Despicable 'Minions' Causing Chaos (July 10)

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Universal and Illumination’s Minions & Monsters is getting a lot of praise and flak from fans and parents alike. This is actually the yellow guys’ third solo movie. On this day in 2015, they set out with their first movie and even after all this time, people are still not tired of them yet.

2015 – ‘Minions’ Get Their Own Solo Movie

Many Minions crowding the picture — *(Universal/Illumination)*

In 2010, Steve Carell voiced the iconic role of supervillain Gru in Despicable Me, but it was his little yellow servants, the Minions who stole the show. After also appearing in Despicable Me 2, these goofy guys became so popular, they got the chance to star in their own full-length feature simply called Minions.

Resembling walking, talking Twinkies, the Minions have existed since the beginning of time according to the animated film. It’s amazing how they have survived after all these years since they had a habit of accidentally killing every evil boss that they ever worked with.

Minions takes place in 1968, long before they meet up with Gru, with a quest to find their next boss. They start out by attending Villain-Con in Orlando and meet Scarlet Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock) who hires the Minions to help her steal the Imperial State Crown from Queen Elizabeth II. If they succeed, they get rewarded. If they fail, they die. Such a deal.

All of the Minions are voiced by animator/director Pierre Coffin. The Universal/Illumination Entertainment film also features the voice talents of Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Steve Coogan, Jennifer Saunders and Geoffrey Rush.

Some critics have said that a little Minions goes a long way. They make great side characters; can they lead their own movie? Opinions were mixed. However, Minions proved that they could hold their own. The movie had a $74 million budget and made almost $1.160 billion at the box office becoming the fifth-highest grossing movie of the year.

The Minions may be with us forever. In addition to Despicable Me 3 (2017) and Despicable Me 4 (2024), the yellow guys have also starred in Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) and Minions & Monsters (2026).

1956: Dick Clark

Dick Clark appeared on TV’s American Bandstand for the first time replacing former host Bob Horn.

1987: Brave Toaster

A panicked toaster has burning toast — *(Walt Disney Animation)*

Disney’s animated short film, The Brave Little Toaster was released in theaters. Nobody seems to know why.

1978: Black Anchor

Max Robinson appears on ABC New’s World News Tonight alongside Peter Jennings and Frank Reynolds.

1981: ‘The Fox and the Hound’ Causes Unrest in the Kingdom

A hound dog splashes water into the face of a fox. — *(Walt Disney Animation / via TVDB.com)*

Though in the end, Disney’s 24th animated film, The Fox and the Hound was a financial success, it took a lot of wear and tear to Walt Disney Studios Animation. The movie was loosely based on Daniel Mannix’s novel of the same name. It featured the voice talents of Jack Alberston, Pearl Bailey, Sandy Duncan, Corey Feldman, Kurt Russell, Paul Winchell and Mickey Rooney. The peaceful storyline of a cute and cuddly friendship between a red fox and a hound dog, was a lot less peaceful behind the scenes.

The movie was the last cartoon to be worked on by the remaining “Nine Old Men” who shared space with a group of newer animators. The old-timers included Wolfgang Reitherman (who served as a director), Frank Tomas and Ollie Johnston. The new animating talent included John Lasseter, John Musker, Ron Clements, Glen Keane, Tim Burton, Brad Bird, Henry Selick and Don Bluth. At the time, Bluth was one of the studio’s rising star animators, but he couldn’t see eye-to-eye with Reitherman. On his 42nd birthday, Bluth quit and asked that he not be credited in the making of the movie. He also took 13 other animators with him creating Don Bluth Productions.

Other problems ensued including a dispute about how the death of a character in the book should be portrayed and the yanking of a scene that featured two cranes (voiced by Phil Harris and Charo) who sang the song, “Scoobie-Doobie Doobie Doo, Let Your Body Turn Goo.” The movie was supposed to be released during Christmas of 1980 but was delayed.