They may have played a supporting role in the first Despicable Me (2010), but the Minions have moved up some. Indeed, the adorable thumb-shaped, yellow, bespectacled creatures with prosaic names, high-pitched voices and their own quirky language are key to the plot of Despicable Me 2, playing the roles of victims as well as heroes.
The bright, breezy animated film picks up where the first one left off, with the Minions' tough boss, Gru (Steve Carell), having given up his villainous ways. He has converted his underground lab into a factory for jams and jellies headed by Dr Nefario (Russell Brand).
The doting father of three girls, whom he adopted in the first film, has also taken to reading bedtime stories about kittens and planning birthday parties where he is forced to wear something pink and sparkly.
Could the villain be swarthy salsa restaurateur El Macho (Benjamin Bratt) or wig store owner Floyd (Ken Jeong)? In any case, much of the action plays out against the candy-coloured backdrop of the local shopping mall, which happens to be where Gru's eldest daughter, Martha (Miranda Cosgrove), develops her first crush. And in the midst of his fretting over Martha's budding interest while attempting to save the world again, Gru's own love story unfolds.