Minion Dave Costume

Be one of Supervillain Gru's army of "minions," which are tiny yellow pill-shaped humanoids in overalls and goggles. You can have a ton of fun in this costume! A great pairing would be to have someone come dressed as Gru to the party, or maybe Miss Hattie, the girls' mistress from the local orphanage, or Gru's mother.

If you haven't seen the movie, the minions are hilarious. You can read about the plot by clicking the link below to the wikipedia website, but be forewarned, it has plenty of spoilers there, as well.

Toy Story 3: The Highest Grossing Animated Film Ever

By Kate Youde

His catchphrase is to go "to infinity, and beyond" and, if his box office receipts are anything to go by, Buzz Lightyear is on course to set sky-high standards of success for any big-screen animated character to follow.

Toy Story 3, in which Lightyear stars, is set to become the first animation to take $1 Billion at box offices globally after becoming the highest grossing animation ever, this weekend.

Its characters, including spaceranger Buzz, cowboy Woody and resourceful Barbie, helped Disney/Pixar gross $920m in global ticket sales since it opened in June. The previous record holder was DreamWorks Animation's Shrek 2, which raked in $919.8m.

Toy Story 3's success makes it the fourth highest grossing Disney movie ever, behind Johnny Depp blockbusters Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1.07bn), Alice in Wonderland ($1.02bn) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ($961m).


Cinemagoers' love affair with animation shows no sign of waning. Shrek Forever After is currently pulling in viewers across the country, while Lionsgate's 3D wolf animation Alpha and Omega hits the big screen in October. Universal's Despicable Me, which knocked the latest Twilight installment off the top of the box office on its release in the United States last month, is also due out in the UK in October.

Charles Gant, film editor at Heat magazine and a box office analyst, said studios had invested in their own animation divisions over recent years after seeing the success of DreamWorks Animation in rivaling Disney. "3D has been fantastic for animation and also the family market just keeps getting bigger," he added. "It's very rare a big studio loses money on a family film."


Toy Story 3 is the latest in a line of hits for Pixar, which also created Up, Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. The film has been credited with reducing grown men to tears with its themes of growing up, separation and loss.

Helen Nabarro, head of animation direction at the National Film and Television School, said the success of the Toy Story franchise and feature-length animations such as Oscar winner Up was down to sophisticated scripts and strong stories. "It can be a recognizable human world but with this extra fantasy that you believe," she explained.

Ms Nabarro, who was an executive producer on the BBC's Robbie the Reindeer films, said animation was "very much mainstream" now. It may have been viewed as "kids' stuff" in the past but now targeted adults.

Aardman's Wallace & Gromit did animation a "massive service" in showing that the genre could work for both adults and children, she added.

Hollywood's top actors are increasingly keen to voice animated characters. Steve Carell features as Gru in Despicable Me, while Brad Pitt will voice hero Metro Man opposite Will Ferrell's villain in DreamWorks Animation's Megamind this December.

Summer movie preview: Over the top

Jason Anderson
Special to the Star

It may take more than a guy with a shiny suit and an AC/DC soundtrack to keep movie audiences pumped up all summer long. It may also take more than the prettiest star or most dazzling FX wizardry. It may even take more than 3-D, which so many in Hollywood believe will save their industry.

What it is exactly that will keep moviegoers attention throughout the long summer months is anyone’s guess. All we can say for certain is that the industry is pulling out the big guns, unofficially kicking off the summer movie season with the highly anticipated, action-packed Iron Man 2, which hits theatres next weekend.

It’s almost impossible for filmmakers and producers to guarantee their wares will find success. And audiences are just as difficult to entice as they are to predict.

That’s why every release will be out to prove it has something the others don’t, an increasing challenge now that Avatar has redefined the wow factor. In other words, it’s up to you to decide whether a 3-D retrofit or a funny trailer is enough to get you into the multiplex. Here are this summer’s contenders. (Dates may change so keep checking the Star’s movie listings.)

May 7

Iron Man 2

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow

Story: After outing himself as the invincible Iron Man, Tony Stark takes heat from all sides, including Mickey Rourke as a Russian foe with a similar talent for gadgetry and a score to settle.

Competitive edge: Few summer movies can compete with the arsenal of weaponry for this sequel to the 2008 Marvel hit, which includes everything from new AC/DC songs to Scarlett Johansson as flame-haired superspy Black Widow.