\n<\/p>\n
The Minions themselves have also become ubiquitous beyond the films: omnipresent as licensed merchandise, theme park rides, TikTok trends<\/a> and Facebook memes<\/a>. \u201cThe design of them and the feel of them is very toy-friendly,\u201d said Renauld, who also directed \u201cDespicable Me 4.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s got this simplicity. You can create memes, they\u2019re easy to draw \u2014 it\u2019s something you want to park on your desk.\u201d<\/p>\n But while the ubiquity of the Minions may be a testament to their popularity, Coffin seemed to have some regrets, creatively. \u201cWhen \u2018Minions\u2019 came out, I had two reactions,\u201d he said. \u201cFirstly, the marketing is overwhelming, and I think they\u2019ve overdone it. And second: How in the hell did we make a billion dollars with this movie?\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, the first \u201cMinions\u201d movie, directed by Coffin and Kyle Balda, is one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. But in Coffin\u2019s view, \u201cit was the marketing that made the movie a financial success, and not necessarily a creative one.\u201d In short, he said, \u201cwe could have done better.\u201d<\/p>\n When Coffin catches \u201cMinions\u201d on TV in Paris, where he lives with his family, he finds himself thinking about what the film might have been: simpler, less conventional, maybe more like \u201cShaun the Sheep<\/a>,\u201d an 84-minute British comedy featuring no dialogue, just pure pratfalls. Renauld disagreed. \u201cI think \u2018Shaun the Sheep\u2019 is great,\u201d he said. But, \u201cour films swung for the fences in a way that \u2018Shaun the Sheep\u2019 did not. If you\u2019re going for a broad audience, it would be very tricky to do it straight-up with no dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n Meledandri, the producer, suggested that Coffin\u2019s resistance to the conventional style of the Minions movies is emblematic of a \u201crebellious quality\u201d that is \u201cso important to who Pierre is as an artist.\u201d He described working with Coffin as a process involving \u201ca really healthy tension\u201d between his independent spirit and the demands of a broadly accessible family film.<\/p>\n \u201cHe would not like me saying this, but there\u2019s a lot about Pierre that reminds me of the Minions,\u201d Meledandri said. \u201cAt the core he\u2019s incredibly sweet, but that sweetness is combined with a subversiveness. His fierce independence is an essential part of continually surprising us as we worked on the films \u2014 and ultimately surprising the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n