THEY’VE won over film fans with their cheeky attitudes, hilarious tomfoolery and babbling nonsense.
But have you ever looked at the Minions in the Despicable Me movies and wondered why they’re all male?
Well, you certainly wouldn’t be the only one – and the creator’s reasoning behind the decision has sparked a fierce debate.
One person took to TikTok to question why you never see any female Minions, with another citing creator Pierre Coffin’s quote to The Wrap in 2015, when he said: “Seeing how dumb and stupid they often are, I just couldn’t imagine Minions being girls”.
The Minions first appeared in 2010 movie Despicable Me, where they helped wannabe villain Gru in his bid to steal the moon.
The main trio – Stuart, Kevin and Bob – then featured as the main characters in 2015’s standalone film Minions.
Weighing in on the all-male realisation, one person commented on the TikTok video: “If Gru had female minions he would have been able to take over the world easily during the first few minutes of the first film!”
“Gru would be working for the Minions if that was the case,” another added.
“My brother would cover my head with a blanket and trap his fart in… I totally agree with this. Cause why would you do that?” a third mused.
“Ha, that’s why I hate Minions. they’re stupid men lol,” someone else commented.
“Because the Minions have to stay slow minded,” another said.
“And we all know women can’t do that – that’s a job for men!”
“I love the Minions! lol no need for the females… we way too grand for that,” someone else said.
“I didn’t know that, but after finding it out, that says a lot,” another wrote.
“Has always bothered me that there are no women Minions,” someone else said.
“Thanks for the explanation!”
However, others disagreed with the revelation, with one even going as far as wanting to start a “petition to Minionise” women too.
“If Gru had female minions, all he’d hear is constant complaining,” another added.
“Especially women in menopause,” a third agreed.
“Honestly, there are goofy women out there,” someone else said.
“Me being one of them! Me and my husband are like walking Minions.”
As another wrote: “I want to know why some have one eye and others have two!”
The yellow creatures – led by trio Stuart, Kevin and Bob – were first seen in 2010 movie Despicable Me.
A prequel inspired by the origin of the Minions was released in 2015, with a followup Minions: The Rise of Gru hitting cinemas in 2022.
The cheeky favourites have also appeared in Despicable Me 2, in 2013, Despicable Me 3, in 2017, and Despicable Me 4 – which is currently in cinemas.
Pierre hasn’t revealed the reasons for that.
However, in The Wrap interview he did speak about where the main Minions’ names came from.
“Kevin comes from an ancient Greek word (‘Kevinos’) which means leader,” he said .
“Stuart comes from the Latin word ‘Stuartalumni’ which means (loosely translated) ‘the one who slacks.’
“As for Bob, it means short. For Robert.”
