There have always been whispers about the Minions. They worked for the dinosaurs, for the Pharaohs, for Dracula and Napoleon. In each historical era, they sought out the most villainous possible boss to serve. So, does that mean they worked for Hitler and the Nazis? The official Minions backstory conveniently explains this away by saying they spent most of the 1800s and 1900s in a cave, but with Minions & Monsters introducing the concept of multiple tribes, those whispers are getting louder.
Earlier this week, director Pierre Coffin, who also voices the Minions, was asked directly about the connection between Hitler and the Minions, and he quite clearly wanted nothing to do with the implication, though he’s seen the theories online. He said the OG Minions from the earlier movies were stuck in the cave during World War II, and while he’s not sure what the new Minions were doing, it was not working for Hitler. Here’s a portion of the quote he gave Polygon…
I was trying to avoid the answer… So the Minions that we know from Minions 1 were stuck in the cave. These ones, I don't know where they were, but they were not part of the Big History.
If I were Pierre Coffin, I’d want no part of this conversation either. Typically, if you’re working on a successful franchise that’s popular with children, you’re not really looking to get into philosophical conversations about whether your characters were or would have been Nazis. Because I’m a random dude on the Internet who likes talking about utter nonsense, however, I do want to have these conversations. I want to talk about what those Minions were doing during World War II, and as such, I find this answer unsatisfying. I’m going to need a canonical explanation in a future movie.
Joking aside, Minions & Monsters is expected to hit the holiday weekend in force at the box office. Many are estimating the movie may make $60 to 90M over 4th Of July, which is an incredible performance for seventh movie in a franchise that’s following new characters this time around. There’s something about the Minions, however, that are just a delight to watch. They’re so popular with kids, but they’re also amusing to everyone else too (including ice skaters). There’s a charm about them that just makes you smile.
Coffin himself has been a part of the franchise the whole time as the man who provides the often impersonated voice, but his behind the scenes involvement has ebbed and flowed. He directed the first three Despicable Me movies and the first Minions but only provided the voices for Minions 2 and Despicable Me 4. He’s now back in the director’s chair for Minions & Monsters and picked up a writing credit for the first time in the franchise.
The latest effort is getting very strong reviews from critics, and there’s every reason to believe fan buzz will be positive too, whether people are aware of the hilarious Nazi allegations or not.
