I think I owe Illumination Entertainment something of an
apology. For the longest time, I always judged them mainly off of their take on
Dr Seuss’ The Lorax, which still stands as one of the single worst films I’ve
ever sat through in so many ways.
However, that is honestly an outlier of their work: The rest of their films, in
one way or another, have tapped into a sense of nostalgia for the olden days of
animation and translated it quite remarkably for today’s audiences. Whether it’s
the 2-D throwback of The Secret Life Of Pets to the tribute to all things
musical with Sing, Illumination has secured its place in the industry as the
most retro-minded studio working right now.
And the crown jewel of their work to date,
the series that put them on the map, is Despicable Me. Or, more specifically,
the Minions that have now taken a life of their own and, whenever a new film
featuring them comes out, you will doubtless see them everywhere. So, in light of the studio’s pedigree and my admitted
sensitivity to overblown marketing, how does this latest instalment turn out?
