Minions & Monsters director Pierre Coffin has addressed the disturbing fan theory that the characters worked for Hitler.
Fans have long speculated over the Minions’ whereabouts during World War II, and whether – given that the creatures instinctively follow the most evil leader as their backstory in the Despicable Me franchise reveals – they served Adolf Hitler.
Speaking to Polygon, Minions co-creator Coffin was asked directly about the characters’ whereabouts during this time, to which he laughed: “I knew you were going to ask me that question. Shame on you!”
“I think they were in that cave,” he added, referring to the ice cave that the Minions hid in between 1812 and 1968 after accidentally causing Napoleon Bonaparte’s downfall in 1812 – as was revealed in the 2015 movie.
Since their creation millions of years ago, the Minions have served under many masters, from an Egyptian Pharaoh and an unspecified vampire in the Dark Ages, to a T-Rex.
When the interviewer pointed out that there are multiple tribes of Minions and asked again whether the creatures worked for Hitler, Coffin responded: “I was trying to avoid the answer.”
Putting an end to the debate once and for all, he added: “So the Minions that we know from Minions 1 were stuck in the cave. These ones, I don’t know where they were, but they were not part of the Big History.”
Minions & Monsters, which is the seventh entry in the Despicable Me franchise and the third Minions-focused film, takes place against the backdrop of 1920s Hollywood and follows a new tribe of the little yellow creatures as they try to make it in show business.
The film stars Trey Parker as Goomi, while Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Allison Janney, Jeff Bridges and Christoph Waltz feature in the voice cast.
Minions & Monsters is out now in cinemas.
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