Parents' Guide to

Minions: The Rise of Gru

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Groovy 1970s origin story has slapstick violence.

Movie PG 2022 87 minutes
Minions: The Rise of Gru Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

minions band together to help rescue Gru, who acts as a parental figure to them despite his shortcomings. Villainy is admired, but it's all pretty light and intended for humor (e.g., spraying strangers with canned cheese, eating ice cream in front of people on treadmills, etc.).</p> ">
Taraji P. Henson</a>) and four men, one of whom is voiced by Mexican American actor <a href=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/"search/Danny Trejo">Danny Trejo</a>. A White villain who uses martial arts is named Nun-Chuck -- she's a nun -- and is voiced by a White actor (<a href=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/"/search/Lucy Lawless">Lucy Lawless</a>). The main character befriends an unnamed Black biker (RZA) who appears in a few scenes. Master Chow (<a href=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/"/search/Michelle Yeoh">Michelle Yeoh</a>) is a female Chinese American kung fu expert who trains three minions. Minions mostly speak "Minionese" but occasionally use Spanish phrases, such as "teléfono" and "mi amor." Some of the horde of baddies are racially/ethnically diverse. A large portion of the second half takes place in San Francisco's Chinatown, and a plot point surrounds a magical pendant with the power of the Chinese zodiac. These cultural aspects are clichéd, shown as mystical and "exotic," and the few Chinese characters are all experts at martial arts. The film's directors and writers are all White men.</p> ">
Despicable Me</a> series and references other films in the series.</p> ">

Community Reviews

age 8+

Based on 35 parent reviews

age 5+

Very well done and hilarious

Hilarious! Might just be better than the first "Despicable Me". My kids ranged from 5-11 and all loved it and laughed throughout. Most of the violence is hilarious, for humors sake until the end where the villains face off and turn into large animals which I didn't think was that scary, my 5 year old girl was fine during that. I am also very careful about what my kids watch and actually say no to a lot of kids movies these days, but I was very pleased that they made a great movie while leaving out bad language and taking the lord's name in vain. One of the villains is a nun with nunchucks so possibly Catholics would not care for that, but didn't think that was insulting Christianity as it is more trying to be a funny opposite of what you'd expect kind of character. To clarify others comments on nudity....a few minion bums and a hint of bum crack as gru is getting out of shower singing is definitely not in the same category as "nudity" found in other films.
age 7+

This movie proves exactly what is wrong with our culture today. This movie literally celebrates evil. How do we as parents celebrate a young boy who wants to join an evil group of villains? The overall message of this movie is to chase evil, be evil, and choose and chase after an evil group of people to spend your life with. Better yet, start at the young age of eleven and have no moral compass. It made for good conversation with my children about exactly what is wrong with our world today. People blame weapons, try looking at what we’re teaching our children and what we celebrate as a culture.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (35 ):
Kids say (73 ):

Tween Gru and the ageless and delightfully silly minions make this 1970s-set origin story a short-and-sweet adventure for families and fans of the franchise. There's a universality to watching loner Gru idolize a group (he even has their action figures), even if it is a bunch of villains that includes Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson), Stronghold (Danny Trejo), Jean-Clawed (Jean-Claude Van Damme), Svengeance (Dolph Lundgren), and Nun-Chuck (Lucy Lawless). The supergroup of supervillains is seemingly unstoppable, so being temporarily outsmarted by a kid obviously doesn't go down well, and the ensuing adventure for Gru and his bravest minions strikes a good balance between slapstick, sight gags, and general shenanigans and more serious fight sequences. Matthew Fogel and Bryan Lynch's script is easy enough to follow for younger audiences but also features Easter egg references to the original story by providing a peek at characters and gadgets that show up in the Despicable Me movies.

The actors are all very well cast. Oscar winner Yeoh stands out as an acupuncturist who can level any opponent the Vicious 6 sends her way. Arkin is an ideal Wild Knuckles, who experiences a surprisingly tender character arc for a baddie. Henson and Nun-Chuck are the most compelling villains, but the group's individual backstories aren't explored. The animation is familiar, with a bold mix of details that bring the 1970s to life. And once again, the franchise offers up a catchy soundtrack full of covers and originals of big dance hits like "Funkytown" (literally used as a torture device), "Goodbye to Love," and minion-fied versions of "Cecilia" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Bottom line? The Rise of Gru isn't perfect -- in particular, its depiction of Chinese culture feels one-dimensional and clichéd -- but it's true to the original, and the minions are still utterly charming.

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