Young Gru (Steve Carell) who the Minions call “little boss” still lives at home with his mother Marlena (Julie Andrews) and a large gaggle of his little yellow buddies. They have barged in on him and are overrunning his basement. Gru is in the midst of finding his evil bearing.

When a job interview goes bad Gru gets sticky-fingered with a precious medallion and sets into motion a crazy chain of events. These include ancient legends discovered, moments of magic, a coming-of-tale and an easy-to-digest message. The world of animation is used to the fullest and the film looks amazingly oversaturated with colour and action.

Seems Hollywood’s current formula for post-lockdown success is based on franchise returns, superhero yarns and old favourites. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if the project shows as much invention and passion for the animated art form as Minions: The Rise of Gru does. It’s feel-good and frivolous fun.

Rob Hudson
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