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I brought the Minions to life – and here's how they almost looked completely different
Pierre Coffin speaks to Radio Times about the origins of the Minions – and their latest silent-era inspired adventure Minions & Monsters.
Universal Studios
- Patrick Cremona
Published: Wednesday, 1 July 2026 at 10:00 am
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Since 2010, few characters have been as ubiquitous in cinemas, toyshops and on T-shirts as the goggle-eyed, animated Minions – so it's hard to imagine the comic creatures were originally planned to look completely different.
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In fact, when Spanish animator Sergio Pablos first brought the concept to Illumination Studios they were imagined as much more human.
Specifically, they were miniature people representing various types of villain; one a mobster, another a crusader, and so on. So, what changed?
The origins of the Minions
"It felt wrong – and frankly we didn't have enough money to build all these designs," says Despicable Me director (and long-time voice of the Minions) Pierre Coffin.
Various redesigns followed. First, they were reduced in size to miniature – but still recognisably human – figures, with this look also being the first time they were seen wearing dungarees. But Coffin and his team still weren't satisfied.
"We thought it would be maybe a little bit too much like the Oompa Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," he says. "And so I asked Eric Guillon [designer], could you find something where they are more creatures as opposed to human beings?"
That was a key step towards them becoming those familiar yellow blobs we all know – although a fair few further redesigns were required to make sure they didn't look too extraterrestrial*.*
"Chris Renaud had another go at it and said, 'Maybe they like sort of toad-like. Maybe they're mole people. Maybe they live underground. Maybe they have this this pale skin condition. Maybe they have goggles because they're not used to the sunlight," Coffin recalls.
"And so we built that little creature and when we saw that test, we thought, 'Oh man, these are gonna be really cute little characters.' But I still didn't think they were cute enough, so I asked Eric to simplify it, take out the organic parts of it that make it too much like a frog – make it so that it's simple!"
Pierre Coffin at Illumination Studios in Paris. Patrick Cremona
Paying homage to the silent era
No one could deny that the design that was born as a result has been a massive hit. After first being introduced to general audiences in Despicable Me, they've appeared in three sequels and two Minions spin-offs – each of which have becomes massive box office smashes.
For their latest adventure, Minions & Monsters, they're doing something completely different; heading back to the 1920s for a movie that draws heavily from the silent film era.
"All animators have at some point studied or went through the works of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton," Coffins says of the decision to pay homage to some of these key figures in that early Hollywood movement. "Just to see why it was funny and to try to mimic it. It's part of the learning process of animation."
Naturally, the pratfalling Minions were a perfect fit for that time. "We’d been thinking about this from the start," says Coffin.
"They're basically mute, because you don't understand their language. So anything that's funny about them is linked to physical comedy, which stems from that period. We just wanted to pay homage to all the people who made our work, I guess, relevant."
One scene towards the beginning – which kicks off when the Minions think they have spotted a new master to serve, not realising that he is simply a film actor playing a villain – is absolutely packed with references that will be catnip for cinephiles.
As the Minions join a high octane train chase, all sorts of classic scenes are nodded to, and it seems like this was something the animation team had a lot of fun putting together.
"We sort of got carried away," Coffin smiles. "We wanted to have the minions continue chasing the villain, and that's when we had the idea of, like, 'Oh, maybe he's chasing them, they take a ladder and then we could pan up and see Harold Lloyd over there.
"And then maybe we do that thing where the ladder just falls on the roof, and then it sort of shakes the house, and then we have the house sort of crumble like with Buster Keaton.
"And the idea behind it was less to say, 'Oh, look, it's Harold Lloyd etc. It was to say the Minions are responsible for the shots that have become iconic for those guys. Which is a rewriting of history!"
From Singin' in the Rain to Star Wars
It’s not only the silent era to which Minions & Monsters pays tribute; the film is stuffed with references to everything from film noir to Japanese kaiju movies, while Coffin says the film “that inspired us the most is Singin' in the Rain".
Meanwhile, movies referenced for particular shots featured in the film run the gamut from Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon to Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and the monsters of the film's title are inspired by everything from legendary horror author HP Lovecraft to '50s B-movie classics like The Blob to the work of special effects legend Ray Harryhausen.
One of the most overt movie references comes in a present-day scene towards the beginning of the film, which includes a cameo from Star Wars maestro George Lucas – voicing himself as a caged exhibit at a cinema museum.
"I'm old enough to have seen the first Star Wars when it came out," Coffin says. "It sparked something in me to become a filmmaker. So I said. 'Wouldn't it be cool if we had George Lucas?'
"And then the producer said, 'I know his wife!" A few weeks later, the legendary filmmaker was recording his lines in a sound studio in Paris – now forever a part of Minions history.
Minions & Monsters. Illumination Studios
Differentiating the Minions
For all the nods, cameos and new characters, it's still the Minions who take centre stage. In this case, the main characters are three brand new Minions named James, Henry and Ed – who have aspirations to make it as major Hollywood directors.
Given the general uniformity of the Minion design, Coffin acknowledges that over the years it's become a little harder to craft original members of the mischievous species that standout compared to their peers.
"The hardest one for this film was James and Henry, how to differentiate them," he notes. "The idea was to show that one was highly creative, and we always try to use props to help illustrate the fact that, okay, he's the artist, he's holding a pen.
"Henry was a little bit more difficult, but we hoped that since he'd always be with James, we'd know that he'd be the other guy!
He continues: "I always wanted to have a hearing-impaired minion that would speak Minionese, the same words, like tortilla, pizza, blah blah blah, but in sign language. And so we did that with Ed. So he's speaking gibberish, but in sign language."
"I am going to be stuck at some point," he adds with a smile. "Up until now I think I managed to survive. I was scared that I was going to goof up with Henry, but it feels like we can distinguish him. So maybe next time I'll be in trouble!"
If the wit and invention on display in Minions & Monsters is anything to go by, we reckon Coffin and his team will be A-OK for some time yet.
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Minions & Monsters is now showing in UK cinemas.
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Authors
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
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