Saw MINIONS AND MONSTERS yesterday and it is a film buff’s delight; Muybridge, Meliês, the Lumières, Harold Lloyd, Chaplin, Keaton, all get referenced; and jokes are made of those references visually and aurally. In fact, the pidgin dialogue (I can pick out bits of Spanish, French, German and Italian) is as witty as the use of music and visuals. It’s like a whole history of cinema ( Citizen Kane, Casablanca, gangster films, monster movies, ad nauseum) is brought out and dusted off with the intent of making the audience laugh. And it succeeds, as much with children as with adults. A delight. I’d be surprised if this wasn’t used in future film courses to illustrate bits of film history and aesthetics.
José Arroyo
