"Minions" is one of the worst animated feature films I've seen in recent memory.

This shouldn't be surprising since "Minions" is the spawn of "Despicable Me" (2010) and "Despicable Me 2" (2013).The goal of the Minions, after all, is "to serve the most despicable master they can find." Now isn't that a nice anti-social lesson to give the young 'uns?"Minions," with a screenplay by Brian Lynch (story, "Puss in Boots" 2011), is a grab bag of cinematic rip-offs, right out of the late Roger Ebert's "The Little Book of Hollywood Cliches" (1995), including, to name a few, the vaunted air-shaft escape, a giant Minion (a la The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, "Ghostbusters," 1984), a cliffhanger (Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner "Looney Tunes"), and a scene in an underground sewer ("The Third Man," 1949), where the Minions pop up in the middle of London's Abbey Road as the feet and legs of the Lads from Liverpool walk over the manhole cover as a prelude to The Beatles' "Abbey Road" album cover photo (the scene is accompanied by a harmonica solo from The Beatles' "Love Me Do," 1963)."Minions" gets by on pop-culture dumpster diving, especially on its soundtrack: a jukebox of snippets of 1960s pop and rock hits (The Turtles' "Happy Together," 1967; The Rolling Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown," 1966; The Kinks' "You Really Got Me," 1964; The Box Tops' "The Letter" 1967), which have precious little to do with the storyline but which fit in with the '60s-style clothing and distracts the moviegoer from the film's essential lack of strong plot and interesting characterizations. The film concludes predictably with Donovan's "Mellow Yellow" (1966) over the closing credits."Minions" is anything but mellow. It is a compendium of fighting, slapping, chases, vehicle crashes, explosions and the kind of mayhem associated with blockbuster action films.While Sandra Bullock, who voices the lead villain, Scarlet Overkill, provides a great and recognizable voice, the rest of the formidable voice talent (Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Steve Carell, with Geoffrey Rush as narrator) is relegated to second string behind the nonsensical and sometimes funny babblings of the three featured Minions, Stuart, Kevin and Bob, who resemble nothing more than yellow prescription pharmaceutical pills wearing safety welding goggles and blue jeans.The Minions are funny in short bursts, as ancillary characters, and not central characters. Since they are on-screen for the bulk of "Minions," and the more clearly definable and much more interesting Scarlet Overkill is not, the film lacks a key identifiable character(s).Kyle Balda (feature film directorial debut) and Pierre Coffin (director, "Despicable Me," "Despicable Me 2") throw everything but the kitchen sink (that's probably there, too) into "Minions."Moreover, I object to the use of "That one is Norbert. He's an idiot," which is voiced by one of the characters. The phrase, "You imbecile," is also voiced. If we're going to try to end hurtful language, let's start with people with disabilities.(I also objected to the use of the word "moron" by one character toward another character in "Inside Out." The use of the term in a Disney Pixar film is regrettable and offensive. It was also used in "Toy Story 3." Here's a link to a more expert opinion about the use of this word in "Inside Out": downsyndromeprenataltesting.com/pixars-inside-out-moron-mongo-and-normalizing-disability-bigotry/.Minions" utilizes excellent computer generated graphics animation. The character movements are terrific, the detail is amazing and the pacing is good.Don't take it from me about "Minions." It opened at No. 1 and was the second biggest opening for an animated film to date."Despicable Me 3" is set for release in 2017."Minions," MPAA rated PG (Parental Guidance Suggested. Some Material May Not Be Suitable For Children.) for action and rude humor; Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family; Run Time: 1 hr., 31 min.; Distributed by Universal Pictures.Credit Readers Anonymous. Stay to the very end of "Minions" for a Minionized version of The Beatles song, "Revolution" (1968).Box Office, July 17: Marvel Comics' "Ant-Man" is big, opening at No. 1, with $58 million, pushing "Minions" to No. 2, close behind with $50.2 million; $216.6 million, two weeks; with the Amy Schumer-starring and Judd Apatow-directed "Trainwreck" opening at No. 3, with $30.2 million;4. "Inside Out," $11.6 million, $306.3 million, five weeks; 5. "Jurassic World," $11.4 million, $611.1 million, six weeks; 6. "Terminator Genisys," $5.4 million, $80.6 million, three weeks; 7. "Magic Mike XXL," $4.5 million, $58.6 million, three weeks; 8. "The Gallows," $4 million, $18 million, two weeks; 9. "Ted 2," $2.7 million, $77.4 million, four weeks; 10. "Mr. Holmes," $2.4 million;Unreel, July 24:"Pixels," PG-13: It had to happen: An attack of the arcade games. How retro. If you dislike the movie you can play one of the arcade games in the theater lobby. Chris Columbus directs Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan and Peter Dinklage in the comedy."Southpaw," R: Antoine Fuqua directs Jake Gyllenhaal as a boxer. The drama also stars Rachel McAdams and Forest Whitaker.Read Paul Willistein's movie reviews at the Lehigh Valley Press website, thelehighvalley-press.com; the Times News website, tnonline.com; and hear them on "Lehigh Valley Art Salon," 6-6:30 p.m. Mondays, WDIY 88.1 FM, wdiy.org, where the movie reviews are archived. Email Paul Willistein: pwillistein@ tnonline. com. Follow Paul Willistein on Twitter @ PaulWillistein and friend Paul Willistein on Facebook.Two Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes