Adorable and funny, Minions turns out to be an almost perfect prequel to the Despicable Me animated movies. It’s a visual history of how these little yellow creatures came to be, and it also depicts their fantastic search for the “baddest” villains to serve. They travel all over the world, including San Diego for the Villain-Con, which looks a bit like Comic-Con on LSD, and end up in London with Queen Elizabeth (voiced by Jennifer Saunders).

Backing up all this crazy excitement is one of the best soundtracks ever, and some very cute musical numbers. The Turtles, the Kinks, the Doors, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Who, and many more wonderful surprises can be heard here. In fact, some critics claim the soundtrack is better than the movie itself. But I disagree. Minions and that great soundtrack belong together like macaroni and cheese. The whole Minions is greater than its parts, as the old saying goes.  

Main characters Kevin, Stuart and Bob (voiced by co-director Pierre Coffin) charm us with their slapstick antics. While watching them, The Three Stooges come to mind. Still, Larry, Mo and Curly were never as cute as these watchable Minions. And the Stooges didn't have to deal with Scarlet Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock), the most evil female villain of all time, who plans to take over the world with the help of her inventor husband (voiced by Jon Hamm). I'm just sayin'.

Colorful animation, fast-paced action and a clever plot add to the Minions fun.

FULL DISCLOSURE: In case you haven't noticed, I'm an unabashed Minions fan -- and loved both of the Despicable Me films. I also admit being the only person who laughed during the entire Minions movie at the screening I attended. Clearly, I am under a Minions spell, which is probably why I feel another poem coming on.   

Minions, Minions, you are stars now.

You own the screen, so take a bow.

No matter what, you make us smile

and lose our cares for quite a while.

Your latest film is so much fun.

You should be proud of what you’ve done.

You need a rest. Take off some time.

But would that be a Minion crime?

Your fans love you. We’d understand

even a spree at Disneyland.

Then come back soon to the big screen

with lots of tricks we haven’t seen.

Minions, Minions, you’re BIG stars now.

You own the screen, so take a bow!

(Released by Universal Pictures and rated “PG” for action and rude humor.)

For more information about this movie, go to the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes website.