“Minions & Monsters” is a movie that can be seen more than once.

It’s one of the few films so far this year that I want to see again.

“Minions & Monsters,” an animated feature film, is jam-packed with homages to the Golden Age of Hollywood.

If you’re a fan of Turner Classic Movies (TCM), you will notice lots of references to movie actors and movie scenes of yore.

This should entertain parents and grandparents. Their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews will laugh at the antics of the Minions and the monsters.

“Minions & Monsters” is downright fun. I left the movie theater smiling and feeling more upbeat. Now that’s entertainment.

“Minions & Monsters” is third in the “Minions” prequels and seventh in the “Despicable Me” franchise.

Chris Renaud, Parkland High School, Class of 1985 graduate; Syracuse University, Class of 1989 graduate, where he received a degree in illustration, and recipient of a scholarship to attend the Baum School of Art, Allentown, is credited with developing the Minions.

Renaud co-directed, with Pierre Coffin, “Despicable Me” (2010) and “Despicable Me 2” (2013), and directed “Despicable Me 4” (2024), among other animation feature films produced by Illumination Entertainment, Paris, France, where Renaud and his wife Lauren have lived since 2008. They have two children.

Pierre Coffin (Oscar nominee, animated feature, “Despicable Me”), who directed “Despicable Me 3” (2017), directs “Minions & Monsters” from a screenplay he co-wrote with Brian Lynch (screenwriter, “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” 2022; “Minions,” 2015).

The film’s story is framed by a talk by a tour guide (Allison Janney) at a film history museum. The Minions have served some of the world’s greatest villains, we’re told, and we soon see the hilarious results through the centuries.

In another flashback, the Minions get caught up in a train robbery being filmed for a 1920s’ silent movie.

The film’s director Max (a great Christoph Waltz) is upset by the Minions’ interference.

The film’s producers, Frank and Elwood (each voiced wonderfully by Jeff Bridges), are delighted by the mayhem. Soon, the Minions have a career in silent films.

With the advent of talking pictures, stardom is in decline for the Minions, who speak in the Minion language of Minionese, which sounds like indecipherable gibberish.

The Minions decide to direct their own films, monster films. The monsters, led by a green creature with face tentacles called Goomie (Trey Parker), soon get out of hand. The Minions must figure out how to get the monsters under control.

The director, Pierre Coffin, again voices the Minions, notably James, Henry, Ed and Dick.

A lot of “Minions & Monsters” takes place on the back lots and sound stages of Hollywood studios. This provides many opportunities for film references.

There are tributes, beautifully rendered in the animation film, to:

Charles Lloyd, “Safety Last,” 1923, where he hangs from a building clock;

Buster Keaton, “Steamboat Bill Jr.,” 1928, where the facade of a house falls around him;

Charles Chaplin, “Modern Times,” 1936, with the cogs of a factory machine;

“Casablanca,” 1942, where Sam, the piano player, is asked to “play it again” and we hear “As Time Goes By”;

“The Day the Earth Stood Still,” 1951, with the character Dort the robot (Jesse Eisenberg), based on Gort from the film.

Perhaps the most obvious reference is that of the orange monster, Eyereen, which is similar to the gelatinous ooze in the movie “The Blob” (1958), with a scene filmed at The Colonial Theater, Phoenixville, Chester County, where “Blobfest 2026” was held July 10-12.

There are references to “The Great Train Robbery,” 1903; “The Mummy,” 1932; “Modern Times,” 1936; “The Maltese Falcon,” 1941; “Citizen Kane,” 1941, and many more classic films, movie stars and famous film scenes.

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas is depicted as a glass-encased wax museum type figure.

The animation in “Minions & Monsters” is rendered authentically and lovingly. The background detail is amazing. The characters are distinctive. The Minions are not distinctive and that’s part of the fun.

John Powell (“The Lorax,” 2012; “Migration,” 2023) composed the score with music cues to classic film soundtracks.

The soundtrack includes the song “Hooray for Hollywood” by Johnny Mercer and Richard Whiting.

To that I add, hooray for “Minions & Monsters.”

“Minions & Monsters,” MPA rated PG (Parental Guidance Suggested: Some material may not be suitable for children) for violence, action, language and rude, macabre humor; Genre: Computer Animation, Adventure. Comedy; Run time: 1 hour, 36 minutes. Distributed by Universal Pictures.

Credit Readers Anonymous: The end credits for “Minions & Monsters” include scenes with Kevin, Bob, Stuart, Gru, Agnes and Dr. Nefario.

At The Movies: “Minions & Monsters” was seen in the Dolby Cinema at AMC, AMC Center Valley 16.

Theatrical Movies Domestic Weekend Box Office, July 17-19:

“The Odyssey,” directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and many more Hollywood stars, opened at No. 1 with $124.5 million in 3,919 theaters. The movie is based on the ancient Greek epic poem by Homer.

2. “Moana” dropped one place to No. 2 with $19 million in 4,200 theaters, $82 million, two weeks. 3. “Minions & Monsters” dropped one place with $14.8 million in 3,510 theaters, $137.5 million, three weeks. 4. “Toy Story 5” dropped one place, $14.8 million in 3,400 theaters, $430.9 million, five weeks. 5. “Evil Dead Burn” dropped one place, $5 million in 3,004 theaters, $24.1 million, two weeks. 6. “The Invite” stayed in place, $3.9 million in 2,110 theaters, $15 million, four weeks, 7. “Young Washington” dropped two places, $3.6 million in 2,275 theaters, $41 million, three weeks. 8. “Obsession” dropped one place, $2.5 million in 1,524 theaters, $258.4 million, 10 weeks. 9. “Supergirl” dropped one place, $1.5 million in 1,572 theaters, $69.9 million, four weeks. 10. “Disclosure Day” dropped one place, $1.4 million in 1,299 theaters, $114.7 million, six weeks.

Movie box office information is from Box Office Mojo as of July 19.

Unreel, July 24:

“Haunted Heist,” MPA rated R; 1 hour, 27 minutes: Lil Rel Howery directs Tiffany Haddish, Stephen Blackwell and himself in the Comedy Horror film. The Synopsis: Four estranged friends reunite at a house, where one plans to find a valuable antique by stealing it. The haunted house’s ghosts force them to overcome differences to survive.

“Hadestown: The Musical,” No MPA rating; 2 hours, 21 minutes: Brett Sullivan directs Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, Andre De Shields, Amber Gray and Patrick Page in the Musical. A musical juxtaposition of the Orpheus-Eurydice and Hades-Persephone myths examines the way real life can impact the quest for a perfect world. The musical, which received eight Tony Awards in 2019 and a Grammy Award for best musical theater album in 2020, has a limited movie theater run with the original Broadway cast.

Movie opening date information as of July 19 is from Internet Movie Database.

Four Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes