When it comes to film, people usually favor goodover evil, focus on the protagonist and ignore thesupporting characters. But when it comes to the Minions, these conventions go right out thewindow.
Originally comedic background characters in the Despicable Me franchise, these yellow pill-shaped screwballs, including Stuart, Kevin, and Bob among others, have totally stolen the showand turned into a pervasive meme.
This summer the characters debuted in their own self-titled movie in theaters abroad, havingthe second biggest opening weekend of all time for an animated film, according to USA Today.Recently, McDonald’s has been including Minion toys with kids’ meals in some regions, causingloyal fans to flock to the restaurant to collect them all. Related video games, apparel, toys andother merchandise are sweeping the world.
The movie’s huge popularity even surprised its writers. “We never knew the Minions weregoing to be so popular. It just became a force of nature,” the film’s co-writer Cinco Paul toldthe Los Angeles Times.
So, what makes the banana-loving Minions a big hit? For many, the appeal is obviously theircuteness. Their simple, graphic nature can easily transcend cultures and age groups. “Evenchildren can draw them,” Los Angeles Times reporter Rebecca Keegan wrote. Thousands ofexamples of fan-made Minion art, from fingernails to Halloween costumes, are visible on globalsocial media platforms.
But there’s more to the phenomenon than just cuteness. US entertainment website HitFixexplains that their way of communicating makes the creatures infectious as well. They largelyspeak in nonsense words peppered with the occasional recognizable terms like “potato”. But itseems everyone can understand them through their exaggerated movements andexpressions.
More importantly, their childlike mannerisms and brazen stupidity is a brand of humor thatwins hearts. “Clumsy, foolish and helplessly herd-oriented, the Minions are the ultimate betapersonalities,” wrote Peter Debruge of US entertainment magazine Variety.
更重要的是,小黃人孩童般的舉止以及蠢萌的行事風格,形成了他們獨有的幽默品牌,從而贏得了觀眾的心。“笨拙、愚蠢、無可抗拒的群居傾向,小黃人代表著一種終極的懶散性格,”美國娛樂雜志Varity的記者Peter Debruge寫道。(a beta personality (或者 type B) 是指那種喜歡無壓力自由自在生活的人,而alpha personalities (type A) 人群則通常從成功和被認可中得到快樂。)
They desire nothing more than to serve their most despicable master, Felonious Gru. And thisevil characteristic strikes a chord with humans.
小黃人們別無他求,只是為了服務于他們最卑鄙的主人格魯。而這個反面角色卻引人共鳴。
“Perhaps we love Minions because they remind us of ourselves,” Huffington Post associate Webeditor Sara Boboltz wrote. “Or an evil-henchman version of ourselves.”