Pierre Coffin thought Minions would fail if he predicted success.
The French filmmaker and director Kyle Balda helm the animated movie, which is a spin-off/prequel to the Despicable Me flicks. It follows the little yellow organisms as they set out to find a new super-villain to worship, eventually discovering Scarlet Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock).
Also featuring the vocals of Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton and Jennifer Saunders, the film has already become a big hit following its release earlier this month - an outcome Pierre didn't expect.
"If only I’d known that! We get a lot of questions like, 'Did we know it was gonna be successful'... I think, from the moment you start thinking about making a success, that’s where you fail. That’s my theory," he explained to flickeringmyth.com. "And I have the tendency - probably because I’m French - to say that I don’t like everything I do. I usually enjoy it, but after about two years or so I look back and go, 'Oh... It’s OK.' I just can’t tell, and I don’t think it’s a good attitude to say, 'We’re gonna do that because I know how to make a success' and Chris Meledandri, our producer, is the same way."
The feature is set in 1960s London, UK, where Scarlet orders the Minions to break into the Tower of London and steal a crown. But things take a sudden turn when Minion Bob releases the mythical Sword in the Stone to defend himself and ends up taking the throne from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
Kyle explained what made him and Pierre choose the British capital as a background.
"Part of it is that the 60s had such a graphic style, the psychedelic and the colours and the designs of the cars and the way people dressed, and of course the music - we’re huge fans of that era of music - and we really wanted to pick a special era to tell the story and to give that as the backdrop," he said. "London became really important because it’s a huge part of the narrative, having to steal the Queen of England’s crown, but the 60s was just something we wanted to have some fun with, mostly."
