Did you know that those lovable yellow squirts that steal every scene in DESPICABLE MEand DESPICABLE ME 2 weren’t even going to be in the movies to begin with!?
Good thing they were, but did you ever wonder how the artists came up with the idea for these creatures? Well, the films’ directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, turned to some of cinema’s best henchmen for motivation.
The two main inspirations for the Minions were the Oompa Loompas from 1971’s WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and the Jawas from 1977’s STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE!
Thanks to the outrageous fame the Minions garnered, filmmakers opted to make them a more central part of the sequel’s storyline. There’s even plans for a stand-alone Minion movie, aptly called MINIONS, which is due out next year!
For know you can catch the Minions and Gru in DESPICABLE ME 2 which is currently in threatres!
(Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures and Everett Collections)