Minion Movies in Order & How Many Are There? (Despicable Me Included)

Illumination’s Despicable Me franchise is constantly growing. With so many movies, a ton of short movies, specials and other media, it is not easy to follow the right way to watch them all. So, we have decided to make this article and show you the best way to watch Minion movies in order.

Despicable Me is a computer-animated media franchise centering on Gru, a reformed supervillain (who later becomes a father, husband, and secret agent), and his yellow-colored Minions. It is produced by Illumination and distributed by its parent company Universal Pictures.

Let’s now check how many Minion movies are there, including prequels and shorts.

How many Minion movies are there?

There are currently five main Minion movies and 16 short movies. We will only focus on the main Minion movies here, which should be sorted in two orders, the main series and the prequel series, so let’s check them out.

Main Minion movie series

• Despicable Me (2010)
• Despicable Me 2 (2013)
• Despicable Me 3 (2017)

Prequel Minion movie series

• Minions (2015)
• Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)

We will now just show you all the Minion short movies, but won’t be going deeper into every one of them, as there are a lot of them.

• Home Makeover (2010)
• Orientation Day (2010)
• Banana (2010)
• Puppy (2013)
• Panic in the Mailroom (2013)
• Training Wheels (2013)
• Binky Nelson Unpacified (2015)
• Competition (2015)
• Cro Minion (2015)
• Mower Minions (2016)
• The Secret Life of Kyle (2017)
• Yellow is the New Black (2018)
• Santa’s Little Helpers (2019)
• Minion Scouts (2019)
• Minions & Monsters (2021)
• Post Modern Minion (2022)

Let’s now check the best way to watch Minion movies in order (chronologically), and let you know what is every movie about and how are they connected.

Minion movies in order

As we have previously mentioned, there are two Minion movie series, the main one and the prequel one. So, if you want to watch all Minion movies in a chronological way, which is in our opinion the best way, then this would be the way to go.

Minions (2015)

Minions is the spin-off/prequel and the third installment overall in the Despicable Me franchise. Still, as it is chronologically the first Minions movie, we would suggest you to start with it.

Minions began their existence as single-celled yellow organisms. They have evolved over the centuries always serving the most hideous masters like T. Rex and Dracula. But they didn’t manage to keep them either. And when Minions have no one to serve, they fall into severe depression. But one of the Minions named Kevin has a plan… he’s going out into the world to find a new evil boss for his brothers to follow.

Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)

In the sequel to Minions, we follow 12-year-old Gru, who is on the path to becoming the greatest villain of all time, and on the way he is wholeheartedly helped by his little yellow friends.

In the mid-70s of the last century, 12-year-old Gru grows up in the suburbs and fantasizes about his criminal career. As a big fan of the evil supergroup Evil 6, he has a plan to join them. Together with his faithful Minions, he builds his first lair and completes his first criminal task. Joining the Evil 6 group does not go without problems and Gru soon becomes their main enemy.

Despicable Me (2010)

In a cheerful suburb made up of many white houses with beautiful gardens, there is one black house with an almost dead garden. None of the neighbors have a clue, but right under that house, there is a secret hideout where we meet Gru, who, together with his little assistants, is devising the evilest plan in the history of mankind: they will steal the Moon. Yes, the moon!

Gru revels in all things evil so with his veritable arsenal of weapons that includes the ability to shrink air, freeze air, and land and air vehicles – he destroys all who get in his way. Of course, all this lasts until the moment when he meets three little girls without parents who see in him what no one could even imagine now: a potential dad. And so the world’s biggest villain will meet his biggest challenge yet: three little girls.

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

Gru, his irresistible girls and mischievous Minions are with us again. Just when Gru decides to stop being a supervillain and become a super dad, the Anti-Crime League calls upon him to find a new criminal super-genius and save the world.

A new comic adventure featuring the return of (former?) supervillain Gru, his little girls, unpredictable hilarious Minions… And tons of new and hilariously funny characters. When the eternal businessman Gru left behind his life as a supervillain to raise Margo, Edith and Agnes, now he, Dr. Nefario and the Minions have a lot of free time.

But just as Gru begins to settle into his role as a suburban family man, an ultra-secret organization dedicated to fighting evil knocks on his door. Gru and his new partner, Lucy Wilde, must find out who is responsible for the spectacular crime and bring the culprit to justice. The world’s former greatest villain must capture the evil that is trying to take his place.

Despicable Me 3 (2017)

The new adventures of Gru and his little ones are triggered by the appearance of Gru’s lost twin brother Dru, who was voiced by comedian Steve Carell in the original version. One of the creators of “South Park”, Trey Parker lent his voice to the villain Balthazar Bratt in the original version, who was a star as a child, and now as an adult, he is obsessed with the character who was in the 80s. Balthazar will be Gru’s greatest enemy yet.

Gru teams up with his long-lost twin brother Dru to stop Balthazar Bratt, a former child actor of the 1980s, from destroying Hollywood, Los Angeles, after his show is canceled.

Do you need to watch Minion movies in order?

You should watch Minion movies in order. Will it be in chronological order as we suggested, or by release date, is not that important, but still, you shouldn’t skip any of them, as stories and characters are directly connected.

About the short Minion movies, well it is up to you, but if you love the Despicable Me franchise, you will probably watch them as well. You can just follow them by release date, as we have sorted them at the beginning of the article.

Will there be more Minion movies?

There certainly will be more Minion movies, as Despicable Me 4 is announced for 2024! Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri revealed in an interview in September 2017 that a fourth Despicable Me film is in development. On February 18, 2022, Universal scheduled the film for a July 3, 2024 release.