Jeff Bridges, Allison Janney, and Bobby Moynihan on ‘Minions and Monsters’ and Cinema

No one would blame you for scoffing at the notion of the words “Minions” and “cinema” being uttered in the same breath. Since 2010, the goofy yellow mascots of Illumination Entertainment have been popular with younger Gen Z demographics, but not always critics or cinephiles. However, believe it or not, the latest movie Minions and Monsters is actually a charming love letter to cinema at a time when the theatrical experience needs it the most.

As someone who has never been a major fan of the Despicable Me or Minions films, I was preparing myself for a headache. So imagine my *immense* surprise when after the credits began rolling at the conclusion of the movie, I found that I actually enjoyed it!

Minions and Monsters isn’t necessarily profound art, but it was pleasant to see how personal it actually was for director Pierre Coffin. The movie is absolutely an outlet for Coffin to showcase his love and appreciation for the Golden Age of Hollywood, in many ways tracking the history of cinema from the Silent Era to the birth of the B-Movie. You can absolutely confirm that he didn’t just put references to Citizen Kane, Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, or The Day the Earth Stood Still for the younger kids.

This is a movie all about how amazing the art and passion of storytelling and filmmaking are, and expresses that during a setting that’s at the height of when feature films were revolutionizing the world. So for a movie about the legendary nature of Hollywood, Coffin needed the most legendary stars working today: Academy Award winners Allison Janney, Jeff Bridges and Emmy nominee Bobby Moynihan.

We were recently given the opportunity to talk to these three legends about the importance of cinema surviving the storm of streaming, YouTube, and TikTok, as well as the art of improvisation in a Minions movie. Here’s what they had to say:

This decade has so far seen the heavy impact TikTok, Twitch, and YouTube have had on the film industry, from TikTok playing a major part in the success of Minions: The Rise of Gru, to the rise and success of filmmakers like Markiplier (Iron Lung), Curry Barker (Obsession) and Kane Parsons (Backrooms). It’s definitely generated some storm clouds for movie theaters, as well, with many preferring to watch free content on their phones or wait for streaming than pay high prices for theatrical tickets. However, with the Minions franchise being one of the few that generates incredibly high box office returns with each film, having Coffin, Bridges, Janney, and Moynihan doing a populist film for a younger generation that makes the literal case for why the communal experience of cinema is not only important, but also magical, is something the industry needs right now. And I, for one, am absolutely grateful I got to speak to them about that, and grateful a movie like this actually exists!

If you love film as much as I do, you will absolutely want to check out Minions and Monsters, which is now playing in theaters today!