Minions

The **Minions** are meet-and-greet characters at Universal Studios Florida. They are from the *Despicable Me* film franchise, and are usually featured as side characters, though they were given their own film of the same name in 2015. The Minions work as servants for series protagonist, Gru, and generally serve the role of comic relief in the film. The Minions have different appearances and names to distinguish between them, but they generally share similar personalities and their own language referred to as "Minionese."

## Background

In the eponymous 2015 film, the Minions are revealed to have been around since the dawn of time, having evolved from microscopic organisms into the pill-shaped humanoid creatures they are today. Their overall goal has always been to serve an evil master, though they frequently ended up either accidentally defeating or angering them. They are also avid lovers of bananas, and sometimes end up in trouble because of their cravings for them. Throughout the years they have worn multiple outfits, but they did not find their signature overalls until they entered New York City, taking several pairs of baby's overalls from a clothesline.

In 1968, three Minions named Kevin, Stuart, and Bob set off to find a master after the Minions initially gave up due to losing multiple masters by accident. They eventually found themselves at Villain Con, a convention in Orlando, where they met villainess Scarlett Overkill. Scarlett sent the Minions to London in order to steal Queen Elizabeth II's crown. While trying to steal the crown, Bob removed a sword in a stone (a reference to King Arthur) in an attempt to defend himself. Having been the first to remove the sword, Bob was declared King. Scarlett thought that the Minions betrayed her, and were attempting to take the crown for themselves. Bob altered the law to allow him to give the crown to Scarlett, but she still felt betrayed, and locked the three Minions in a dungeon with her husband Herb. The three managed to escape, and attempted to meet up with Scarlett at her crowning ceremony to apologize. This only made things worse, as the three attempted to enter through the roof, and caused a chandelier to nearly fall on Scarlett. Once again misunderstanding, she thought the Minions were now trying to kill her, and ordered multiple villains to attack them. Kevin, Stuart, and Bob eventually defeated Scarlett after the rest of the Minions arrived in London, and were rewarded by the recrowned Elizabeth II. Shortly after, Elizabeth II's crown was once again stolen, this time directly by Scarlett, but she is stopped by a young Gru using his freeze ray. Gru then takes the crown for himself, and leaves to return home. Impressed by this, the Minions choose Gru as their new master.

Several years later, the Minions continue to serve Gru, and later become the workers of his jelly manufacturing lab when he retires from being a supervillain.

## Notable Minions

*NOTE: It's possible that some of these Minions could be mistaken for other anonymous Minions, as some Minions resemble each other in physical appearance*.

### **Kevin**

Kevin is the main protagonist of *Minions*. He is identified by having a slightly taller head, two eyes, and small tuft of hair on his head. In *Despicable Me 2*, he is one of the first Minions to be abducted by Dr. Nefario and El Macho, and transformed into an Evil Minion with the PX-41 serum. In *Minions*, he is the main protagonist, setting off with Stuart and Bob to find a new master to serve, eventually meeting Gru. Another Minion similar in appearance to Stuart, but also named Kevin, is seen in the first film.

### **Stuart**

Stuart is the deuteragonist of *Minions*, identified by having one large eye and hair combed on both sides of his head. He was chosen at random to accompany Kevin, but he was not paying attention, and initially had no idea what was going on. Stuart is also one of the Minions who attempts to rescue Gru when he is kidnapped by Lucy Wilde in the beginning of *Despicable Me 2*. In *Minions*, it is revealed that he has wanted to be a guitar player.

### **Bob**

Bob is the tritagonist of *Minions*, identified by his short height, two eyes, and hair stubble on his head. He is chosen to accompany Kevin because he was incredibly eager to join. He was temporarily the King of England after using mechanical arms created by Herb Overkill to remove a sword in a stone (a reference to King Arthur). Bob is also the name of another Minion in the first film who was used to test Dr. Nefario's anti-gravity serum. He is later seen throughout the film floating through space.

### **Mel**

Mel is a Minion featured prominently as a secondary protagonist in *Despicable Me 3*. He is similar to Stuart in appearance, except his hair is located on the sides of his head, rather than on top. He also appears to be more grumpy than most Minions. In *Despicable Me 3*, he and multiple other Minions are upset that Gru has completely abandoned villainy, and sets out to find a new master.

### Otto

Otto is a new minion featured as the minor character in *Minions: The Rise of Gru*. Otto looked like Jerry, but he is a bit more rounder and chubbier. He also has eight sprouts of hair, as well as having braces. He also has a bigger weight size than all the other minions.

## Park Appearances

The Minions appear most prominently at Universal Studios Florida, where they can be found as meet-and-greet characters. They are also heavily present in *Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem* as background characters, where they help the guests participate in Minion Training. Both statues and meet-and-greet characters of the Minions can be found on the *Despicable Me* floats in *Universal's Superstar Parade*, with several of the accompanying performers also dressed as Minions. The Minions have been found as meet-and-greet characters at the exit of *Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem*, the conclusion of *Universal's Superstar Parade*, and at Woody Woodpecker's KidZone.

The Minions also accompany Gru, Margo, Edith, and Agnes during the *Despicable Me* *Character Breakfast* at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort hotel.

Due to the popularity of the Minions and their frequent use as symbols for the *Despicable Me* franchise, they are found on plenty of merchandise at Universal Orlando Resort, including t-shirts, plush toys, and souvenir drink cups.

## Trivia

*For additional and more detailed information about the Minions from the Despicable Me franchise, please refer to the Despicable Me Wiki Article.*

* The Minions speak very little English, which includes words like "banana," "hello," and "bottom." They are much more frequently seen speaking their own language, referred to as "Minionese." Minionese consists of a combination of gibberish and various words taken from multiple languages. For instance, cat is "gato," which is also the Spanish translation.
	+ Despite this, most of the characters accompanied by the Minions, specifically Gru, can understand what they are saying.
* At Universal Orlando Resort, the minions have been seen wearing a variety of outfits aside from their signature overalls. They have also been seen as Evil Minions from *Despicable Me 2*, in vacation gear, and prison uniforms, the latter being a reference to *Despicable Me 3*.
* The Minions are voiced by Pierre Coffin, who worked as a director on all four of the *Despicable Me* films. Coffin's voice is slightly sped up digitally to give the Minions' voices a "chipmunk" effect.
* As major symbols of the *Despicable Me* films, the Minions are usually seen presenting the Illumination Entertainment logo for several movies unrelated to the franchise, including *The Secret Life of Pets*.
* Interestingly, the Minions can move their eyes and eyelids to convey different expressions at Universal Studios Japan, a feature that they lack at Universal Orlando Resort.