Minions: Why are they so popular?
How did the creation of our favorite yellow creatures, the Minions, happen? Minions became a big hit in 2010 when the first Despicable Me movie came out. When the French animation studio Illumination was developing “Despicable Me”, the team decided that they needed to include some sort of comedic relief. By doing so, it was supposed to make the movie’s main character, Gru, more sympathetic. Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, the directors, alongside the character design team, came up with the Minions, the loveable yellow creatures that would follow around their fearless leader.
How did the Illumination team come up with the unique language the Minions speak? Coffin, a French animator, offered to improvise a high-pitched gibberish dialogue for the characters. Test audiences loved the nonsense dialogue and found it funny which made it interesting to watch. Soon enough the Minions became a favorite among audiences and people looked forward to seeing the Despicable Me movies because of the Minions. The spinoff movies: “Minions” and “Minions: Rise of Gru” were a huge hit and have in total earned $4.6 billion worldwide. In a recent interview, Coffin said that at times he finds himself not wanting to do anything Minion-related but remembers just how fun it is to work on projects related to the Minions. “There’s something very appealing that I really like about those characters. So even when I say that I want to get out of it, then I think, ‘Oh, I should do that, it’s fun,’” said Coffin in a recent interview.
Why do so many love the Minions and participate in it during Spirit Week? The Minions have become so loved they’ve been included in merchandise, theme park rides, TikTok trends, and even during High School Spirit Week. So why exactly did the Minions become so popular and continue to grow in popularity? “When ‘Minions’ came out, I had two reactions: Firstly, the marketing was overwhelming, and I think they’ve overdone it. And second: How did we make a billion dollars with this movie?” said “Minions” director Coffin. Coffin believes that the minions were created to be marketed toward younger audiences by selling toys and games. Even high school students from all over the country dressed up as minions for Halloween or Spirit Week. There was even a TikTok trend not too long ago when the “MInions: Rise of Gru” movie came out, many teens dressed up in suits to see the movie. The videos gained millions of views and the hashtag “#GentleMinions” gained over 61 million views on the platform. The trend is a perfect example of how Minions continue to stay relevant despite being introduced years ago.