choose love, not war
New York hippies shout the sixties anti-war line at the Minions.
Peace! Make love, not war!Minions · 2015 — Chapter 3 of 14 · 3'57" · A2
Minions Wreck a Department Store, Explained: marked down
Three Minions wander into a 1960s department store and turn shopping into chaos, shouting slogans, grabbing merchandise and setting off the escalator. The store's own announcements run underneath the mayhem: sales pitches, marked-down clothing, and finally "The store is now closing." The joke is the gap between the polite retail voice and the small yellow disaster happening around it.
What happens
On the run, the three Minions end up inside a department store, where they grab merchandise, ride the escalator and generally wreck the place. Shoppers and staff are baffled, and the loudspeaker keeps going with sales announcements for bell bottoms, go-go boots and miniskirts. The chaos only stops when the store closes.
Listen for
Make love, not warcheck something outmarked downgo-go boots
00:00 / 03:57Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
marked down
reduced in price
The PA says women's bell-bottoms and tie-dye shirts are on sale.
These winter coats were marked down after the holiday.
Also in this scene
- Make love, not war
choose love, not war
- check something out
go look / browse
- go-go boots
1960s mid-calf fashion boots
- boo-ya
a cheer or whoop
- the store is now closing
the shop is about to close
Everything marked in this scene
26 notes across 59 lines
imperative contrast
Peace! Make love, not war!peace and love
Peace and love!reduced in price
The PA says women's bell-bottoms and tie-dye shirts are on sale.
(ON PA) Women's bell bottoms and tie-dye shirts marked down.flared trousers
(ON PA) Women's bell bottoms and tie-dye shirts marked down.tie-dyed shirts
(ON PA) Women's bell bottoms and tie-dye shirts marked down.past participle
(ON PA) Women's bell bottoms and tie-dye shirts marked down.go look / browse
The store PA steers shoppers toward go-go boots and miniskirts.
Check out our wide selection of go-go boots and miniskirts.a large range of
Check out our wide selection of go-go boots and miniskirts.1960s mid-calf fashion boots
The PA pushes go-go boots with miniskirts as the store's big look.
Check out our wide selection of go-go boots and miniskirts.of-phrase
Check out our wide selection of go-go boots and miniskirts.is about to close
(ON PA) The store is now closing.present continuous
(ON PA) The store is now closing.what are you doing
Hey, what are you doing?wh-progressive
Hey, what are you doing?hand that over
(ON PA) Give me that! (KEVIN YELLS)copula drop
Oh! (CHUCKLES) Me Tim!Minion stop — They shout it to halt someone; do not treat it as real English.
liaison
stress
cheer / whoop — Yell it when you are cocky or hyping a crowd; skip it in formal talk.
Minion hello — Their in-film greeting; in real life it is a joke, not a hello.
stress
liaison
weak form
weak form
Minions Wreck a Department Store, explained
What's really going on
The sequence is a fish-out-of-water gag built on a simple contrast: the Minions treat a temple of consumer goods like a playground, while the store treats them like customers. The loudspeaker never stops selling, even as the place falls apart — "Check out our wide selection of go-go boots and miniskirts" plays over a scene where nobody is shopping normally. What makes it work is the film's 1960s setting, so the shop itself is part of the joke: bell bottoms, tie-dye and go-go boots are all period detail. The Minions have no idea what any of it is for, and their only real goal is a banana or a toy, which keeps the chaos innocent rather than mean.
Theme
Dark humorA polite retail broadcast plays over small creatures destroying the store, and the mismatch is the joke.
AbsurdityThe Minions have no idea what a department store is for, so every ordinary object becomes a toy in their hands.
Listen for
- look at that — liaison
- Make love, not war — stress
- marked down — stress
- Check out our — liaison
Peace! Make love, not war!A 1960s anti-war slogan shouted with enthusiasm, with no sense that the Minions know what it means.
(ON PA) The store is now closing.The store's closing announcement, which finally ends the Minions' rampage by sending everyone home.
Check out our wide selection of go-go boots and miniskirts.A sales announcement inviting shoppers to browse the store's 1960s fashion, playing straight through the chaos.
Hey, what are you doing?Someone reacting to the Minions' behaviour, wondering why they are ransacking the store.
Questions about this scene
Where does this scene take place?
Inside a department store in 1960s America. The clothing, the loudspeaker and the escalator all set the period, and the shop is as much a character as the Minions are.
Why do the Minions wreck the store?
They are not trying to cause trouble; they simply do not know what anything is for. They want a banana or a toy, so escalators and displays become things to play with rather than property.
What does "marked down" mean in the announcement?
It means the item is on sale at a lower price. The loudspeaker says the bell bottoms and tie-dye shirts are marked down, which is the store carrying on as if nothing odd is happening.
Who is the "Tim" Bob keeps mentioning?
Tim is a nickname Bob gives himself at the end of the scene as he grabs a toy, part of the Minions' nonsense speech rather than a person we have met.
Minions · 14 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 4a new bad man in townScarlet Overkill's Villain-Con Ad
Chapter 1therein lies the rubMinions Can't Keep a Boss
Chapter 2Truth be toldKevin Volunteers to Find a New Master
Watching · Chapter 3marked downMinions Wreck a Department Store
Chapter 4a new bad man in townScarlet Overkill's Villain-Con Ad
Chapter 5stretch one's legsThe Nelsons Give the Minions a Ride
Chapter 6let's not kid ourselvesScarlet's Henchmen Tryout
Chapter 7get down to businessScarlet Assigns the Crown Heist
Chapter 8Bob's your uncleBob Pulls the Sword from the Stone
Chapter 9above and beyond the call of dutyScarlet Confronts the Minions
Chapter 10take this the wrong wayScarlet Breaks Up with the Minions
Chapter 11I proclaim theeScarlet's Coronation Turns into a Chase
Chapter 12how's that working out for youScarlet Gives Kevin Until Dawn
Chapter 13so help meScarlet Taunts Kevin, Then Flees
Chapter 14from here on outThe Queen Knights KevinChapter 3 of 14 · about 58 min to go