The Minions are a Hollywood success story more than 15 years in the making, winning over audiences far beyond younger cinema-goers.
The small yellow creatures and their idiosyncratic language have appeared four times as scene-stealing supporting characters in the "Despicable Me" franchise and twice as leads in their own films: "Minions" (2015) and "Minions: The Rise of Gru" (2022).
Now the seventh film in the Minions franchise, "Minions & Monsters", is set to hit cinemas around the world in the first week of July.
At its core, the new instalment once again leans into familiar territory.
It opens with a tour of Hollywood, where studio visitors are told that the true pioneers of the dream factory were not Steven Spielberg or George Lucas, but Henry and James — two small yellow creatures with big eyes.
Incidentally, "Star Wars" creator Lucas is set to voice a character in the film, marking his first major project since he went into semi-retirement in 2012, according to a report by Entertainment Weekly.
As in the first Minions film, the story begins with the characters' search for the most villainous leader possible - the so-called "Big Boss."
Predictably, their well-meaning enthusiasm repeatedly backfires, with each new master undone by the Minions' chaotic eagerness.
This time, the Minions land in early Hollywood while chasing a supposedly evil cowboy, setting off a chain of accidents that sees them briefly become silent film stars.
The rise is short-lived: the arrival of talking pictures ends their unexpected career, in a nod to cinema history's transition from silent to sound film.
Left without a role, Henry and James - whose names subtly echo writer Henry James - decide to make their own movie. They are joined by director Max (voiced by "Django Unchained" actor Christoph Waltz).
Their plan centres on casting a terrifying monster in the lead role. With little money for sets or props, help arrives in the form of a stolen spell book once owned by a former villain.
The story introduces Goomi (voiced by "South Park" co-creator Trey Parker), a small creature with unexpected powers, and Dort (voiced by "The Social Network" actor Jesse Eisenberg), an alien robot whose presence becomes unexpectedly useful.
The "Despicable Me" universe began in 2010, when Gru was introduced as a supervillain. Since then, the animated franchise has grown into a multi-billion-dollar global hit and is billed by its makers as the most successful of its kind in cinema history.
That success explains why the series continues to expand. But after the early freshness of the Minions' first appearances, the latest instalment also raises a familiar question: How long can the yellow chaos keep going before the formula starts to wear thin?
