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Why the Minions Are Given Less Screen Time as the 'Despicable Me' Series Progresses

As the series progresses, the Minions are receiving less screen-time. Why is this happening?

By Subham DasPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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'Despicable Me 2' [Credits: Universal Pictures]

Minions have given the Despicable Me series a different outlook and have gained so much attention that they had to be given a separate movie. They have been loved, cursed and hated, yet they have enthralled audiences enough to become a noted phenomenon. These short, yellow creatures with their unique language have induced so much laughter and entertainment that they have been adopted as the official mascot of Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. But as the series progresses, the Minions are shown for fewer minutes. Why is this happening?

'Despicable Me 2' [Credits: Universal Pictures]

The minions have a childish sense of humor and its their way of speaking which attracts laughter (and comments like "Aww, so cute!"). They are amused seeing bubbles in a water filter. They scan their own buttocks to entertain themselves. They make fun of characters' names (remember Silas Ramsbottom? Yeah, we had a hell of a laugh with that one). Their language is funny and their actions funnier. But as the franchise continues, we can sit back and ask ourselves: How are these yellow guys actually helping in the progression of the plot? Well, they aren't.

'Despicable Me 2' [Credits: Universal Pictures]

The minions were added as a comic relief, and their only purpose was to effectively keep an element of humor throughout the whole film. Without the minions, the serious tone of the film would have been constant throughout. The second and third movies of the franchise added a bunch of new characters, and this means that they had their own screen time and their own stories. The minions would have been an unnecessary addition and would have resulted in a waste of time and resources. To avoid this, the minions were given their own subplots with minimal connection with the main storyline. In the second movie, they spent half of the movie on a beach. In the last, they had their own small subplot in a jail.

'Despicable Me 3' [Credits: Universal Pictures]

The directors noticed the extraneous additions from minions and realized that they should be concentrating on building the primary storyline rather than spending more time on them. The directors had been showering too much attention on the minions, stealing the limelight while the real Despicable Me story stayed in the shadows. The producers wanted to popularize Gru and others to the same extent so they included the minions only for a few moments.

However, the plan had backfired and Despicable Me 3 was a flop compared to the prequels. The minions were the lifeline of these movies; people waited throughout the movie for their stupid talks and childish actions, but what they got was Gru suddenly going for a heist with his twin brother (whose existence was unknown until that point) and it couldn't have been worse. The minions came as a relief for a few moments but were taken off the screen just as swiftly. If it continues further in the prequels, then Despicable Me is soon going to lose its charm and fail to produce a box office success, however appealing the plot may be.

We hope the franchise directors will change their notions and start granting equal importance to our adorable and crazy minions. Despicable Me will never be the same without them.

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About the Creator

Subham Das

Movie and TV geek. If you love Superheroes, fictions and animations, then I'm your best friend. Follow me on Twitter @lord_danton for more intriguing posts.

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