Image copyright © by Marcus Trahan

Minions

(2015)

Redbox didn’t have Goosebumps, so we rented this. It’s a prequel about those little yellow fireplugs who got most of the laughs in the Despicable Me movies. They are trying to find a villainous master to lead them, in 1968. The best thing about the movie is the music, but that’s because it’s by artists like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Donovan. Other than that, it’s not really very funny, and not very well-made by the standards of computer animation these days. I was astonished to find that it is the second-highest grossing animated film ever, after only Frozen, and the eleventh-highest grossing film of all time! This is insane! More money than any of the Pixar films, and all but one of the Disney films. What is there about this sub-standard little piece of cash-in crapola that is so damn remarkable? I sure couldn’t see it.