"90 minutes of pure fun with a healthy heaping of heart, sometimes crude, sometimes smart humour which is entertaining for all ages"

Chances are if you don’t know what a minion is then you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years… yes, those genderless yellow pop culture phonemes are back on our screens once again. This time they’re back with Gru following their solo adventure and so is the typical Despicable Me style humour.

Parents will be very happy to know that although this is technically the 4th instalment in the franchise it’s no slouch in the humour department even if it doesn’t break much ground in the story department.

Series regular Steve Carell (The Office, Fox Catcher) is back voicing both Gru and also lends his voice to his twin brother Dru, he’s joined by returning cast member Kristen Wiig as Lucy and the pair face off against Southpark’s own Trey Parker who voices the comically hardcore retro baddie Balthazar Bratt, I’m sure for viewers of a certain age, he will be the source of much nostalgia. A reminder of a time when shoulder pads, big hair, catch phrases and dance battles were acceptable in every form of entertainment.

As stated previously, what the film lacks in a ground-breaking story with the tried and tested long lost twin trope, it more than makes up for in humour and an outstanding soundtrack. Despicable Me wouldn’t be the same without Pharrell Williams as a contributor to the soundtrack although sadly none of these look to be as memorable or successful as Happy from the previous sequel. Instead a number of 80’s rock and pop classics seem to have taken centre stage which in my own opinion was a genius move.

Story wise there aren’t many surprises, following an attempt by Bratt to steal the world’s largest diamond in which Gru foils his plan but ultimately and hilariously allows Bratt to escape, Gru and his wife Lucy are unceremoniously fired from the Anti-Villain League (AVL). It’s at this point we find out about Gru’s long lost twin brother Dru, someone Gru spent his life not knowing he even existed.

We’re treated to your standard fish out of water getting to know each other story and Gru brilliantly hating that his brother was blessed with luscious blonde hair and the family business, a nice twist is when it is revealed that the twins father was the most famous super villain known as THE BALD TERROR” (as a man who’s hair is rapidly retreating I must admit I laughed a little bit too hard at this). What follows is fun, over the top in the right way (pay attention Michael Bay) and ultimately a very warm family film that feels in line with the previous two main series instalments.

By now you’ve realised that I haven’t mentioned the small yellow ones. To some they may be the funniest thing about going to see the film, to parents they likely strike fear in the hearts and wallets thinking of them taking over toys and social media once again, but they are as is expected ever present. This time around they spend a large amount of their time inside a prison, with a brilliant jailhouse rock/cell block tango feel to most of these cut away scenes they’ve managed to be included without being overly annoying which I feel is a credit to the writing team this time around.

In summary, Despicable Me 3 is what you would expect, it's 90 minutes of pure fun with a healthy heaping of heart, sometimes crude, sometimes smart humour which is entertaining for all ages and is likely going to feature all over your summer if you’re a parent or have younger siblings. It gets 4.5 stars from me... and if you’re not down with that... DANCE BATTLE!