Minions & Monsters (United States, 2026)

The thing I appreciate most about Minions & Monsters is its surprising sophistication. Sure, by the end, the film is doing the kinds of things that will engage kids (Minion-piloted spaceships shooting lasers at giant gelatinous blobs), but it begins as a valentine to old-time Hollywood. Along the way, there are opportunities for about a bazillion Easter eggs and cameos, including one of a very famous figure who provided his own voice and proved entirely willing to poke fun at himself. The movie's first half is episodic and scattershot, feeling more like a series of disconnected cartoons merged together, but in a way, that's part of its charm. The main story, which occupies the second half, feels slight but never quite loses its momentum. Whereas 2026's other big animated film, Toy Story 5, seemed diminished in terms of its cross-generational appeal, Minions & Monsters goes in the other direction, amplifying the adult-oriented content.

This is the seventh film to have featured the weird, adorable yellow creatures that first debuted as second fiddle to Gru in the original Despicable Me. It's also their freshest outing since that 2010 feature. Although disjointed and uneven, Minions & Monsters manages to be different, which is a welcome quality for a long-running franchise. It's like when Kirk and company went humpback whale-hunting: familiar characters and tropes, repackaged in new and engaging ways. If Toy Story 5 feels tired, Minions & Monsters feels like it has gotten a new lease on life.

The movie's creaky framing device features a guide (Allison Janney) taking visitors on a tour of a modern-day Universal Studios museum. At one point, she gathers everyone to tell the story of how the Minions—James and Henry in particular (both voiced by Pierre Coffin, the always-and-forever voice of the creatures)—changed Old Hollywood. This leads to various sequences where the Minions, forever in search of new Evil Masters to serve, inadvertently bring about the demise of their bosses (essentially a reprise of the foundational gag from the first Minions movie). Eventually, the yellow horde winds up making a splash in the silent film industry. However, after crashing and burning like so many human stars with the arrival of the talkies, they search for a creative way to regain their fame. Enter Goomi (Trey Parker), a cute, fawning, green creature who promises to introduce them to some big, ugly monsters that can co-star in the creature feature they want to make, capitalizing on Universal's monster movie craze of the immediate post-silent era. But, as Goom's true motives emerge, his supposedly endearing personality traits ultimately vanish.

While Coffin's voice work remains front-and-center, the co-writer/director brings aboard some distinctive, A-list talent to round out the cast. This includes Jeff Bridges as twin studio executives and Christoph Waltz as the director who "discovers" the Minions. Jesse Eisenberg is also on hand as a robot whose deus ex machina function doesn't rankle much in an animated romp like this, especially since the convenience of his arrival is likely part of the joke.

With a movie like this, the crucial question is how well it plays for kids. While it's probably not quite in the sweet spot that Toy Story 5 occupies, the slapstick Minions have an appeal all their own, and it's used to its best potential here. Where the latest adventure of Buzz and Woody seems to be repeating earlier outings, Minions & Monsters does enough that's new to keep it from falling prey to the most pervasive symptom of sequelitis: boredom. Also, by keeping the running time to a brisk 90 minutes, the Minions don’t threaten to overstay their welcome. The end credits are definitely worth hanging around for—there are a lot of fun bits and callbacks designed to bring a smile to your face. Look for some old friends who didn't make it into the film proper.

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.

Minions & Monsters (United States, 2026)