Minions

Minions. The character from Despicable Me that took the world by storm so much so they got there own feature film coming out this summer.

But what is about the character that look like pills, and all look super similar that made them act so differently and bring amusement to the nation? Well it could be the fact that their language sounds like norwegians on helium.


Or it could be that these cuties are so adorable through their naivety on life and curious personalities that overreact to everything new that brings out the child in every audience member who remembers what it was like to first have balloons, and to dress up and be silly and enjoy it before it gets old.

The simplicity of the animation that expresses these emotions is actually really refreshing, these characters may squash and stretch a little, but they don't really change shape. All the emotion is done through, their eyes and eyelids and there mouths, and stubby legs and arms. They waddle like penguins, which makes them even cuter. I really like how when they are all depressed in the arctic, they lean to one side all stooped and have really low upper eyelids like they can't bothered and there voices seem to be an octave lower.

I really like this shot where, the three minions are each expressing a different emotion and there's a little lead up to each with a description of how they are feeling about the journey ahead. Pride has a stooped back an head held high and eyelids squinting into the distance as if trying to prepare himself for the road ahead. For hunger the minion looks around to find food as if trying to scope up where the next morsel will come from and clutches his belly and then he's really happy when he finds a banana in his pocket. Where as the frightened minion is very similar to that of the sad ones in the rest of the arctic.

Another thing that I thinks great about these characters is how we don't need to understand there language to appreciate the dialogue because the actions and imagery is so clear. Maybe a future version of the module could deal a performance in an alien language, to really explore the acting and imagery of animation.