Commercially, the success of Minions is undeniable - Photo: Illumination
First appearing in Despicable Me (2010), these tiny yellow creatures with their "unintelligible" language have, along with six films – including four Despicable Me installments and two Minions spin-offs – grossed over $5.5 billion worldwide , becoming the highest-grossing animated franchise in history.
Minions & Monsters : A love letter to cinematic history
The seventh film in the series, Minions & Monsters, which premiered in Vietnam on June 26th and in the US on July 1st, is expected to continue that success.
However, huge revenues do not necessarily translate into recognition from the film industry or critics.
Illumination's troublemaking characters rarely appear in award races and are largely still considered pure entertainment.
Minions & Monsters features many classic silent film jokes - Photo: Illumination
According to The Hollywood Reporter, despite their ever-widening cultural impact, Minions are rarely recognized as one of the most unique and enduring cinematic creations of the 21st century.
Minions & Monsters seems to want to change that perception in its own unique way, primarily through a series of humorous situations.
According to CGV's description, Minions & Monsters is "a true, chaotic, ridiculous, and utterly crazy story about how the Minions conquered Hollywood and became movie stars. However, they quickly lost it all, inadvertently unleashing monsters onto the world. Ultimately, the Minions are forced to band together to save Earth from the very chaos they created."
Minions & Monsters Trailer
Following its premiere at the Annecy Animation Film Festival on June 21st, the film received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with many critics hailing it as the best work in the entire franchise.
Furthermore, the film implicitly asserts that Minions are not just a "money-making machine" thanks to souvenir sales, but deserve a place in Hollywood history.
Director Pierre Coffin, making his first solo directorial debut after co-directing the three Despicable Me films and the first Minions movie, has crafted the film as a love letter to cinematic history.
Minions & Monsters connects the chaotic physical comedy style of the Minions with silent film legends such as Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton - Photo: Illumination
Box office success has not yet brought recognition.
If Star Wars was once a pop culture icon for Generation X, then the Minions could be seen as a similar icon for Generation Alpha.
Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri shared: "Interestingly, a significant portion of the children who watched Despicable Me in 2010 gradually lost interest as they grew into teenagers."
But around 2020, we witnessed a strong comeback of an audience group that wasn't previously familiar with cartoons. It was as if an entire generation was reclaiming its own childhood cultural icon."
Despite their large fan base, Minions have received very little recognition from critics - Photo: Illumination
After six films, the Despicable Me and Minions franchise has only received two Oscar nominations, both for Despicable Me 2 (2013), in the categories of Best Animated Film and Best Original Song for Pharrell Williams' " Happy ," but it did not win either.
Minions & Monsters also cleverly mocks this with a joke throughout the film, imagining a Minions director receiving a Golden Banana award instead of an Oscar.
Why haven't the Minions—one of the very few global cinematic icons created in the 21st century—received the respect they deserve?
Part of the answer probably lies in the animation category itself. The Oscar for Best Animated Feature often favors works with artistic ambition or a high degree of experimentation, such as Pixar's Wall-E, Inside Out , or Flow – the 2025 winner. Minions, on the other hand, has never followed this path.
Since 2010, Illumination has largely maintained its formula: making children laugh heartily, while also being charming enough to entertain adults; fast-paced, energetic, and repeating what has worked.
Even classic cinematic references in Minions & Monsters are included primarily for comedic effect, rather than to affirm their artistic value - Photo: Illumination
Director Pierre Coffin admitted: "I never intended to revolutionize this film. Setting it in 1920s Hollywood is similar to the first Minions film being set in 1960s England, or the sequel being set in 1970s San Francisco. We simply put the Minions in that environment and exploited interesting ideas from it."
It's still too early to tell whether Minions & Monsters can bridge the gap between box office success, cultural influence, and the brand's standing in the film industry.