pets, and the box office juggernaut The Super Mario Bros Movie. But the minions have always been the stars of Illumination, even making it into the company’s logo before the other movies. What is it about the pint-sized, nonsense-speaking, overall-clad heroes that makes them so addictive?

The Minions Come From Humble Beginnings

The Minions debuted in an animated family picture centered on a super villain: Despicable Me. In it, Gru (Steve Carell) attempts to pull off the most evil crime imaginable: stealing the Earth’s moon. Along the way, he comes across three orphan girls and while he initially planned to use them solely for his evil scheme, Gru and the girls begin to bond, and he learns to set aside his evil ways and focus on his newfound family. It was released in the summer of 2010 and went on to gross over half a billion dollars worldwide. The Minions served as cute creatures that babbled incoherently and broadened the gags from simple dialogue-based jokes to physical comedy and absurd wackiness. They were the comic relief to balance out Gru’s evil deeds, though they were not very good at their jobs, often failing and causing mayhem. They became the lovable side dish to that standard fish-out-of-water comedy premise of “super villain has to be a dad.”

A key decision was made in this first movie that sets a tone for the ongoing franchise. In his book, Springfield Confidential, one of the original The Simpsons writers Mike Reiss revealed he contributed some work to the first Despicable Me film. Working as an uncredited punch-up writer, Reiss recalls:

“My most lasting contribution was to
Despicable Me’s
Minions: I gave the little bastards names. Throughout the script, Gru would always refer to them collectively as ‘boys,’ but I thought it would be funny to address them each by name, since, to me, they were alike as a pile of little yellow Advils. In order to contrast their weirdness, I gave them bland white-guy names. I chose from the blandest white guys I know:
Simpsons
writers. I used the first names of staff members like
Kevin Curran
,
Stewart Burns
,
Bob Bendetson
, and about ten others.”

While this may seem inconsequential, giving the Minions names makes them more individualistic, which offers audiences something more to latch on to. They’re no longer just minions, but little characters with personalities that can be identified, even if they do blend together visually.

The Minions Prove They’re More Than Sidekicks With Their Own Movie

Naturally, the success of Despicable Me led to a sequel in 2013. Despicable Me 2 continues the story of Gru and his adoptive daughters, but rather than being evil, he is recruited by an agency to fight a different villain. Over the course of the movie, Gru falls for the agent that recruited him, Lucy (Kristen Wiig), and by the end, she is part of the family. The sequel outgrossed the first movie and made nearly a billion dollars, eventually going on to be the only franchise entry nominated for any Oscars with one nomination for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for Pharrell’s “Happy.” It also bares the unique honor of being the first film Quentin Tarantino showed his son.

By no coincidence, the more successful movie had a larger role for the minions. Despicable Me 2 elevates the minions from side characters to being active parts of the plot. In the movie, the minions are captured and transformed to cause even more evil, and part of Gru’s mission becomes saving them from the greater villain. Thus, the minions are brought more into the focus of the film itself. Their gags are also expanded with two musical numbers from the minions, and if it was already fun for them to use their made-up language, it’s even better when they sing “I Swear” and “YMCA” to cap off the film. The minions were such a known quantity that the credits even tease what is to come.

A star (or stars in this case) can only be kept on the sidelines for so long. The summer of 2015 marked the release of the first spin-off movie, fittingly and simply titled Minions. The film establishes the pre-historic origins of the titular heroes and shows their journey throughout history as they try to find an evil master to serve. This inevitably leads to their master’s downfall, from the dinosaurs to Dracula, and even Napoleon Bonaparte. Their journey of failures leads them to the 1960s where three minions in particular (Kevin, Stuart, and Bob) attempt one last chance at finding a villain, only to become heroes in the end. The film was an unprecedented box office hit, grossing over a billion dollars and becoming one of the highest-grossing animated movies of all time.

Minions crystallizes why these minuscule yellow creatures are such a sensation. With no need for coherent dialogue, their comedy relies primarily on physical slapstick, which is appealing to not only audiences of all ages when done well but also across all languages. They’re not making pop culture references, and they’re not trying to be cool in any way, they’re just cute goofy little things accidentally causing mischief. The minions always mean well in their actions (except towards one another) which heightens the humor when it inevitably goes wrong. In a strange way, the minions become relatable. They’re just trying to do their best, and when it goes wrong, they try again.

By ‘Despicable Me 3,’ It’s Minion Domination

In 2016, Gru returns to battle Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker) with the minions at his disposal, but the screen time must now be divided. In Despicable Me 3, the minions abandon Gru and have an entirely separate subplot which finds them in jail, taking over the place, and eventually escaping to reunite with Gru. It is further cementation of their appeal that they don’t have to be involved with the main goings-on of the movie, but it’s clear a Despicable Me movie would not be able to work without them anymore. The minions also appeared on big screens in another instance in the summer of 2016, when the short film, Mower Minions, premiered in front of another feature by Illumination: The Secret Life of Pets. While there had been minion shorts before, they were relegated to DVD extras. The shorts have continued, now reaching a count of sixteen in total, and have had one premiere before another Illumination feature (2018’s The Grinch) and with three others packaged together to make a minion holiday special in 2020. On top of all of this, the minions have become an essential part of Universal’s theme parks with a ride, character meet and greets, and a giant minion overlooking Los Angeles.

Due to Covid delays, the next Minions movie wasn’t released until 2022 with Minions: The Rise of Gru. This movie is a direct sequel to the first Minions movie, with Kevin, Stuart, and Bob having to rescue a kidnapped Gru while stopping some 1970s-styled villains in the process. TheRise of Gru continued to capitalize on the charm and broad appeal of the minions, including more musical covers of the Rolling Stones and Simon & Garfunkel. The film made a huge amount of money, only slightly falling short of its pre-pandemic heights, but still going on to be one of the biggest hits of 2022.

The most interesting development that came with the release of The Rise of Gru was the rise of the Gentle-Minions. A TikTok trend caused multitudes of teenagers to attend screenings wearing tuxedos and applauding when the movie finished, contributing to the movie’s success financially and culturally. The trend shows the impact the franchise has had on people who grew up with it. With five prior movies over the course of twelve years, it’s only fitting that teenagers would have this kind of nostalgia, not unlike the millennial nostalgia for the Shrek franchise.

Why Are the Minions So Popular?

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the minions have ingrained their way into the culture at such a prominent level. In a way, they harken back to the original cartoons that took off as theatrical shorts:Looney Tunes. The Looney Tunes were built on creative humor using slapstick and the medium of animation itself to make high-octane comedy. While the Looney Tunes did employ language at times, the main appeal was the creativity the animation would lead to. The types of gags and jokes that would be ill-fitting for live-action comedies proved top-notch for animation. The minions are a continuation of this tradition in its purest form and are the reason they have anchored a five-film multi-billion dollar franchise, and will likely add another billion upon the release of 2024’s Despicable Me 4. Long live King Bob and the other minions, and may their reign never end.

Minions is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

Watch on Netflix