Illumination Entertainment has made some very great animated movies in the past decades. From the Minions to singing animals to classic Dr. Suess stories and soon a movie based on the most iconic video game character ever, Illumination has practically done it all. My view on some of these Illumination films I’ve seen are quite different from most people, so let’s rank them in my own opinion. This is my ranking of every animated Illumination film. Also, I won’t be including Hop since it isn’t animated, has little significance than the other Illumination movies, and we all know where it should go anyway, so I won’t include it. Anyway, let’s begin.
#11: The Secret Life of Pets (2016)
I’m going to be honest, I didn’t find any of these Illumination movies to be particularly bad. Some were mediocre or forgettable, but none were bad movies; and the same can be said about The Secret Life of Pets. While it isn’t a very memorable movie with a forgettable plot, it’s still an enjoyable movie with funny characters. I also like the idea of pets talking without their owners knowing, even though the entire film is very similar to movies like Pixar’s Toy Story. I wish the movie made more of an effort to distinguish itself from Toy Story since its concept is very similar, but it’s still a fine film.
#10: Sing 2 (2021)
Of all the animated movies I’ve seen, Sing 2 was one of the most disappointing. I had no problem with the first movie and thought the sequel had a promising story from the trailers. However, I wasn’t satisfied. Sing 2 just dragged on, and I didn’t care for any of the new characters or the side-story problems at all. I also thought the movie made characters from the first movie worse. For most of the movie, I was rooting against Buster Moon, which shouldn’t be happening if he’s the main protagonist. It can still be a fun movie, especially for kids, but for me I was thoroughly disappointed.
#9: Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018)
The Grinch seemed like he was in desperate need of a 3D computer-animated movie. All he had was a 2D-animated 60s cartoon and Jim Carrey. What we got out of Illumination’s take on the Dr. Seuss classic was a unique story with the characters we love in a different way, especially with Cindy Lou Who, who is almost a totally different character here being more rebellious trying to catch Santa and caring about her mom having a great Christmas. It definitely added a neat spin on the original story.
#8: Minions (2015)
I get it. Everyone loves the Minions. But do they really need their own movie? Well, they didn’t, and the movie didn’t seem to work. It was a neat idea of how the Minions found Gru in a prequel to Despicable Me, but a film based on side characters that don’t even speak a real language doesn’t work. Minions was just a strange movie with a forgettable villain and plot that’s as unscrewed as the chandelier. It can be a funny movie, but Minions has some issues that overall make it a mediocre spinoff with an unworkable premise.
#7: The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)
While it is extremely forgettable, the sequel to The Secret Life of Pets does have a more original concept compared to the first movie, and there’s some laughs along the way. Overall, the move was fine. The plot was simple with Max and Duke, along with Katie’s son Liam going on a road trip. While it was a simplistic premise, the movie can be enjoyable. Kevin Hart is even more hilarious as Snowball, and even Jenny Slate as Gidget is really funny, risking everything to protect Max’s toy. While it wasn’t a bad movie, there wasn’t enough here to make it memorable.
#6: Sing (2016)
Honestly, I’ve grown to enjoy Sing a bit more after a few years. While it isn’t an original idea, especially with Disney’s Zootopia the same year, Sing was more based on business. A koala called Buster Moon wants to save his theater by holding a singing competition, but after a while everything goes bonkers. This is one of the few Illuminations films that is enjoyable for adults and kids to watch. It’s also really great at the end during the actual competition. It might have been weird for adults to see two pigs singing ‘Shake it Off’, but once a mouse with a top hat comes out singing ‘My Way’, every parent is perfectly invested. This movie is really funny, serious, and weird all at once, and I’ve grown to enjoy it more and more over the years.
#5: Despicable Me 3 (2017)
I know people love to hate on the third installment of the Despicable Me series, but I honestly found nothing about it particularly bad. It’s just not as memorable or anywhere as good as the first two movies. Despicable Me 3 is still a fun movie with lots of cool stuff. I really liked the storyline about Gru having a twin brother and their bond. Plus, two Grus is always better than one, right? Balthazar Bratt is also a fun villain themed to a reckless pop star from the 80s playing great Michael Jackson tracks and trying to terrorize Hollywood with a giant robot doll of himself after they canceled his 80s TV show. The whole movie was pretty fun, but there just weren’t any standout moments to make it a more memorable movie – unless you count the minions going to jail, which in my opinion is screenwriting at its best.
#4: Despicable Me (2010)
The original Despicable Me is a classic. It introduced many iconic characters including Gru, Vector, and the Minions. The first Despicable Me film is unique and fun. Instead of a children’s superhero movie, why not make it be about a silly villain learning to be a better person? And while that might seem cliché, the movie does a great job of standing out. Gru wants to steal the moon, but three orphan girls come into his life and end up making him more of a hero character, while still being a little despicable. The movie is a classic with many funny moments, great character development, and a great story.
#3: Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012)
As far as Dr. Seuss adaptations go, The Lorax is pretty underrated. It’s a classic with fun new story elements, characters, and more. It’s not easy to make a movie based on a book, especially a 20-page kids picture book, but the film result turned into a unique and fun spin on the original tale. The Lorax may not be an amazing film, but it’s definitely a fun one for kids and adults. Plus, the villain is a small man with a cool haircut played by Rob Riggle. What’s not to love?
#2: Despicable Me 2 (2013)
Many people classify Despicable Me 2 as the best and funniest in the franchise, and I’ve grown to agree with those people more and more over the years. After introducing Gru as a villain and learning to be a father figure to his adopted daughters and be a hero, the sequel just goes bonkers. Gru, now a secret agent, tries to find the villain who is turning his precious minions into purple lunatics. And it only gets crazier from there. Despicable Me 2 is a film that is less about teaching a meaningful lesson or making grown-ups cry, but more about making parents and kids laugh throughout a silly but great film for 90 minutes. It’s perfect.
#1: Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
I thought the first Minions movie didn’t work because it was based on side characters and not the main character. So throw a young Gru into a Minions movie and it automatically fixes everything that was wrong with the first movie. It’s still about the Minions, but now with Gru it all just works better. As one who enjoys the Despicable Me movies, it was cool to see all the references to those movies in this spinoff. It was all very clever and made for a pretty enjoyable and surprisingly great movie.
What’s your favorite Illumination film? How do you think their library stacks up against Disney, Dreamworks, or other animation movie studios? Let me know in the comments!