Everything You Need to Watch Before ‘Minions & Monsters’ Takes Over Theaters

If you have even a passing familiarity with animated films, chances are the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise has been part of your life for over a decade. The series, created by Sergio Pablos and produced by Illumination, began with the 2010 film ‘Despicable Me‘ and has since expanded into a sprawling universe of sequels and spin-offs, with ‘Minions & Monsters’ arriving as the seventh installment overall. With a brand-new adventure landing in theaters very soon, there has never been a better time to catch up on everything that came before.

The ‘Despicable Me’ series became the first animated franchise in history to cross the $5 billion mark at the global box office, and that number has only continued to climb. That kind of cultural footprint means a lot of story, a lot of Minions, and a lot of chaotic fun to revisit before heading to the multiplex.

The Despicable Me Franchise Recap You Didn’t Know You Needed

The franchise centers on Felonious Gru, voiced by Steve Carell, an ambitious supervillain who speaks with an Eastern European accent and is the boss of the Minions. In the original film, Gru devises a plan to steal the Earth’s moon, pitting him against an opposing supervillain named Vector, played by Bill Hader. He adopts three young orphan girls, Margo, Edith, and Agnes, as part of his scheme, but ultimately has a genuine change of heart and becomes their true father.

The story pushes forward in ‘Despicable Me 2′, which advances the timeline roughly a year as Gru embraces his new role as a father. The Anti-Villain League recruits him, and he reluctantly takes on a new mission, eventually meeting and falling for fellow agent Lucy Wilde, voiced by Kristen Wiig. The two go on over 100 dates before getting married, making Lucy the girls’ new mother.

The third mainline entry, ‘Despicable Me 3′, takes place about four years after the wedding and follows Gru and Lucy being fired from the AVL after failing to capture former child star turned supervillain Balthazar Bratt. This leads to Gru meeting his long-lost twin brother, Dru, who has his own ambitions of returning to supervillainy. Gru secretly uses the brothers’ joint heist to get the AVL to reinstate both himself and Lucy, while the Minions, led by the rebellious Mel, stage their own prison adventure after a revolt against Gru.

‘Despicable Me 4’ reunites fans with Gru and Lucy and their adopted daughters, while also introducing a new family member in baby Gru Jr., who wants nothing to do with his father. A new villain in Will Ferrell’s Maxime Le Mal forces the whole family out of their home as he seeks revenge on Gru for a past event. The Minions also transform into Mega Minions through a top-secret program.

Minions Movies in Order and What They Add to the Story

The two solo ‘Minions’ films exist as prequels that explain how the little yellow creatures found their way to Gru. In ‘Minions’, the loveable henchmen search for a new leader after accidentally causing the demise of numerous past bosses throughout history. In 1960s New York, they join forces with Scarlet Overkill, voiced by Sandra Bullock, a supervillain aiming to steal Queen Elizabeth II’s crown. A young Gru ultimately outsmarts Scarlet and earns the Minions’ respect.

‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ serves as both a sequel to ‘Minions’ and a prequel to the original ‘Despicable Me’. It puts the Minions front and center again but makes the pre-teen Gru a more significant supporting character.

Steve Carell returns to voice the budding villain, who recruits the Minions but soon banishes them following a mishap. The film also introduces the colorful villain crew the Vicious 6, as well as their former leader and Gru’s future mentor Wild Knuckles, voiced by Alan Arkin.

The loyal underlings ultimately thwart the Vicious 6, save Gru, and redeem themselves in the eyes of their master, setting up the familiar dynamic that fans love throughout the main series.

What ‘Minions & Monsters’ Is Actually About

Now comes the newest chapter, and it pushes even further back in time. ‘Minions & Monsters’ is set in 1920, 48 years before the events of ‘Minions’, making it a prequel to the prequels and the third installment in the ‘Minions’ spin-off series. The latest film is set during the Golden Age of Hollywood in the roaring 1920s, where a new tribe of ancestral Minions are on the hunt for their next evil overlord. Instead, they accidentally become early cinema stars, but their celebrity is short-lived when they can’t stick to a script.

Two Minions named James and Henry have bigger dreams and decide to make a monster movie of their own. With the help of a spell book taken from an old boss, they summon real, fearsome monsters to play the villains in their picture. When things go haywire, James, Henry, and all their fellow Minions must work together to save the world from a band of rampaging monsters.

The voice cast is stacked, featuring Trey Parker as a Cthulhu-resembling monster named Goomi, Jesse Eisenberg as an alien robot called Dort, Jeff Bridges as a film studio boss, Zoey Deutch as a strong-willed suffragette named Debbie, and Christoph Waltz and Allison Janney also among the ensemble.

The Illumination Animated Universe Keeps Expanding

‘Minions & Monsters’ is directed by Academy Award nominee Pierre Coffin, who has directed the first three ‘Despicable Me’ films and the original ‘Minions’, and who has also voiced the Minions since their very first film appearance in 2010. The film is written by Brian Lynch, who also wrote ‘Minions’ and ‘The Secret Life of Pets’ films.

The film was announced in July 2024 following the box office success of ‘Despicable Me 4’, with Coffin and Lynch returning in their respective roles and Chris Meledandri producing alongside Bill Ryan.

The score is being composed by John Powell, marking his third collaboration with Illumination and the first ‘Despicable Me’ installment not to be scored by recurring composer Heitor Pereira.

‘Minions & Monsters’ premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 21, 2026, before its wide theatrical release in the United States on July 1 by Universal Pictures. The film is also set to debut on the same opening date as Universal Kids Resort, which includes a Minions-themed land called “Minions vs. Minions: Bello Bay Club”.

Where to Watch the Full Franchise Before Opening Day

Fans can brush up on their history ahead of the new movie with a mini Minion marathon on Peacock, where ‘Despicable Me 2’ and ‘Minions’ are currently available to stream. Getting through even a handful of the earlier films will give newcomers all the character context they need, since ‘Minions & Monsters’ introduces a fresh tribe and takes place long before Gru ever enters the picture.

The story of ‘Minions & Monsters’ has been described as “the rambunctious, ridiculous and totally true story of how the Minions conquered Hollywood, became movie stars, lost everything, unleashed monsters onto the world and then banded together to try and save the planet from the mayhem they had just created.” For longtime fans who have followed the banana-loving creatures from their prehistoric origins all the way through the Gru era, that description alone should be enough to buy a ticket immediately.

Whether you are a franchise veteran or someone who just wants to understand why these little yellow creatures have taken over the world, now is the perfect time to dive in, and once you have seen ‘Minions & Monsters’, come back and share whether you think James and Henry belong in the same hall of fame as Kevin, Stuart, and Bob.