Pierre Coffin, the director and voice artist behind the beloved, goggle-eyed Minions, has revealed that the intricate process of bringing the animated characters to life is “painfully slow”.
The French-Indonesian animator, who has voiced the popular yellow creatures since their debut in Despicable Me in 2010, described the challenge of conveying emotions and actions without dialogue as a painstaking endeavour.
“What I’m doing with the Minions’ voices is actually a painfully slow process of trying to find the right melody,” the 59-year-old told the Press Association. “I have to find the right rhythm, the right melody and the right emotional tone. I also need to give the character a prop or an action that reinforces what he’s saying.”
He elaborated on the non-verbal storytelling, offering an example: “Maybe he’s holding a stick to show his authority, and then another character grabs it away. Suddenly, without any dialogue, you understand that he’s losing control. So there are all these different layers of storytelling happening at once.”
open image in galleryCoffin admitted that while it sounds simple, the reality is far from it, with initial attempts often failing to convey the intended meaning.
Coffin recently wrote and directed Minions & Monsters, the latest computer-animated adventure within the expansive Despicable Me universe. Set in 1920, predating the 2015 film Minions by nearly five decades, the story follows the Minions as they embark on a quest to create their own monster movie in Old Hollywood.
Coffin reprises his role as the voice of the Minions, alongside a star-studded cast including Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan and Phil LaMarr.
Despite his involvement in all seven films, this marked Coffin’s first time writing a script for the franchise. He initially sought to move on to other projects but was ultimately drawn back by a compelling idea. “I didn’t want to direct any more Minions movies because I’d already done about four. I asked Chris Meledandri, the producer, if I could work on something else, so I did,” he explained.
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Meledandri then pitched an idea: “I know you probably won’t want to do it, but it’s about Minions who want to make a movie, a monster movie. They accidentally summon a monster, and it becomes a problem because it wants to destroy the Minions, the Earth, the universe… you know.”
Coffin was immediately captivated by the filmmaking aspect of the concept. “Having the opportunity and the freedom to write that outline was incredibly liberating. It made me want to make this film feel different from the previous ones. Part of that was simply because I couldn’t make the same movie we’d already made.”
open image in galleryThe Despicable Me franchise stands as one of the highest-grossing of all time, encompassing numerous short films, a television special, several video games, and a theme park attraction.
Coffin attributes its enduring success to a dedicated team of creatives. “These films take about three years to make, so they’re a huge personal investment,” he noted. “There are around 300 people working on them, and I felt it was my responsibility to convince everyone that this one was special, that it wasn’t just going to be another Minions movie. Being able to write it myself gave me the freedom to make it something different.”
He added that the universal appeal of the Minions lies in their emotional simplicity. “What I like about the Minions is that I feel there’s a soul inside each and every one of them. I feel like I understand why each character is the way they are, and I like that they can be endearing and true friends.”
Minions & Monsters is currently showing in cinemas.