Minions (PG)

Directors: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Michael Keaton, Geoffrey Rush, Jennifer Saunders, Steve Coogan

WHAT’S yellow and dangerous?

No, not shark infested custard, but a myriad of Minions on a mission to find an evil leader to serve.

The pint-sized helium-sounding stars of the Despicable Me films are back with their own epic adventure on a quest to track down the ultimate super villain.

Narrator Geoffrey Rush leads cinema-goers through ‘the most despicable’ prehistoric times to modern day as the banana-loving, denim-wearing Minions inadvertently kill off a whole host of mentors – including Tyrannosaurus, Dracula and Napoleon – along the way.

It is 1968 BG (before Gru) when colourful characters Kevin, Stuart and Bob leave their melancholy master-less home in Antarctica and head to the top secret Villain-Con in Orlando, Florida.

Here they come face-to-face with a feisty Scarlet Overkill (played by Sandra Bullock) who dreams of taking the crown from the Queen of England (Jennifer Saunders) and taking over the world.

The tiny trio become Scarlet’s henchmen with orders to head overseas to capture the crown from the Tower of London, but before they can say ‘campai’ (cheers in Minion speak) and raise a glass to their new leader they are forced to escape their master’s clutches in a bid to save the Minion race from total annihilation.

Cue 90 minutes of silliness and gibberish with English stereotypes and Beatles references aplenty.

You’ll giggle from start to finish although there aren’t quite as many belly laughs as Despicable Me 2 and for me some of the magic of the first two films is lost without Gru’s gentle side to lean on for comic support, as Scarlet is too one-dimensional to be anything other than just a baddie, albeit a female one.

But as a fun family film it sufficiently fills the gap ahead of the impending Despicable Me 3 and if the box office queues at the weekend are anything to go by, Universal will be rubbing their hands with glee.

Minions cakes, fast food meal toys, balloons, pyjamas, sweets and stationery ¬ the opportunities for merchandisers to cash in again are endless and impossible to escape if you have little ones.

My children have gone bananas over Minions and yours undoubtedly will too.

How to speak Minion

English: Minion:

Hello Bello

Goodbye Poopaye

Thank you Tank yu

I’m hungry Me want banana

We love you Tulaliloo ti amo

Fire! Bee do bee do bee do