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Banana

Banana

By Patrick Samuel • July 1st, 2013
Static Mass Rating: 5/5
BANANA (MINI-MOVIE)
Universal Pictures

Release date: December 14th, 2012
Running time: 3.47 minutes

Cast: The Minions

Banana

Yellow’s a colour I never really paid much attention to as a kid. Sure, it was always there as the crayon I’d use to colour in the sun, and when I spilled juice on my T-shirt, but in recent years I’ve started to closely associate it with two of my newer favourite things – bananas and minions – thanks to this wonderful short that was included as an extra in the home release for Despicable Me back in 2010.

For those who might be new to the world of Despicable Me, it’s an feature-length animated film from Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures and it tells of a super villain, Gru (Steve Carell), who tries to remain top of his game by outsmarting his competition with the help of elderly scientist, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) and 10,400 of his trusted minions. Along the way he comes up against Vector (Jason Segal) and fails in his attempts to foil his every plan, so he tries to recruit 3 orphan girls to help him infiltrate his opponent’s fortress. Of course, the girls start to melt Gru’s icy heart, but for me it was minions who stole the show with their antics.

Banana‘s story is fairly and admirably simple. Set within the super-villain complex of Gru’s vast labyrinthian home, it documents the obsessions these little guys have with bananas. It starts with two minions quietly at work at their desks when one of them starts to feel a little snackish. He peers into his lunch box but then decides he doesn’t want to eat just yet. He then tries to go back to work but his urge to eat the banana becomes too strong and he exclaims what sounds like “Dah, bokah!” and dives back into the lunchbox to receive it.

Banana

It’s at that moment his colleague hears the commotion and turns around to see him holding the treasured banana and his single eye widens – he must have it! With a wide shot we then glimpse they’re working with rockets and other dangerous equipment. Knowing that the minions essentially have little self-control, matched with wide-eyed wonder, innocence and mischievousness if let unattended for too long, it’s a safe bet that this situation with the banana is about to escalate beyond anyone’s control.

The ensuing squabble attracts the attention of another passing worker and though at first he tries to break up the fight, he then tries to take a bite of the coveted banana. The fight then spills outside of their work area where the rest of the minions join in for a chance to have the banana – while there are rockets, bombs and other types of explosive material hanging around.

Banana, like the other two mini-movies, Home Makeover and Orientation Day, shows us what the minions get up to when Gru’s not around to keep an eye on them. While they’re very loyal, they’re just not very good at remain focused with the tasks at hand – much like many other people I know actually!

So, if you’d like to see how a single innocent banana manages to create a stampede at a base manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, keep an eye out for Banana, and maybe you won’t ever think of yellow the same way again!

Banana

Patrick Samuel

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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