How to Create Minion-Dollar Programming
The “Minions” and “Despicable Me” franchises’ kooky antics and gibberish talking delight audiences young and old. Get in on the colorful, crazy fun at your park this spring and summer by screening one or more of the blockbuster films! To help amp things up, we’ve compiled some easy ideas for promoting your events in your community and engaging with the audience once they arrive!
Promotion & Setup
Minion Shirts:
Promote your movie showing in style using simple yellow t-shirts, paint brushes and fabric paint. Don’t forget to add the date, time and location to the back of your shirts! Not only will you stand out while promoting, but your staff can wear them the day of the event so attendees can easily identify whom to ask for help.
Minion Balloons:
Yellow balloons, a black marker and helium are all you need to create your own bunch of minion balloons. Use these to decorate your ticket area, promote your event and more.
Photo Booth:
Most of the “Minions” movie centers on how Minions have evolved over time and the masters they unsuccessfully tried to serve. Create a photo booth opportunity that celebrates all of the stages of Minions, from serving a T. rex to helping out an Egyptian pharaoh. Don’t forget to include other props from the movie like the sword Excalibur, Dracula’s birthday cake, Queen Elizabeth’s crown, a teddy bear and signs for Orlando!
Programming Ideas
Idea 1: Favorite Things Hunt
Bananas and apples, or “bapples” as the Minions refer to them, are some of the yellow critters’ absolute favorite things. Hide a few of these fruits around your park, with various point amounts affixed to each. Give kids, or teams, 15 minutes to find as many as they can. Once time is up, have everyone count up their total number of points to see who has the highest score. Afterward, everyone can enjoy the items as a movie snack!
Idea 2: Minionese Spelling Bee
How do you spell “BEE DO BEE DO BEE DO?” Before the show, host a spelling bee competition solely featuring known Minionese words – the Minions very own language. Award the champion with a trophy or maybe a “baboi.”
Idea 3: Share Minion Trivia
Use these kooky facts to create a trivia slideshow to keep the audience entertained before the show!
- Minions speak a mixture of Spanish, English, French, and Italian, with additional elements of Russian and Korean.
- Minions only have three fingers.
- Each minion has one of five hairstyles.
- Director Pierre Coffin voices all 899 minions in the "Minions" film.
- The average Minion is 105 cm tall.
- When you crack and shake a Minion, they glow in the dark
Idea 4: Totally Rad Party
Gru’s nemesis in the third “Despicable Me” installment is Balthazar Bratt – a former ‘80’s child star. While it’s unlikely your audience will root for Balthazar, there’s no reason you can’t celebrate the totally tubular decade he represents. So go all out with an ‘80’s themed party to bring your screening to life! Refuse entry to anyone not adorned in neon, side ponies or spandex and only play classic hits from the era. For activities, have attendees compete in a Rubik’s cube challenge or see who can best pin the glove on Michael Jackson. The vibrant ‘80s offer a million possibilities for providing your community with thrilling entertainment.
Idea 5: Make it a Series
Swank licenses every film in the “Despicable Me” and “Minions” franchises. Simply contact your Account Executive to order one of the highest-grossing animated franchises of all time for your park this summer!
Give us a call at 1.800.876.5577 to book your “Despicable Me” or “Minions” showing today!