'Minions' Find Peace, Love, and Overalls in New Clip

Universal has found a smash with their Despicable Me movies, the two combining for over $1.5B at the box office. That's not bad, but they have the potential to do even better with Minions, a spinoff following Gru's silly little sidekicks. They're pretty much everywhere now, and in this new clip from Minions we see how they first came to America, in 1960s New York City no less.

Featuring the voices of Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, and Michael Keaton, the film basically tells the origin of how the Minions came to serve the first female supervillain, Scarlet Overkill. Along the way, Kevin, Bob, and Stuart will  encounter the peace and love anti-war movement of 1968, and fall in love with overalls as their go-to fashion choice.

Minions hits theaters in 3D on July 10th 2015.

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The Minions Spread some Holiday Cheer in New Promo

By now the Thanksgiving hangover has begun, and while most are recuperating from a long day of football and turkey, the Minions are busy getting ready for Christmas. The holidays have only just begun for the breakout stars of the Despicable Me films, and with their self-titled film coming next year AMC Theaters and Universal have come together for a Minion "Jingle Bells' promo.

Basically this spot is to promote a special offer for buyers of AMC holiday gift cards, but fans of Gru's yellow sidekicks will find it the perfect way to spread some Christmas cheer. Minions opens next year on July 10th 2015 featuring the voices of Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm.


MINIONS PROMO CLIP HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2015 by orangeanimation

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First Trailer for 'Despicable Me' Spinoff 'Minions' Shows Minions Throughout History

When Universal debuted Despicable Me a couple of years ago they never could have expected it to be the phenomenon it turned out to be. Originally designed as a starring vehicle for Steve Carell, voicing the supervillain Gru, most popular characters to emerge were actually his little yellow sidekicks, the minions. Now you can find them everywhere: on t-shirts, as toys, in their own amusement park ride at Universal Studios, and now they've got their own movie.

Universal has revealed the first trailer for Minions, a Despicable Me spinoff that works as an origin story. Directed by Pierre Coffin and featuring the voices of Jon Hamm, Sandra Bullock, Steve Coogan, Michael Keaton, and Allison Janney, the story shows how the Minions serving evil throughout history, until finally an ambitious trio set out to find a new master. Their best prospect turns out to be Scarlet Overkill (Bullock), the world's first female supervillain.

Basically, this looks like everything fans could want from a Minions movie, and with the first two Despicable Me films grossing more than $1.5B Universal is in no hurry to change the formula. Minions opens July 10th 2015.

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Blu-Ray Deal of the Week: 58% Off 'Despicable Me 2' Blu-Ray 3D/Blu-Ray/DVD Combo

If you just can't get enough of those crazy Minions (who are about to get their own movie) from Despicable Me, then this week's Blu-Ray deal is for you. You can get Despicable Me 2 on Blu-Ray/Blu-Ray 3D/DVD/Digital combo pack for only $20.99, that's 58% off the regular price. For that you not only get the hit film in multiple formats but it also comes with three mini-movies featuring the Minions in brand new adventures! The three-disc set comes with a ton of special features including commentary from Steve Carell on turning Gru from supervillain to super Dad.

You can orders today right here! We appreciate the support you continue to show our sponsors as it helps us a great deal. Punch Drunk Critics earns a small fee every time one of our readers buys from any of our links.

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Al Pacino departs 'Despicable Me 2'; Jon Hamm to voice 'Minions'

It's been no secret that Universal and Illumination Entertainment's focus on Despicable Me 2 has been geared towards those little yellow scamps, the Minions. Steve Carell may have been what helped put butts in seats for the first film, but he's been overshadowed by the popular sidekicks, and Universal is cashing in by giving them their own, self-titled spinoff coming in 2014. With only two months before the sequel opens, Universal is having to make some major changes, as one of their top celebrity voices just made for the exits.

Al Pacino had been set to to voice the villain Eduardo, but has now departed due to creative differences. Javier Bardem had initially been set for the role, but when he left Pacino took over. We had neither seen or heard anything of Pacino's character in the film, so maybe this explains why. Benjamin Bratt, last seen in the Dwayne Johnson drug thriller Snitch, will be stepping in to replace Pacino. Directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin will have to go back with Bratt and redo all of Pacino's scenes, which could be significant considering how long he was a part of the production. Bratt joins Carell, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Ken Jeong, and Steve Coogan for the July 3rd release.

Where one A-lister drops out, another one has stepped in for the spinoff, Minions. The ever-versatile Jon Hamm (Mad Men) has signed on to voice a major character in the film, which is set long before the minions ever served Gru. Taking place in the 1960s, it follows a group of minions who go off in search of a new leader to follow, and wind up serving Scarlet Overkill, a stylish, bad ass supervillain voiced by Sandra Bullock. Hamm will lend his vocal talents to her husband, Herb Overkill.

It's another example of the many talents Hamm has at his disposal, as we've heard him voice a number of animated characters in the past, including playing Brogan the Ogre in Shrek Forever After. He's recently wrapped Clear History, the HBO comedy film from Greg Mottola and Larry David. Next up for him is the Disney sports drama, Million Dollar Arm.

Minions is slated to hit theaters on December 19th 2014. 

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Sandra Bullock to voice supervillain in 'Despicable Me' spinoff, 'Minions'

Those little yellow minions from Despicable Me are taking over, and there's nothing anybody can do about it. And why would they? They're so darn cute! Last summer we learned that along with Despicable Me 2, Illumination was planning a spinoff titled simply Minions. Now we're learning that Sandra Bullock will lead the voice cast, playing the supervillain Scarlet Overkill.

Perhaps most interesting is what the story entails, taking us back through history and revealing that the Minions have been around a long time, always serving the most despicable villain they can find. I wonder if this will be like the Minion version of Forrest Gump with them showing up at crucial points in time? The Minions serving Dick Cheney, maybe? No? Overkill is described as stylish and bent on world destruction. Yep, that sounds like Bullock alright.

Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, Minions opens on December 19th 2014.

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The Minions celebrate Halloween with a new 'Despicable Me 2' trailer

It's probably a year or two too late to go out dressed as one of the Despicable Me Minions for Halloween, but when the holiday comes around next year I'm betting we'll see a bunch of folks dressed up as the little yellow buggers. A new trailer was released today for Despicable Me 2, and it's a surprisingly ominous, perfect for the Halloween season.

Something alien or possibly supernatural appears to be hunting the minions, and it doesn't seem to care if they're embroiled in an intense game of backyard golf or not. We don't get to see much of Gru(Steve Carell) except during the title sequence, which isn't much of a surprise since it's the Minions people have really connected with. Universal is clearly using this film as a springboard to their upcoming Minions spinoff.

Despicable Me 2 opens next year on July 3rd....

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'Despicable Me' Minions to get spinoff feature film

As enjoyable as Despicable Me turned out to be, it was those little yellow Minions that stole all of our hearts and had the biggest laughs. While they'll be turning up in Despicable Me 2, Universal and Illumination see the potential for a spinoff that focuses solely on their comic misadventures.

Deadline reports that the film is already in the works with Brian Lynch(Hop) having written the script, although no plot details are available at this stage. All we know at this point is that it will be an original story, that will bring back a few old characters and introduce some new ones. That means we may possibly see Steve Carell's Gru at some point, and probably Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario. Pierre Coffin, who co-directed Despicable Me, will be on board for this one as well, teaming up with Kyle Balda, fresh off his success with The Lorax.

The aim is to have the film completed by 2014. Movies with supporting characters don't always turn out so well, and Universal runs the risk of watering down their beloved characters. They probably figured that since the Minion short-films and video games have been so successful this was the logical next step. We'll see.  Despicable Me 2 hits theaters next year on July 3rd 2013.

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