Pod Insights Pop Culture Happy Hour Minions & Monsters and What’s Making Us Happy About this episode Minions & Monsters is the newest addition to the Despicable Me franchise, but this prequel set the minions loose in 1920s Hollywood. They naturally become superstars in the age of silent film. But, as talkies take over, they struggle to stay relevant — until one of them ends up conjuring some cute but deadly monsters using a dead wizard’s old spell book. After many films featuring the hijinks of the yellow pill-shaped oddballs, does this minions feature give off any old Hollywood charm?
If you need more animated hijinks, check out these episodes:
In 'Toy Story 5,' playtime's over and screentime's in https://www.npr.org/2026/06/19/nx-s1-5862016/in-toy-story-5-playtimes-over-and-screentimes-in
'The Wild Robot' is grand and gorgeous, with big feelings https://www.npr.org/2024/10/02/1202966840/the-wild-robot-is-grand-and-gorgeous-with-big-feelings
Is 'Kung Fu Panda 4' a worthy entry in the fun and thoughtful franchise? https://www.npr.org/2024/03/13/1197962941/is-kung-fu-panda-4-a-worthy-entry-in-the-fun-and-thoughtful-franchise
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0:38 Stephen Thompson? The Despicable Me franchise has made billions of dollars at the box office, and it's spawned a second gigantic franchise with a series of movies starring those chattering, yellow, pill-shaped oddballs known as the Minions. I'm Stephen Thompson, here to talk about Minions and Monsters on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour is Rihanna Cruz. They're a freelance music and culture journalist. Hey, Rihanna.
1:02 Speaker 02 Hello, Stephen.
1:03 Stephen Thompson? Oh, boy, we're gonna do this.
1:04 Speaker 02 You stole my.
1:05 Stephen Thompson? Also with us is former host of Slate's Internet Culture podcast, I See Why Am I, and former Pop Culture Happy Hour producer Candace Lim. Hey, Candace.
1:14 Speaker 00 Hello.
1:15 Stephen Thompson? So nice to see you, buddy. For those who don't know the Minions backstory, they're silly little yellow chatterboxes who've existed since the dawn of time with the express purpose of supporting the worst villains around. But they're not villainous in and of themselves, in part because they have a habit of accidentally killing the various ogres and masterminds they're trying to serve. This is the third Minions movie and another prequel, this time set in 1920s Hollywood. Their hijinks make them natural silent film actors, but as talkies take over, they struggle to stay relevant until one of them ends up conjuring some cute but deadly monsters using a dead wizard's old spellbook. Minions and Monsters is in theaters now. Rihanna Cruz, I'm gonna start with you.
2:00 Stephen Thompson? What'd you think?
2:01 Speaker 02 I loved it.
2:02 Speaker 00 That's right.
2:02 Speaker 02 To the surprise of nobody, the Minions are here to save cinema.
2:07 Stephen Thompson? You are our Minions correspondent and our Jackass correspondent. And I feel like the two orbit each other like a binary star.
2:13 Speaker 02 Oh, absolutely. They're kind of the same movie if you like butt jokes and pratfalls.
2:20 Stephen Thompson? And a tight 90 minutes.
2:21 Speaker 02 Yeah, exactly, exactly. I mean, Minions of Monsters, what's not to love? You know, if you like Buster Keaton, if you like Orson Welles, if you're a fan of the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still.
2:33 Stephen Thompson? Somewhere Orson Welles absolutely just turned over in his grave.
2:37 Speaker 03 And he said, turn on the DVD player. I gotta watch this movie, Minions and Monsters.
2:42 Speaker 02 Absolutely. It is rife with references. I love a reference, you know, in a movie. I mean, I think I'm one of those few people that references can sustain a film, a 90-minute one specifically. And I was laughing the entire time. I was really chuffed watching the Minions. I mean, I love the Minions, you know? This movie is a love letter to cinema. I laughed, I cried. Minions and Monsters.
3:07 Stephen Thompson? You cried?
3:09 Speaker 02 I did because I love movies.
3:11 Speaker 03 Cinema can do that to you, Stephen.
3:13 Stephen Thompson? I'm a big crier, but what made you cry?
3:16 Speaker 02 I love movies. I was sitting in the theater.
3:19 Stephen Thompson? The presence of flickering images on the screen.
3:21 Speaker 03 Or like the bromantic friendships that have persisted through the like history of Hollywood. Henry and James, they invented cinema.
3:30 Speaker 02 Exactly. All timers, all timers there. I don't know. I like, as soon as the movie started, we get the Edward Muybridge, a man riding a horse, and the Minions are right there in the clip. Right immediately, I said, oh, this is a movie made specifically for me. Film lover who loves the Minions. And watching through, it was just a riot. I thought it was really clever, honestly. I feel like they threw a lot at the wall, but I liked everything that they threw. And I think there's enough in there for people that are not six years old to love.
4:05 Stephen Thompson? Okay, how about you Candace?
4:07 Speaker 03 Yeah, Steven, of course I agree. I love this movie. So I actually have had a very fraught relationship with Minions ever since they first came out in the first Despicable Me movie. I was like, they're so corny. They're for millennials who can't let a hot topic go. And then, as I approach that age now, I was like, oh, no, no, no, no. I get them. They represent my people. And so I had weirdly high expectations for this movie. And guess what? It beat them. This movie is better than I expected.
4:38 Speaker 02 Exactly.
4:39 Speaker 03 And I think on a very surface level, it's just because it reminded me how playful and visually satisfying Minions as an entity is. And I was very locked in. I didn't know where it was going. And that intrigued me. It was mystique. I loved it. I just think that there is actually something beautiful about this film, which is that they make this conjecture that cinema was shepherded by these two minions named Henry and James, who were essentially a buddy comedy. They're best friends. And I looked at them and I said, that's Matt Damon, Ben Affleck. Like, that's Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. That's Lenny and McCartney. Like, this-
5:16 Stephen Thompson? You know, the great duos throughout history, yeah.
5:18 Speaker 03 Yes, exactly. This is what that's about. And so I loved it. Even though I will admit, there is a lot. They do throw a lot at the wall, and I could take away one or two things. I'm happy, guys. I loved it.
5:33 Speaker 02 Steven, your face as me and Candace were both talking tells me you have a differing opinion.
5:37 Speaker 03 And by the way, during Rihanna's run, Steven takes a huge chug of that Lederdyke Coke, because he's like, I gotta, I gotta prep.
5:46 Stephen Thompson? Look, I'm not here to yuck anybody's yum. If you love this franchise, and if people listening who love this franchise or who have kids who love this franchise, clearly two devotees of this franchise are here to tell you that this is in line with the quality of the other films.
6:03 Speaker 02 It's the best one yet.
6:04 Speaker 03 I do think so. I do think so.
6:06 Stephen Thompson? That's interesting to me, because I thought Minions Rise of Gru. I came in as a Minions skeptic, as somebody who had seen the Despicable Me movies and felt that the Minions were more like- Cilantro, right? Like they're seasoning, they're not necessarily what you want to build an entire film around. It's a lot of the same thing. And I thought Minions Rise of Gru had this kind of visual style to it and brought in different characters and let the minions at times be supporting players in their own movie a little bit. And this definitely centers them. And for me, I just, I wasn't as down with it. I did enjoy, as Rihanna described, a lot of the
6:46 Stephen Thompson? like efforts to retrofit them into early cinema. I mean, as soon as you're seeing the minion, you know, with the man on the horse and that stuff, you're like, one of those minions is going to take a rocket to the eye. Like, I see where this is going.
6:59 Speaker 02 I clapped.
7:00 Stephen Thompson? For me, references without necessarily new jokes on top of them, it's not really my particular flavor. You know, but at the same time, I mean, who am I to argue with two, with two devotees? I did find myself constantly thinking about the minions canon and how this kind of differs from the minions canon because I had a whole conversation with our wonderful producer Liz Metzger before we were taping because I was like, in Minions parentheses 2015, we learned that the minions were like trapped in an ice cave from the 1810s to the 1960s. But now we have minions in the 20s. But apparently this is a different tribe of minions, which I'm
7:43 Stephen Thompson? sorry, people raises the question of where the minions went in the 1930s and 40s.
7:49 Speaker 02 See, but Pierre Cofan, the director, has said in interviews that the minions did not serve Hitler. And this is a different tribe. Right. And I like the fact that the minions, though, are just on a side quest in this movie. That's what I want out of the minions movies, to be honest. And that's what I think lacked a little bit in Minions: The Rise of Gru, is that I felt like the plot was too plotty, for lack of a better term. You know, I think there was a little bit too much happening, a little bit too much effort was put into making the minions. Fit into this larger story that they had crafted. And I like how this movie is minions focused because I do come to these movies for the minions.
8:35 Speaker 02 I don't come for anything else. I I come for the little short yellow guys to say funny stuff like, sorry. That's just what I'm here for. And that's why I like this movie because it's literally minion side quest movie. This is what I've always wanted from the Despicable Me franchise.
8:51 Speaker 03 Yeah, it's funny because you guys had mentioned Jackass. I actually was thinking a little bit about Scary Movie that came out this summer. And how that is a movie that uses references. I have to see it kind of in a similar way, like in this movie, they're doing shot by shot Citizen Kane. And I loved it. Scary Movie, they're referencing Get Out. And I think the critique there was kind of just that they're making references, but not making a point with it. And I'm not going to sit here and say like, the minions are making a point when they reference modern times.
9:23 Stephen Thompson? This is revolutionary cinema.
9:25 Speaker 03 Exactly. But I think it's because they are now entering Shrekdom of knowing that they are ironic. And they are, they have a cultural cachet of stupidity. And they are able to rise one inch above that stupidity and be like, watch me. Because guess what? The Citizen Kane little parallel, they actually did it quite amazingly. It was actually quite beautiful. In terms of things in this film that I will say are questionable in terms of timeline and whatever.
9:51 Stephen Thompson? Oh, boy.
9:51 Speaker 03 I mean, Stephen, did you want to talk about the feminist of it all, the suffragettes of it all?
9:54 Stephen Thompson? Oh, my gosh. I majored in journalism and history in college and my history major was furious.
10:03 Stephen Thompson? This movie is set in 1927. And for absolutely no reason, there's a whole subplot involving a suffragette.
10:11 Speaker 03 Right.
10:11 Stephen Thompson? Whose work has been done for her by this point. Did news not get to LA? That's seven years earlier, the 19th Amendment was ratified. I hope somebody got fired for that blunder. You know, I I seriously, I sat there like, why are my arms folded? This is a minions movie, but people.
10:29 Speaker 03 I know. And the thing is like, that entire plotline also involves. Okay, I will say there is another critique of this movie that I. I wonder if anyone else cares about, which is there are actually like too many monsters in this film, too many villains. In some of the marketing you've been seeing, there's like this orange blob with a bunch of eyes. I didn't know what that was.
10:47 Speaker 02 Irene.
10:48 Speaker 03 And basically Irene is what I would describe as like a collab between Orange Julius and Sarah V. Lotion. They don't really come until the very end of act three. I could have taken them out. I could have taken them out, to be honest.
10:59 Stephen Thompson? Well, the film is called Minions and Monsters, and the monsters don't even show up until halfway through.
11:04 Speaker 03 But there's so many monstros.
11:05 Speaker 02 I think there's two things about that, though. One is that I've been watching a lot of the older Toho Godzilla Kaiju movies. And there are so many monsters in them that serve zero purpose. They come in and out. They have no backstory. They're just there to like cause havoc for a few scenes and then leave. Minions and Monsters is, for all intents and purposes, a Kaiju movie. In that regard, and that's part of the reason why I loved it, part of this larger ode to cinema that they're doing in the way that the story is structured, very Godzilla-coded in my eyes.
11:42 Speaker 02 And second, I don't know, I think that like the movie exists in this kind of scattershot timeline. Where everything is kind of the same. I don't know, like there really is no timeline distinction here. Like, I don't really mind that the suffragettes are there. Do I think it was random? Absolutely. But also there's like a Merlin-type character conjuring monsters. And it's on the same timeline because that's the inciting incident to get them to go to Hollywood. So you're putting too much weight on the timeline of the minions.
12:22 Speaker 02 When I think really, it like is just the animators doing literally whatever they want. And that creativity you could see come through. And also, last thing, the fact that the big bad villain is a ball of slime, I think is really smart, low-key. Because it's kind of positing that cinema is the The antidote to, you know, the, the consumption slime.
12:51 Speaker 03 AI slop. Yeah.
12:52 Speaker 02 Right. Like the consumption slime AI slop economy that we find ourselves in. That's me big braining.
12:59 Speaker 03 No, no, no, but you're on to something because first off, Rana, I think what you're trying to say is actually Pierre Coffin said, the suffragettes, their work is never over. He's right.
13:07 Speaker 02 Mmm, feminist movie.
13:09 Speaker 03 Number two, when I looked at the title Minis and Monsters, I really genuinely thought, oh, they're going to say that the real monster is the industry of film and TV. And weirdly, you're right. They're saying, no, no, no, no. It is the thing that will save us.
13:21 Speaker 02 Mm hmm. Right. Because I, I think like, you know, we live in this era, especially with the young children that this movie is designed to serve in a way where neato, the little like balls of slime that people can like hold and grasp. Those are like the king of entertainment, right? For children of a certain age. This movie is saying that actually what you really need to do is link up with your homies and engage in communal creativity. Like, don't give in to, I don't know, the slime wars. I'm very passionate about this, but I saw that in the movie.
14:00 Speaker 03 Yeah, you should be.
14:01 Stephen Thompson? This is definitely the summer in which I see AI commentary in everything from back rooms to Toy Story five.
14:08 Speaker 03 Yeah.
14:09 Stephen Thompson? But I'm very impressed with what you have managed to read into this film. I think what this film does continue in terms of trends that I've seen play out over and over again in movies I've seen this summer is this kind of IP extension where you just reach a point where the movie is just supposed to be a fun hang with characters you've seen before.
14:32 Speaker 02 Totally.
14:32 Stephen Thompson? And that it doesn't necessarily have to fit into this like larger ranking of these, you know, points in the franchise's history. And conversation that we had around Toy Story five, where I just ultimately was like, I don't care how it ranks next to one, two, three and four. I'm just happy to revisit these characters. And if you're happy to revisit these characters, same goes for the latest. ...iteration of Scary Movie. The same goes for the same latest iteration of Jackass. You know, where we've talked about all these different films that have come out this year. And this film is ultimately, does it perfectly fit canonically with the other Despicable Me and Minions movies? Not necessarily, but if you're into these characters, it's a fun hang.
15:15 Speaker 03 Yeah, I think there are two things I am like deeply impressed about when it comes to this movie. First off, from like a marketing perspective, I really think this film does a good job of being like the Dwayne The Rock Johnson of like four quadrant marketing of like, there's eight year olds behind me, like so excited. There's me chronically online meathead loving this. And then there's like old guys next to me being like, I remember when the talkies were silent. This is my jam. And I'm just like, wow, like you really did that.
15:44 Stephen Thompson? Wait, are these people 115 years old?
15:47 Speaker 03 LA is different. LA water is different, Stephen. They're at the grove and there goes. But the other thing is, I can't believe I'm giving them credit for this. The Minions and Monsters movie does a really good job of acknowledging the Minions' place in the film industry while acknowledging how we got there and its history. And what I really mean by that is, there is a scene where they become the most popular actors in town and they like become paparazzi famous or getting like, you know, stuffed animals made out of them. And I'm like, that's literally what happened in 2010 when the first Despicable Me came out. And I'm like, there's a meta-ness, there's a self-awareness while acknowledging the, you know, safety last and the singing in the rain that came before. And I'm like, you can't say they don't know their history. Good job.
16:32 Speaker 02 I could see that, Candace. I think there's a meta commentary happening, for sure.
16:37 Stephen Thompson? Oh, absolutely. These films are nothing if not self-aware.
16:42 Stephen Thompson? Well, I think we can agree that this is a film that is in theaters now.
16:47 Speaker 03 The greatest film in theaters now. What are you talking about, Stephen?
16:51 Stephen Thompson? Up next, what is making us happy this week?
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18:05 Stephen Thompson? Now, it's time for our favorite segment of this week and every week. What's making us happy this week? Rihanna Cruz, what do you got?
18:12 Speaker 02 I know I just went on this long tangent against slop and how slop is infecting our content that we consume. But unfortunately, I am tapped into Love Island. I haven't watched it prior to when the boys were introduced to Casa Amor, where the couples get split up and the production brings in a bunch of new bombshells to tempt the guys into abandoning their current couple. I was very anti Love Island prior to that, and now I am hooked. I am watching it every night out of the week, except for Wednesdays, because that's when we don't get any new content.
18:51 Stephen Thompson? I mean, you're eventually going to run out around the year 3500.
18:55 Speaker 02 I have a lot to catch up on, Stephen. I am very tapped in. I see it as. A sociological experiment.
19:02 Speaker 03 Right.
19:03 Speaker 02 I'm watching how normal people move about the world and it scares me. And I can't look away. It's like a train wreck. I've turned other people on to it too by explaining it that way. My little brother, who has no interest in watching any content, but chess videos on YouTube, is now watching Love Island every single night with me and my partner.
19:22 Speaker 03 That's true.
19:23 Speaker 02 So I think what's making me happy this week is, in fact, Love Island.
19:27 Speaker 03 Trinity and Bryce forever. That's all I wanted to say.
19:30 Speaker 02 Trinity moment, absolutely.
19:32 Stephen Thompson? So that is Love Island USA streaming on Peacock. Thank you, Rihanna Cruz. Candace Lim, what do you got?
19:39 Speaker 03 So what's making me happy is actually from Paw Patrol, the Dino Movie. Hold on, hold on, stay on the line, stay on the line.
19:49 Stephen Thompson? Really did not know what you were gonna say there.
19:51 Speaker 03 I know. So the Backstreet Boys, yeah. They have made a song for the movie Paw Patrol, the Dino Movie. And it's written by Ed Sheeran and Savan Kotchak.
20:01 Speaker 02 Wow.
20:01 Speaker 03 Savan worked on a bunch of like Ariana Grande songs. He wrote What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction. And basically, they have put together a song, and it is called Bottle Up by the Backstreet Boys. I need you guys to listen to it right now.
20:12 Stephen Thompson? Yes.
20:29 Speaker 03 Uh, guys, is that not a hit? Is that not an absolute banger?
20:34 Speaker 02 You put Savan with the boy bands and it's over. It's lights out.
20:38 Speaker 03 Yeah, we're so back. This song is, it's so funky and it's kind of like on the edge of Bruno Mars without falling into uptown funk territory. And it kind of does remind me of like Pharrell Williams and how some of the songs he made for those Despicable Me soundtracks were like,
20:55 Speaker 02 Sure.
20:55 Speaker 03 way too good for no reason. Like sometimes when I hear Double Y from Despicable Me 4, I'm like, whoa, whoa.
21:02 Stephen Thompson? I mean, I'm also hearing a little bit, I mean, not to do the inevitable Backstreet Boys and Synth comparisons, but I'm definitely getting Justin Timberlake trolls movie sound.
21:10 Speaker 03 Exactly, exactly, exactly. So yeah, that's what's making me happy. Bottle Up by the Backstreet Boys.
21:16 Stephen Thompson? Awesome. Wow. Thank you, Candace Lim.
21:20 Speaker 03 You're welcome.
21:20 Stephen Thompson? So this is going to be a hairpin turn from the Backstreet Boys. We're heading into a holiday weekend that celebrates all things American. So naturally, what is making me happy is a French-Canadian duo that plays truly weird, mostly instrumental art-rock music while clad in giant papier-mache masks. Rihanna is pumping their fist right now. Last week, the band Angine de Poitrine became one of the most unlikely artists ever to crack the Billboard Albums Chart when both of their albums, Volume One and Volume Two, made their debuts. Here is a little sample from Volume Two from a song called Mata Ziklak.
22:14 Stephen Thompson? The word of mouth on Angine de Poitrine is still spreading. If you have not seen this band's performance on KEXP that's kind of gone viral, I highly recommend it. It's so theatrical and silly and weirdly hypnotic. If you are like folding socks, listening to Angine de Poitrine is going to make that so much fun. It's rock and roll. It's weird art. It's so fun. That's Angine de Poitrine and their new album, Volume Two. And that is what is making me happy this week. If you want links for what we recommended, plus some more recommendations, sign up for our newsletter at npr.org/popculturenewsletter. That brings us to the end of our show. Rihanna Cruz, Candace Lim, thanks so much for being here.
22:59 Speaker 03 Thank you.
23:00 Speaker 02 Thanks so much for having us. I feel like this was a very spirited conversation.
23:04 Speaker 03 Spirited, spiritual.
23:05 Speaker 02 Exactly what we need for the Minions.
23:07 Stephen Thompson? It really is. This episode was produced by Liz Metzger, Hafsa Fathema, and Mike Katzif, and edited by our showrunner, Jessica Rea. Hello, Cummin provides our theme music. Thanks for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. I'm Stephen Thompson, and we will see you all next week.
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23:58 Speaker 05 The 2026 midterm elections are upon us. On November 3rd, voters will determine what the next two years of their local leadership and the balance of national government will look like. Listen to the NPR News Now podcast for all the updates you need ahead of and after November 3rd from NPR News.
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