Over nearly two decades and six feature films, the Despicable Me/Minions franchise has delivered not only superb family entertainment, but over five billion dollars at the box office. And now we have the third stand alone Minions film - Minions & Monsters. While this is possibly the lightest story in the Minions/Despicable Me franchise, Minions & Monsters is a colourful, sugar rush of a film that will keep kids entertained these school holidays.  

Set in 1920s Old Hollywood, Minions & Monsters follows the Minions as they accidentally become movie stars. When the era of "talkies" ruins their fame, two ambitious Minions, James and Henry, use a stolen spellbook to summon monsters for their own film, inadvertently unleashing chaos that forces them to save the planet. 

 

As a film buff with a special affinity for old school Hollywood, the setting of Minions & Monsters is a dream. Running at breakneck speed throughout tinsel town, we see a homage to everyone from Charlie Chaplin to George Lucas hilariously trapped in a display case. 

 

And this is where Minions & Monsters is at its narrative and slapstick comedic best - predominately in the first half of the film. The story is fresh, bounces from idea to next colourful idea, and its laugh out loud funny (my four and two year old nearly laughed the cinema down).

 

It's in the second act that it feels a little sluggish - losing a little bit of direction as Goomi, a monster summoned from a book of spells, enters the tale. But the film still manages to entertain with its colourful and highly detailed animation completely filling the screen from top to bottom. 

 

While this is possibly the lightest story in the Minions/Despicable Me franchise, Minions & Monsters is a colourful, sugar rush of a film that will keep kids entertained these school holidays.