The faithful servants to reformed super-villain Gru, Minions, have few distinctive features and their number of eyes numbering either one or two is included. The yellow, pill-shaped creatures are largely identical, especially in their childish personalities. Minions do vary slightly, however, seemingly for a rather simplistic reason.
The eccentric, super-villain adoring animated hench-people known as Minions charmed both children and adults alike when they first appeared in Despicable Me. Instinctively drawn to serve an evil overlord, the Minions have served dinosaurs and Pharaohs on their journey throughout history, ultimately meeting the young, aspiring felon Gru. Dedicated to the young evildoer, the Minions remained in his employ, also transitioning through a redemption arc following the arrival of three young orphans in need of a home. They quickly became the undeniable stars of the movies, appearing in each movie of the Despicable Me franchise, including their own origin story.
The Minions have few features to help distinguish between them, the most prominent of which is the number of eyes. A lot possess two eyes beneath their uniform's eyewear, while others own only a singular begoggled eye. In the first prequel, the single-cell organisms from which Minions would evolve include a selection of single-eyed specimens alongside their two-eyed brethren. Narratively, the cyclops Minion has evidently existed throughout time and is not the result of later design or development, but natural biology. Practically, the variation allows for a greater storytelling breadth, with a much wider range of distinct characters to include and differentiate between. Keeping in mind all the Minions have been confirmed as male, the ability to differentiate between them becomes a lot more necessary. Particularly as the Minions have become so popular, specific characters have been centered beyond ancillary comic relief.
How Many Types of Minion Are There?
There are a few other physical features by which to differentiate Gru's loyal and hapless assistants. There are six canonical haircuts (bald, center-parted, spiky, sprout, short buzz, and long buzz) and three body shapes (short and plump, tall and skinny, and medium). These combinations allow for 18 different variations of Minion, so by also varying the number of eyes, twice as many potential Minions are possible. With hundreds of Minions appearing throughout the franchise, the additional possibilities provide a necessary range of physical characteristics, particularly considering the identical uniforms and the fact the Minions are all voiced by one person, creator Pierre Coffin.
The Minions are the undisputed fan favorite of the beloved and ever-expanding Despicable Me franchise. Through simple physical changes, a variety of distinct characters have been crafted despite appearing and behaving almost identically. The Minions, Gru, and the gang will return to cinemas in 2024 with Despicable Me 4.