Stop hating on Minion memes
Why are Minion memes so dang popular? Why are Minion GIF memes still trending over a decade after the first movie came out? Do funny Minion memes represent a low point in our culture, or is complaining about Minion humour even worse somehow than the Minions themselves?
Minion memes, depending on your standpoint, are either a jolly, lighthearted running joke beloved by children, boomers and the intellectually-backward.
Or, alternatively, you might argue that they’re a blight. A cancer on the very concept of humour itself. An irksome, irritating indictment of our flimsy culture and its inability to produce popular characters of any substance or merit.
Anyway, we thought we’d deep dive into the Minion trend and explore what’s up with Minion memes, why people love them – and why so many of us think it makes us look smart to be a dick about what’s essentially a kid’s film.
MINION MEME HISTORY
Getting on for 15 years ago, when moviemakers including Pierre Coffin decided to make a funny kids movie about a supervillain (Despicable Me), the idea of creating a comical race of sidekicks went through a few iterations.
Apparently the original concept art for what became the Minions rendered them looking something like orcs, all muscular and snarling. Until producers realised that would be super expensive to animate.
So they simplified the character design, first to make them more like Oompa Loompas, then frogs, then – at last – the simple butter-coloured Tic-Tacs we’ve all grown to love. And hate.
POPULAR MINION MEMES
That first movie did pretty well – who doesn’t like Steve Carrell? – but the standout stars were definitely the Minions. Why?
One theory is that their simple character design and expressive faces make them easily relatable across a vast range of cultures, age groups and backgrounds. You don’t have to ‘get’ minions. There’s nothing to get!
They’re adorable little troublemakers, who speak a kind of gibbering international lingua franca – also voiced by Pierre Coffin. One theory is that they’re kind of akin to old silent movie actors, in that you have to pay attention to the screen or you don’t understand what’s going on.
MINION MERCH MEMES
Their insane popularity of course led to a global profusion of merch. So much tacky merchandise! Any parent will attest to the fact their homes are now full of yellow plastic tat.
Apparently, Universal Studios is quite easygoing when it comes to copyrighting their intellectual property. Hence the vast amount of dubious paraphernalia out there. It keeps the characters alive in the minds of kids, which is all that matters.
There’s a ride at Universal Studios too.
WAIT, AREN’T MINIONS EVIL?
Yeah, kinda! In the recent movie we see how they were involved in all manner of historic atrocities, going back to Ancient Egypt. Did they collaborate with the Nazis too? Are they right now, as we speak, marching on Kyiv?
One theory as to why they’re so popular relates to the idea that, in the 21st century, we’re all minions. Kinda. Just tiny cogs in a vast machine, doing our jobs, paying our taxes, part of a grand, soulless, planet-destroying system that we have no say in.
Anyway, Bob, Stuart and Kevin are so darn cute!
MINION HATE MEMES
Hating on the Minions has become almost as big a meme as the Minions themselves. On reddit alone there’s two whole subreddits – r/MinionHate and r/WackyTicTacs – dedicated to, basically, tearing down a kids film.
Maybe hating on Minions makes you as contemptible as the boomers who share Minion wine memes. Maybe you’re no better than those folks a decade ago who made hating Justin Bieber into their entire personality.
Just something to think about.
GENTLEMINION MEMES
Who can forget last year, when screenings of Minions: The Rise Of Gru were invaded by whole armies of teen boys dressed in suits, treating the opening weekend as if it was the ballet or something.
Worth noting, that the movie enjoyed the biggest domestic opening weekend for any family movie during the pandemic. 34% of the movie’s audience in the US was between 13 years old and 17 years old.
The last four Despicable Me and Minions films made a combined $3.7 billion worldwide, including $1.22 billion in the US. Minions and Despicable Me 3 both grossed over $1 billion worldwide.
So if you still hate them – and to be clear, they’re cringe as hell – maybe you’re the problem.
Whether you a fan or a hater, Memix has loads of customisable Minion GIF memes. So you can celebrate, or trash, the Minions in style. Have at it friendos!
Hey, IS STEALING MEMES ILLEGAL?
While we’re here, does anybody know IS IT PRONOUNCED GIF OR JIF?