What to watch before Minions & Monsters

Nothing, as it turns out. It is the earliest film in the franchise by about forty-five years.

Minions & Monsters was released on 1 July 2026. This is still the order to catch up in.

Updated 14 August 2026 · 7 titles tracked

You do not need to watch anything first. Minions & Monsters is set in 1920s Hollywood, roughly forty-five years before Minions and ninety before Despicable Me. Gru is not in it. Neither are the girls.

It is the seventh film released and the first in story order, which is the largest release-to-story gap in any major family franchise.

All seven films, earliest story first

Chronological order. Minions & Monsters opens the timeline, decades before anything else.

Open the interactive Despicable Me list

The short answer

Watch it. That is the whole prerequisite list.

No plot carries into it, because there is no earlier film for anything to carry from. The Minions are the only thread connecting it to the rest, and they are introduced from scratch every time.

Where it sits in the timeline

1920s Minions & Monsters. 1968 Minions. 1976 Minions: The Rise of Gru. 2010 onwards the four Despicable Me films.

So the three Minions films run forwards through the century and then hand over to Gru. The full order is on the franchise page, and the ordering guide covers release order against chronology in more detail.

If you want the Minions thread on its own

Minions & Monsters, then Minions, then Minions: The Rise of Gru. Three films, about four and a half hours, and they run in story order that way.

Gru only appears at the end of that run, as an eleven-year-old. Everything with the adult Gru is in the Despicable Me films.

Should it be your first film in the franchise?

Chronologically it can be. Whether it should be is a different question, and the honest answer is no.

Despicable Me is the better film and the one the series is actually about. Starting with the prequels means starting with the weakest thread and meeting Gru last. If you are picking for yourself, start in 2010.

If you are picking for children who want Minions, none of this matters. Start wherever they point.

What to watch after

Anything. Nothing in the franchise depends on having seen this one, so the next film is whichever you have not got to yet.

If you are going in order from here, Minions is next.

Common questions

What should I watch before Minions & Monsters?

Nothing. It is set in the 1920s, which is earlier than every other film in the franchise by decades, and it introduces its own characters.

Do I need to watch the other Minions movies first?

No. Minions is set in 1968 and The Rise of Gru in 1976, both long after this one. Watching them first spoils nothing but tells you nothing either.

Where does Minions & Monsters fit in the timeline?

First. The order by story is Minions & Monsters in the 1920s, Minions in 1968, The Rise of Gru in 1976, then the four Despicable Me films from 2010.

Is Minions & Monsters a prequel?

Yes, and the earliest one. It is the third Minions prequel and the seventh film released, set about ninety years before Despicable Me.

Is Minions & Monsters a good place to start the franchise?

It works, because nothing precedes it. Despicable Me from 2010 is the better starting point if you want the series at its strongest, since that is where Gru and the girls actually begin.

Do I need to have seen Despicable Me to follow it?

No. It shares no characters with the Gru films beyond the Minions themselves, and it introduces those from scratch.