I think we just live in a nostalgic time. In an era where the world is sick, both literally and metaphorically, we have spent an extended period in pop culture looking backwards. Music has shifted back to dance-pop (stream Renaissance), reboots and retellings of recent(ish) events have become the predominant form of filmed media, and I guess it isn’t all good or bad. But I did find it almost distracting when watching the newest instalment of the Despicable Me franchise.
To put this in context, this is the second film in the spin-off series “Minions”, which seeks to contextualise the titular sidekick creatures from the “Despicable Me” films, which began in 2010. The main franchise will have its fourth instalment out in 2024, bringing the count to six, not including a television special and various short subjects. These films come from Illumination, an animation company owned by Universal, which has produced other animated classics like Hop (2011), Sing (2016) and the upcoming Chris Pratt led Mario film. How…thrilling.
This is a studio about as soulless as they come. It’s to the 2010s and 2020s as DreamWorks was to the 2000s. Not a single project exists as a grand statement of…well, anything. Every other major film studio from the past half-century has given some form of blockbuster filmmaking a go. From Epic (2013) to Prince of Egypt (1998), there is always a story someone higher up wants to be told. Maybe The Secret Life of Pets (2016) was that for Illumination. I doubt it. But obviously, there is something indelible to these films and their appeal. Not even Pixar has this type of magic touch anymore.
The answer is that they’re sitcoms.
The good old American sitcom is built on a central pillar of easy company. They make you chuckle, the lesson is heart-warming, and the stakes rarely change. Minions: Rise of Gru exists in a similar vein. Gru learns to trust his friends and that makes him a good villain. Much like how his lesson to trust his children makes him a good villain in the original film. I never saw the other movies, but synopsises on Wikipedia show the pieces are there for great sitcom episodes. The betrayal of a friend who comes back, the new girlfriend who slots into the chaos, the sudden introduction of a sibling to spice things up. I’m like 90% sure all three storylines are stolen from Rugrats.
All of this is fine. This second Minions film is cute. It’s not especially cloying either. But I just couldn’t bring myself to actually enjoy it. Like a sitcom, it is hard to care about a flashback episode. That’s pretty much my review.
But there’s more.
There’s a reason I brought up sitcoms, and that’s because I can actively feel film becoming television. I can see the syndicated storylines, the spin offs, the years long dramas unfolding. Much like how prestige television sought to take the best from film to increase the value of their product, film is looking for viewer loyalty. There’s a reason why every franchise is a cinematic universe, every hit a franchise. Independent stories have become the realm of auteur cinema - a title previously reserve for, you know, auteurs.
Nobody should panic, there’s plenty of films being made outside and inside the Hollywood system that do more than just add lore. But as I write this, my brain keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop for all of them. In a world where X (2022), the mid-sized horror hit, is getting a prequel, where Crazy Rich Asians (2018) is getting a sequel and a spin off, I don’t know if any film is safe. It’s paranoia, but so much Hollywood cinema is homogenous. Thank God for Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (2022), for simply being good and currently singular.
It isn’t that I hate franchises. I just adore film from television as its distinct thing. And I shouldn’t feel grateful while watching an Elvis Presley biopic or be thinking about the state of cinema while watching a children’s movie about yellow packing peanuts who sound like the aliens from Toy Story.
Originality isn’t dead, it just isn’t being funded.
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I think I went a bit crazy writing that review.
Sometimes, like many people, I spiral into dark thoughts and miserable moments. Apparently, an animated film where there’s extended butt jokes did that to me. You live, you laugh, you write almost 1000 words about how cinema should be distinct from television. Go fish, y’all.
I didn’t even write about the actual animation, which is lovely and elastic. Computer generated visuals tend to be stiff, but Illumination have mastered the art of bringing the animator’s traditional stretch and bouncy physics into their character movement. The design is also fantastic, with the characters each having a distinct look to them. It’s incredibly appealing, particularly compared to Disney’s much more constrictive design standards. Gru is ugly, but in a fun way. Loved that.
There’s also something to comment on with the film’s culture that I entirely ignored. Probably because I assumed it would come to me later. With a phenomenon so distinct as a bunch of teen boys seeing an animated film in suits, you know there’s a deeper cultural thing going on. Yes, they think it’s funny, but why? I can’t tell you. It’s stupid and the insight just isn’t there. I don’t feel like doing that research, teens just aren’t my demo at 24.
Assume it’s the same inclination as it was to do the Harlem Shake.
The film is pleasant. As much as it seems to have sent me into a rage, that isn’t reflected in the projections at the cinema. This is about as offensive a film as a Barbie film. And I think that’s something else that affected me. I’m just oversaturated with content about and for kids. Maybe I need a break from it all. Nothing I wrote in that initial review is incorrect, but it was also a reflection of where I was when I wrote it.
It is nostalgic, and I’m just not. Not at the moment, where the eras you can be nostalgic for are the foundations for the world we have now. Or maybe I just need a good night’s sleep. I haven’t had one of those in life a month.
such a fun read!!! really liked this and chuckled at the tone shift KDKDKDKKDDKJD