It would be easier for me to like certain of Illuminations' works if it felt like they were trying just a *little* bit harder. DM3 went from ridiculous slapstick violence to, "Oh, no! Someone could get hurt!" without even a moment to double-take. The trailer for the first "Minions" started with a Scarlet Overkill who was this villain super-star, a character and idea with fantastic promise, and then so stripped her of defining character and motivation that she keeps trying to kill the Minions when they've literally given her everything she ever wanted. And don't get me started on "The Lorax".
...I *want* to like Illumination's stuff, and I *do* like some of it quite a bit. But they keep giving me these "Eh, it's a kids movie, stop thinking so hard" vibes at the worst possible times.