Minions & Monsters is available to rent or buy digitally on Amazon, Apple TV and Fandango at Home, after a theatrical run that began on 1 July. It is not on a subscription service yet, so for now this is a premium rental, but it is the first chance to see Illumination's 1920s Hollywood monster comedy without a trip to the multiplex.
Pierre Coffin directs and co-writes the film with Brian Lynch, the third chapter in the Minions prequel run and the seventh entry overall in the Despicable Me franchise. The story follows a handful of Minions chasing a filmmaking dream in 1927 Hollywood, just as silent pictures give way to sound, hoping to cast real monsters in their own creature feature and then scrambling to contain the disaster once those monsters get loose. Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz and Jeff Bridges lead the human voice cast.
The best reason to watch it now is the setting itself. Coffin leans into the era rather than just referencing it, dropping whole stretches into black and white, silent film style staging that plays as a genuine tribute to early Hollywood rather than a passing gag. A cameo from George Lucas, recorded during a visit to Illumination's studio in France, adds another layer for anyone tracking the film history jokes. It has landed the best reviews of the Minions prequel series so far, with a Metacritic rating of 69.
At 91 minutes, it is built for a family watch rather than a long sit, and it rewards the kids in the room as much as the parents old enough to catch the classic Hollywood references. Anyone who has followed the Despicable Me universe from the start gets the added pleasure of watching the Minions long before they ever crossed paths with Gru. A 4K and Blu-ray release follows on 8 September.
