Today in news that makes you wonder if the entire world is being punked by some higher power, it was reported that several very famous, well-respected artists, including Diana Ross and Tame Impala, are collaborating…on a soundtrack for the new Minions movie.
Yes, you read that right. Minions. Those little yellow guys in overalls that your niece or nephew or baby cousin was probably obsessed with in 2015. As someone with little to no daily contact with small children, I was personally stunned to learn that they are still making Minions movies. The deeply irritating cartoon characters first appeared in Illumination’s 2010 animated movie, Despicable Me, which featured voice work from Steve Carrell, Russell Brand, and Julie Andrews.
But it turns out that Despicable Me has since evolved into a sprawling, lucrative franchise consisting of several sequels (with one more slated for 2024), 15 short films, a holiday special, a ride at Universal Studios, and two Minions-centric spin-offs, including this upcoming project, Minions: The Rise of Gru. No wonder they can afford to buy Diana Ross’ artistic integrity. This thing is a giant banana-hued cash cow that will outlive us all. In the post-apocalyptic future when human civilization has been wiped out, Minions will endure, cracking fart jokes and performing gibberish covers of Beach Boys songs.
Back in December, People confirmed that the soundtrack for Minions: The Rise of Gru would be inspired by the music of the 1970s and produced by Grammy-winning pop producer Jack Antooff. So when brightly colored psychedelic posters promoting a mysterious collab between Ross and Tame Impala began popping up around London this week, Twitter detectives soon made the connection to Minions. Zoom in on the photo, and sure enough you’ll see a familiar one-eyed monster peeking out from behind Ross’ name.
The poster lists a number of high-profile musicians who will likely also be contributing to the soundtrack, including Phoebe Bridgers, Caroline Polacheck, H.E.R., St. Vincent, Thundercat, Brockhampton, RZA, Brittany Howard, Kali Uchis, Weyes, Blood, Bleachers, Gary Clark Jr., and Tierra Whack. As Variety noted, there’s an obvious aesthetic nod to the iconic “Yellow Submarine” 7-Up ads from the 70s.
The deceptively cool ad seems more like a flyer for a buzzy new music festival than a guerilla marketing campaign for a children’s movie about an incompetent villain with a funny accent. Granted, music played a significant role in the first Minions movie, but, like, in the sense of inserting the word “potato” into the lyrics of “Happy Together” for laughs.
Minions: The Rise of Gru will premiere on June 13 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, with a July 1 U.S. release, meaning we at least won’t have to wait too long to find out what this truly WTF-worthy crossover will sound like.
