“Minions and Monsters” is a delightfully funny take on Hollywood in the 1920’s. The plot is inventive and engaging. The scattershot effect of the comedic bits ensures that if something is not amusing in one scene, something will soon come along that will be. Rated PG, this is a good family film that will entertain all ages.

The film starts out with a framing device. Current-day people are taking a tour of a motion-picture museum. ET is featured on his bicycle with Elliott. George Lucas is stuck in a transparent tube begging to be let out. When the tourists profess to knowing nothing about James and Henry and their effect on Hollywood, the tour guide (voice: Alison Janney) begins the main narrative.

Long before the Minions knew Gru, they were searching for the perfect villain to serve. (Note: all Minion voices are credited to the director Pierre Coffin.) James likes to make drawings to create stories to share with the other Minions. Only Henry appreciates him.

They encounter a series of potential villains to serve. When they are with the Cyclops, James makes a giant Lego that impales the foot of the creature and leads to him ending up in a body cast. They meet other evil doers, such as a pirate and a king. But each time something James does ends up being the Minions’ undoing.

The same holds true with a wizard whom they serve. He has a spell book which is based on repeating incantations. James meddles and reads a spell that wreaks havoc. The significant part of this storyline is that the spell book is pocketed and carried along on their future journey.

While they are in the American desert, being led by their leader Dick (a character whose name parallels a certain negative meaning for that word), they see a bandit escaping on a horse. They end up pursuing him to a train unaware that they are involved in a Hollywood shoot. The extended scene involves many stunts reminiscent of artists like Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.

When the action stops, the director Max (voice: Christoph Waltz) is anxious because his scene was ruined. He meets with the two Bright brothers (both voices: Jeff Bridges), the studio heads, to show his dailies. Rather than being furious, they recognize the potential of the Minions in silent movies.

So the Minions become overnight successes in the film industry. They get their own mansion. They adopt denim as their costume of choice.

But then talkies arrive. No one can understand anything the Minions say. So just as soon as they have become instant successes, they are out the door.

The Minions are now searching for another villain to serve. They meet Dort (voice: Jesse Eisenberg), who looks remarkably like Gort from a certain 1951 film. Some of the Minions go into his service.

In a private restaurant meeting with Max, James shows his storyboard to the director. Max gives his very first camera to the Minions to help with making their movie, “Minions and Monsters.” James decides to conjure up a monster from the spell book. Soon Goomi (Trey Parker) appears and promises to help them with their film. But does he have a double motive?

“Minions and Monsters” is a lovely homage to old Hollywood in multiple ways. I enjoyed the inclusion of the animated versions of Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton. In fact, the madcap antics of the Minions in their initial mix-up where they crash the film shoot pays tribute to all three of these early movie icons. The Bright brothers embody the old studio system.

The introduction of talkies into the picture makes the time frame the late twenties. Certainly there is no sign of the upcoming Depression. But given this setting, it seemed anachronistic for me to see suffragettes agitating for the right to vote. They could be viewed as just women’s right activists, I suppose, but their signs have “vote” on them. This is a minor quibble in a picture that, with the Minions included, may signal an alternate timeline.

And then there is Dort. The first time he appears you know who he is meant to be. At first you wonder if this is a man in a robot suit. His initial encounter with bullies ends up as a victory but in slapstick ways. His romance with Debbie is absolutely charming. Saying more about Dort would reveal spoilers, so I will leave my critique there.

There are many themes in “Minions and Monsters.” One is the American success story of pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps. Another is the pursuit of one’s lifelong dream. Finding the right partner and, for the Minions, the right villain to serve is important. Of course being a team and dealing with differences are overarching concerns as far as the Minions are concerned.

But all of this does not detract from the basic truth that this film is just flat-out funny from the get-go. A lot of Minion humor revolves around basic comedic tropes like pratfalls, unexpected consequences, aka accidents, and the chaotic chase scenes. There also is body humor and making fun of Dick. If one scene is not funny, it can quickly become so. Or one can move on to the next episode. I also liked the way that the framing device ended, although to say more would again involve spoilers.

The monsters in this film essentially consist of a henchman, two flunkies, and an amorphous blob with eyes. The blob, Irene, travels and consumes anything in her path. In general, though, even with a scary bunny, the frights are short-term and should not induce fear for long in young children.

The animation is top-notch. I truly enjoyed the re-creation of old Hollywood. The maps used to show the Minions’ early journeys on their quest for a villain are nicely incorporated. The world created is completely believable and well-rendered.

This is a movie that for film buffs will be a joy to watch. Adults in general will appreciate the humorous gags and situations into which the Minions find themselves. Kids will appreciate the goofy looks of the monsters and the antics of the jabbering Minions.

All in all, this is a picture that could be watched over and over to catch all of the nuances drawn in the movie. It will be perfect on a streaming platform. There really are no slow moments to bore little kids. At an hour and a half in length, this is the perfect run time for a children’s film.

Four and a half out of five stars

This is the rambunctious, ridiculous and totally true story of how the Minions conquered Hollywood, became movie stars, lost everything, unleashed monsters onto the world and then banded together to try and save the planet from the mayhem they had just created.

Cast: Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr, with Trey Parker and Pierre Coffin

Written by: Brian Lynch and Pierre Coffin

Directed by: Pierre Coffin