Who Voices The Minions In The Rise Of Gru?
If you haven't spent a significant amount of time around children in the last 12 years, you may be forgiven for not knowing what a "minion" is. The Oxford Dictionary definition is "an unimportant person in an organization who has to obey orders; a servant." But thanks to the entertainment industry, most people who think of the word "minion" now automatically picture little yellow and vaguely-twinkie-shaped creatures who mutter gibberish and dedicate themselves to helping supervillains make mischief.
It's such a simple concept that you wouldn't expect it to explode into the highest-grossing animated entertainment franchise of all time (via Deadline). Not only has it held that title since 2017, but it beat out major players like "Shrek" and "Toy Story" in order to earn it. But who created these lovable little characters which have taken the animated entertainment world by storm? Funnily enough, it's the same person who does the voice acting for "Minions: The Rise Of Gru," short films, and prequels (among other things).
Pierre Coffin built his entire career on the Minions movies
To be fair, Pierre Coffin has done other projects outside of the "Minions" universe. He's written and directed popular French projects like "Pat et Stanley" and "Le Trésor de Pit et Mortimer." He's also the voice of Gary in the (aptly named) "Brad & Gary," a short film that he also directed. But the vast majority of Coffin's professional credits are for producing, directing, writing, and of course, voicing the minions in various "Despicable Me" movies and other minion-centric projects. He even earned an Oscar nomination for "Despicable Me 2" back in 2014.
Oh, and that "gibberish" that they speak? Fun fact: that's a real language! Another fun fact: it didn't start out that way. Coffin explained in a 2015 interview with Smart Entertainment Group that the vast majority of the sounds coming out of his mouth for the original "Despicable Me" were, in fact, mostly nonsense. But as the franchise grew, so did the sophistication level of the minions' ability to converse. Today, their speech is an amalgamation of Hindi, French, and several other languages which Coffin mushed together in order to make their communication sound more authentic.
Why? Because it makes them funnier, of course (according to TechTimes). In a way, this helps explain the worldwide popularity. Not only are people hearing subconscious bits of their own language coming from the minions, but the fact that they have a language and culture all their own makes them feel a little more real — and also easier to connect with on an emotional level.