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Starting as supporting roles in the Hollywood blockbuster, Despicable Me, Minions managed to become one of today's most popular cultural icons. And Minions have once again swept the world with their latest film performance.
Since the premiere of Despicable Me 3 on July 7 on the Chinese mainland, the movie has made 922 million yuan ($136.62 million) at the box office, as of July 24.
Posters of Despicable Me series
What makes a Minion?
No one knows too much about where they come from.
The only thing we know is that Minions are small, yellow creatures who have existed since the beginning of time, evolving from single-celled organisms into beings that exist only to serve history's most villainous masters.
Naughty and funny, they usually have one or two eyes.
They mostly speak incomprehensible gibberish, which is partly derived from several other languages, including Bahasa Indonesia, French, English, Italian, Spanish and Hindi.
They easily get worked up and fight with one another. However, they will come together when they are faced with grave challenges.
It only takes several minutes to draw a Minion.
In such a simple and clear character setting, they have garnered hundreds of thousands of fans around the world.
According to their creator, Christopher Meledandri, the Minions today look much different than their initial inceptions.
"At first, they were sophisticated in design and simple in character, which is hard to arouse the attention of people," Meledandri said.
Later he saw a capsule, which inspired their final design. He believes the simplicity is what helps them be remembered.
Before unveiling Minions to the public, Universal Pictures spared no effort in promoting the yellow creatures.
They have not only appeared in the Super Bowl, the final contest of NBA competition and the talent show, The Voice, but in comic versions of world renowned paintings, magazines and scenic spots.
This coverage has had a major influence on their popularity.
Minions appear in comic versions of world renowned paintings.
New favorite for top enterprises
The power of those little creatures is not limited to the virtual world. They are providing celebrity endorsements for famous companies both at home and abroad.
Minion mascot bikes
From food to transportation, clothing to cosmetics, they seem to be everywhere.
For instance, Chinese bike-sharing giant Ofo partnered with the Minions in China last month.
New tailor-made bikes are characterized by two big eyes on the front of the bike and yellow Minion images on its body.
"First of all, Minions and Ofo's bikes share the symbolic yellow color, and they are the best choice to be our mascot. Besides, we hope to take advantage of the Minions' popularity to attract more young users," said Dai Wei, CEO of Ofo.
Minions are featured at fast food restaurant McDonald.
Meanwhile, international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's also made friends with the Minions through a worldwide Minion-themed menu.
Many branches have even redecorated their restaurants to showcase the Minions with large-scale posters to welcome customers.
And if you are lucky enough, some servers will dress up as Minions and pose for a photo with you.
It is worth noting that the well-known color research institute Pantone announced "Minion Yellow" as an official new Pantone color in 2015.
"Pantone Minion Yellow is an illuminating, energetic, friendly and fun-loving yellow shade that immediately calls out to you," said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.
Integrator of multi-cultural elements
Minions have traversed across the earth and created their own language.
Their funny language is the epitome of multi-cultural integration. When talking about the yellow creatures, they successfully avoid being labeled as an image of a certain country.
Rather, they belong to the whole world and are favored by people of different nationalities.
Minions have entered the Sina Weibo platform.
Furthermore, the Minions have taken a place in the emoji world.
If you use WeChat or Sina Weibo in China or log in to Facebook or Twitter in foreign countries, "Minions" have been frequently used in daily communication.
"Sometimes, their facial expressions can be interpreted to what I want to say to others. Without them, I cannot express myself in such an interesting fashion," says Sina Weibo user Tian Sishen.
"I often chat with my foreign friends online with the help of Minions. The Minions are very popular in Japan but I am surprised to know that the popularity also reaches Brazil," Japanese Facebook user Adachi Ayumi said.
Minions easily get worked up and fight with one another.
Minions continue to serve as a bridge to connect people of different nationalities.
In the music video of their theme song Happy, the singer Pharrell Williams invited many different people to join in the music video.
Album cover of the song, Happy
Participants varied in race, sex, age and size, but they all enjoyed dancing to the music in that moment.
(CHINA DAILY)
