What, exactly, is the appeal of these little yellow creatures? You might well wonder. They don’t tell clever jokes. They babble incomprehensibly. Far from being good, they work as henchmen for villains. Do they have distinct personalities? Perhaps, if you count the number of hairs on their heads, the proportions of their bodies and the number of eyes each has. Introduced in Illu¬mination’s animated Despicable Me (2010), the Minions are unlikely stars. With bodies resembling yellow capsules, a Minion looks more like a logo than a character. They have nowhere near the Smurfs’ range of personalities, and they all wear goggles and overalls. You could call them a design tailor-made for merchandising, perfectly suited to a capitalistic age.

So why have audiences grown so fond of them? One expla¬nation, often offered for the appeal of the Korean penguin Pororo, is that the Minions resemble very young children. They share a child’s head-to-body proportions and can make a colossal mess while seeming blissfully unaware of right and wrong. Even among Hollywood creations, they are unusually resistant to growth or change. From Cretaceous dinosaurs to contemporary villain Gru, their reason for being has been to seek out and serve the greatest villain they can find, their “big boss.” Tragically, perhaps because they act without a thought for the consequences, they accidentally destroy one master after another. Their victims include a cyclops like the one in the Greek epic The Odyssey, the medieval Dracula and the historical Napoleon. Gru, their most recent boss, is the rare exception: he and the Minions have managed to stay together.

Originally conceived as sidekicks to the main villain, the Minions became such unexpected favorites that they launched a franchise of their own with Minions in 2015. As they step into lead roles, indi¬vidual Minions finally begin to stand out: Kevin, a leader; Stuart, who dreams of the spotlight; and innocent Bob. This trio carries Minions and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022). In their origin story, the clan of Minions hides in a cave for over 100 years after the Napoleonic Wars, emerging to eventually find a young Gru. However, Minions & Monsters (2026) revises the henchmen’s lore. The Minions were never a single tribe, and other groups wandered the world over the years. One such roaming clan includes James, who loves making up stories, and his best friend Henry. When their clan stumbles onto a film set in the 1920s, they inadvertently create an acrobatic action sequence and become Hollywood stars.

Director Pierre Coffin was so determined to bring them to 1920s America that he even rewrote the Minions’ official history. What did that decade mean for American cinema? European directors such as Ernst Lubitsch and F. W. Murnau arrived in Hollywood in large numbers, while slapstick comedy, with its aesthetic akin to animation, flourished. As James and Henry explore Hollywood, they even wander onto the sets of slapstick legends Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. And because Universal Studios, the company behind the Minions series, has a rich stable of screen monster series — including Frankenstein, The Mummy and Dracula — those classic characters slip naturally into the story of the Minions’ rise to Hollywood stardom.

The opening of Minions & Monsters might have come straight from the first chapter of a film history book. The Minions are inserted into Eadweard Muybridge’s sequential photographs of animals and in the early films of the Lumière brothers and Georges Méliès. It is as though they are direct descendants of early cinema and its innocent sense of wonder. Once given ordinary names like Kevin, Dick and Ed, the Minions in this film are named after legendary directors: Quentin, Ridley and Federico. Young viewers are unlikely to catch the allusions to Citizen Kane (1941) and Casablanca (1942), but it is lovely to think they are meeting the forerunners of the films they love without even knowing it. Above all, Minions & Monsters casts its heroes as silent-film stars. As in the classic musical Singin’ in the Rain (1952), they win fame and adoration through slapstick, only to find themselves shut out when sound arrives and they cannot deliver their lines.

Consider the Minions’ distinctive language. Much like the babble of the young children they resemble, the Minions have their own unique form of speech: Minionese. Coffin records every voice himself and adds effects, borrowing bits of basic vocabulary from languages including Italian, French and Spanish to create a language of sheer chatter. Remarkably, we somehow understand it without subtitles. Coffin has said he keeps a Minionese glossary on his smartphone. Words such as “Shinkansen,” “Mbappé” and “Sharapova” can find their way in simply because they are fun to say, whether or not we know what they mean. This is a melodic language in which pronun¬ciation and intonation matter more than grammar. Chil¬dren can giggle all day over a Minion’s cry of “Banana!” or “Bottom!” Even the most solemn adult would be hard-pressed not to laugh at the Minions’ choral rendition of the Mission: Impossible theme. Because Minionese does not have to carry the story’s meaning in words, the film need never stop their antics for dialogue.

The Minions can race across the screen much like the figures in silent movies. Some may dismiss these creatures, forever arrested in their growth and forever in motion, as emblems of the 21st century’s dwindling attention span and cultural decline. Yet a generation falling asleep clutching Minion-shaped cushions may remember these little pleasure seekers, always moving in packs, as the friends who taught them the sheer joy of movies. In the early 20th century, after all, film was a pleasure found on the streets and a source of happiness for ordinary people.

Sherlock Jr. (1924)

The masters of slapstick turned the plight of modern people — forced to keep pace with the rhythm of machines — into comedy tinged with tragedy. They were live-action heroes defying physics in ways usually reserved for animation. In this film, Buster Keaton moves through a world where time and space change with every cut. Like a Minion, his character remains unharmed, no matter how hard the blow.

Paddington 2 (2017)

The polite bear from Peru is a kindred spirit to the Minions: a slapstick character who leaves physical chaos in his wake, however good his intentions. Combining CGI characters with live action, Paddington and Paddington 2 deserve their place among modern classics. The second film also gave Hugh Grant, playing its villain, a career renaissance.

Babylon (2022)

An ambitious film by Damien Chazelle, director of Whiplash and La La Land, Babylon recreates the hedonistic Hollywood of the late 1920s and early 1930s, amid the upheaval brought by sound. Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie play a silent-era star and a newcomer who evoke Douglas Fairbanks and Clara Bow. It is a tribute to cinema steeped in an aesthetic of excess.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Rami Malek stars as Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the legendary British rock band Queen. With the band’s growing success, he finds himself torn between questions of identity, loneliness and temptation. He ultimately strikes out on his own, but the choice has consequences he never expected. Reunited with his bandmates, Freddie takes the stage with them at Wembley Stadium for Live Aid in 1985. The film reaches its climax by re-creating the legendary performance reportedly watched by some 1.9 billion people worldwide.

Elvis

How did an unknown singer become the King of Rock and Roll? At 19, a young Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) takes the stage at a small local venue and electrifies the crowd with dance moves unlike anything mainstream America had seen. Though his new sound draws fierce criticism, Elvis refuses to back down. A scene of him singing Unchained Melody in a white jumpsuit gives way to actual footage from his 1977 Rapid City concert, bringing the Elvis of his final years vividly back to the big screen.

Dreamgirls

The Dreamettes, a girl group that gets its start singing backup, begins to make a name for itself. Its members are the gifted lead singer Effie (Jennifer Hudson), Deena (Beyoncé Knowles) and Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose). But in the unforgiving world of show business, Deena emerges as the group’s new lead singer, driving a wedge between Effie and the group. Pop diva Beyoncé’s R&B performances and dazzling production numbers are among the film’s undeniable highlights.

Rocketman

A fantasy musical about the life of Elton John (Taron Egerton), this imaginative, abstract biopic features the singer himself as executive producer. During one performance, he and the audience float into the air. In another, as he sinks deep beneath the water, he encounters his younger self dressed as an astronaut. Set to his music, these dreamlike sequences play like music videos, as striking visually as they are musically.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Whitney Houston (Naomi Ackie), one of the most awarded recording female artists of all time, began as a girl singing in a gospel choir. One day, she unexpectedly finds herself on a small stage, where a single song changes her life forever. Her personal life may be shaken by love and family troubles, but Whitney’s commanding voice never falters.

Tenet

A CIA operative (John David Washington), investigating a phenomenon in which time runs backward, unexpect¬edly joins the secret organization Tenet. Alongside the coolheaded operative Neil (Robert Pattinson), he sets out to stop Sator (Kenneth Branagh) from using time itself as a weapon to destroy the world. The film’s action sequences entangle figures wearing oxygen masks as they collide across timelines.

Disclosure Day

During a live broadcast, TV meteorologist Margaret (Emily Blunt) suddenly begins speaking in an unknown language. Cybersecurity expert Daniel (Josh O’Connor), who has been investigating extra¬terrestrial secrets, realizes that Margaret’s strange phenomenon holds the truth behind a long-buried incident. Together, they set out to reveal the truth about alien existence to the world.

Independence Day

Just days before July 4, U.S. Independence Day, enormous alien ships appear over major cities around the world, threatening humanity with extinction. Satellite and computer technician David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) detects a countdown to an all-out attack hidden within their signals. Marine Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) and U.S. President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) join forces to mount a counterattack for humanity’s survival.

The Classic

After stumbling upon her mother’s diary, Jihye (Son Yejin) is drawn into the bittersweet first love between Junha (Cho Seungwoo) and Juhui (Son Yejin, in a dual role). As she reads through her mother’s heartbreaking past, Jihye realizes that this long-ago romance is deeply intertwined with Sangmin (Zo Insung), the man she quietly loves.

Once

An unknown singer-songwriter (Glen Hansard) who makes a living busking shares an unexpected musical connection with a young Czech immigrant (Markéta Irglová) he meets on the street. As they grow closer, soothing each other’s sorrows and dreams in song, the two record an album together over a brief interval of time, pouring into music what they cannot say aloud.

Look Back

Despite differing abilities, Fujino draws manga with Kyomoto, a talented classmate who shut herself in her room to draw. Kyomoto slowly ventures out into the world following Fujino’s lead as they pursue their shared dream, only to die tragically. Fujino is left alone in the small room where they once dreamed of becoming manga artists. As she weeps, scraps of a four-panel manga she has torn up slip beneath the door and reach Kyomoto in the past.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

After fighting alongside the Avengers, high schooler Peter Parker (Tom Holland) returns to his everyday life under the guidance of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Eager to prove himself as Spider-Man, he struggles to balance school, friendships and his growing responsibilities as a hero. But being a superhero isn’t quite as simple as he imagined.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Peter Parker is looking forward to a school trip across Europe, hoping to take a break from his superhero duties and spend time with his friends, especially MJ (Zendaya). But when mysterious threats emerge, his vacation takes a surprising detour. Can Peter enjoy being an ordinary teenager while the world still needs Spider-Man?

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Peter Parker faces his greatest chal¬lenge yet as his life reaches a dramatic turning point. Reaching out to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help, he finds himself caught in an adventure that defies everything he knows. With familiar faces, unex-pected encounters and thrilling action, Spider-Man’s world is about to change like never before.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

A new chapter begins for Peter Parker as he confronts fresh challenges in New York City. Balancing the responsibilities of being Spider-Man with the struggles of everyday life, he navigates an unanticipated path. What lies ahead for the friendly neighborhood hero in this new adventure?

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