YELLOW AGAIN...

Published date01 July 2022
Publication titleHuddersfield Daily Examiner
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reviewS BY DAMON SMITH

ABOuT 30 minutes into this outlandish computer-animated caper, I experienced an unsettling head rush of deja vu, convinced I had already seen these madcap misadventures of adolescent supervillain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and his goggle-eyed YELLOW hench-creatures.

A nagging sense of familiarity pervades every brightly coloured frame of Minions: The Rise Of Gru, the fifth instalment of the Despicable Me saga - the highest-grossing animated franchise of all time.

Trading heavily on the pratfalls and naive tomfoolery of the titular sidekicks, Kyle Balda's picture, co-directed by Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val, will add handsomely to the coffers but lacks dramatic necessity.

Scriptwriters Brian Lynch and Matthew Fogel sketch an origin story for gadget guru Dr Nefario (Russell Brand)

around a bruising battle between Gru and larcenous rivals, who opine that "evil is for adults, not for tubby little punks who should be at school".

Broad physical humour, including one minion's close encounter with the power flush of an aeroplane toilet, elicits gurgles of glee from younger audience members.

Seventies pop culture references are aimed at parents, who might otherwise sneak micro naps between overblown actionsequences.

The year is 1976 and Gru has reached the criminally prodigious age of 11 and three quarters. While the minions continue building an underground lair, Gru laments the death of his idol, Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin), leader of...

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