Pixar is the Grand Old Daddy of animation, but make no mistake: the Minions will soon get their due. The adorable pill-shaped and denim overall-clad yellow creatures first appeared in the Despicable Me movies and starred in their own adventure, titled Minions, in 2015. Created by French animators Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, the tiny slaves of the monster Gru have the temperament, intellect stamina and attention span of happy and warm-bellied puppies. In this short spin-off, titled The Competition, their never-ending energy levels come handy. Two minions try to beat each other first at throwing paper into a basket, then boxing, and finally in riding missiles. It’s a matter of time before the minions are seen as political and social allegories. For now, the only thing that matters is that they are irresistibly cute.

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The Competition is one of three short films that are included in DVDs and Blu-rays of the Minions movie. Here is an older short, featuring their favourite fruit, the banana, always uttered with reverence and the slightest hint of mischief.

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