Despicable Me was a clever concept in
its decision to make a villain the protagonist, and it got away with this by
making the narrative about his inevitable redemption. Minions, the off-shoot prequel about the oddball lackeys that do
Gru’s bidding, succeeds in having their villainous tendencies (or admiration
for those who have them) because of their utter incompetence. In an opening
sequence which the rest of the film has a hard time following, we are given the
origin story of the Minions throughout all of history. While simultaneously
showing their propensity to follow the most despicable creature around, this
introduction allows for a series of amusing gags in their clumsy inability to
keep them alive.
