The main characters of the computer-animated Despicable Me franchise are the Minions and Gru, a former supervillain who eventually becomes a father, husband, and secret agent. Despicable Me was followed by two sequels, aptly named Despicable Me 2 and Despicable Me 3, as well as two spin-off prequels, Minions and Minions: The Rise of Gru. A third sequel, Despicable Me 4, is planned for 2024. What’s more, the franchise — which has become the highest-grossing animated franchise in history — has since branched out to include a theme park attraction, many computer games, a television special, and numerous short films.
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The biggest draw of Despicable Me is the instantly lovable characters. Of course, it’s the Minions who are perhaps the most loved, considering the amount of merchandise that exists, as well as the fact that they received their own spin-offs. The fictitious male species of yellow creatures are known for their infantile antics and largely incomprehensible language. But what are they saying and what language are they using?
Who Are the Minions?
Illumination
The Minions are tiny, yellow creatures with spherical, gray glasses, who resemble pill capsules. They measure around three feet in height, but their heights vary slightly just like humans. Their irises are typically brown, and they have one or two eyes (except for Bob, who has one green and one brown eye). Despite having no visible ears or noses, they appear to be able to hear and smell. The majority of Minions in the Despicable Me franchise have either no hair on their heads or, if they do, only a few stray black hairs. They are shown as being fairly clumsy and possessing a lot of mischievous tendencies, but they also have amazing technical skills, and can design and build spacecraft and playthings for Gru’s adopted daughters, especially the youngest, Agnes. The Minions are shown to have an almost insatiable appetite for fruit, especially bananas, as shown in the 2010 short film Banana.
Common English names for the Minions include Dave (one of the franchise’s earliest-known minions), Kevin, Stuart, Bob (the lead trio in Minions and Minions: The Rise of Gru), Mel (the Minions’ leader in Despicable Me 3), and Otto (the fourth lead Minion in Minions: The Rise of Gru). In addition to serving as the official symbol for Illumination, the Minions have come to be regarded by The New York Times as “corporate icons” for Comcast ever since the latter acquired NBCUniversal, the parent company of Illumination, in 2013.
The Minions Speak Minonese
To answer one of the biggest questions in the Despicable Me franchise, the Minions speak a made-up language known as Minionese, sometimes additionally known as Banana Language or Minion Language. The language was described as the “lexical version of a hearty stew, made up of words from multiple languages, expressed not only vocally, but through the Minions’ physical comedy,” in an article on The Motion Picture Association’s website. Therefore, the human characters in the Despicable Me movies can understand the generally nonsensical gibberish that the Minions speak, which is partially borrowed from various languages like French, English, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Spanish, and German. The English-sounding language is dubbed differently for each country in order to make the sounds somewhat familiar, despite the fact that it seems absurd. “You don’t understand their words, you don’t understand their grammar, but you do understand when they’re in a position of conflict, if they’re sad or if they’re happy,” according to director Pierre Coffin (via The Motion Picture Association’s website), who created and voices the language used by the Minions.
The Future of Minions
According to an article in Variety, the Minions and their beloved leader Gru will once again hit the big screen in the summer of 2024, which is a bit of a delayed release date when compared to the others. The cast of the animated, kid-friendly comedy about the rehabilitated super-villain and his army of yellow Minions — which includes Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove, and Steve Coogan — will all be back for the next installment. Chris Renaud, who helmed the first two Despicable Me films, returns to direct the fourth. Mike White will write the script, and Patrick Delage will co-direct. Chris Meledandri, the founder of Illumination, will produce. There is no information yet on the plot of Despicable Me 4, but fans can expect the usual level of Minions chaos, a great storyline, and, of course, more Minionese.
