Rating of
2.5/4
minions
Amy - wrote on 07/15/15
Fine -- plenty of cute, and a few genuine laughs. I played spoil sport and worried about the politics of it, but in that respect it was somewhat less objectionable than I expected. Didn't romanticize the monarchy over much, and there are plausible marxist readings.
I am overall very interested in the Despicable Me franchise, because of the delicate line it walks in glorifying villainy. Unusual for a kids' movie, to say the least. Of course, the movies are hazy about what actual bad deeds are being committed. I mean, for the most part it's pretty light stuff that doesn't have any real moral consequence. It might be harder to root for Gru and his minions if they were, say, kidnapping young women and selling them into sex slavery. But given that necessary limitation, DM really doesn't back down from the anarchic, revolutionary joy it takes in rooting for the Bad Guy.
It's a pretty tame revolution that only steals a crown and doesn't guillotine its wearer. But as kids' movies go... it's something.
