Minions & Monsters and What’s Making Us Happy

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour – “Minions & Monsters and What’s Making Us Happy”

NPR | July 3, 2026
Hosts: Stephen Thompson
Guests: Rihanna Cruz, Candice Lim

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights "Minions and Monsters," the latest minions-centric addition to the “Despicable Me” franchise, now set in 1920s Hollywood. The panel explores the film’s playful homage to cinema history, its embrace of references and slapstick, and the broader phenomenon of “IP extension” in contemporary pop culture. The conversation blends spirited defense, gentle critique, and a deep dive into what keeps audiences coming back to the Minions’ yellow mischief. Closing the hour, the panelists each share “what’s making us happy” this week in TV, music, and media.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Minions and Monsters: A Love Letter to Cinema

• Setting & Tone:
  Set in late 1920s Hollywood, the Minions accidentally become natural silent film stars, struggle with the switch to “talkies,” and get embroiled with adorable but dangerous monsters via a dead wizard’s spell.
• Film References:
  The movie is packed with nods to Buster Keaton, Orson Welles, Edward Muybridge, “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “Citizen Kane,” and “Modern Times.”
• Panel Reactions:
  • Rihanna Cruz: Overjoyed by both the references and playful spirit.

    “To the surprise of nobody, the Minions are here to save cinema.” (02:03)
    “This movie is a love letter to cinema. I laughed, I cried.” (02:43)

  • Candice Lim: Came in a skeptic but found the film surpassed expectations.

    “Something beautiful about this film ... they make this conjecture that cinema was shepherded by these two minions named Henry and James, who were essentially a buddy comedy. They’re best friends.” (04:56)

  • Stephen Thompson: Enjoyed the cinema history references but found the plot thin and over-reliant on references.

    “I thought the Minions were more like cilantro, right? Like they're seasoning. They're not necessarily what you want to build an entire film around.” (06:13)

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2. Debating the Film’s Merits (and Minions Canon)

• Self-aware Meta-humor:
  The panel agrees the film is “rife with references” and leans into its own place in the canon, and lovingly pokes fun at its own legacy.
• Plot vs. Vibes Debate:
  • Rihanna Cruz prefers the focus to be “just Minion side quests.”

    “That’s what I want out of the Minions movies, to be honest. … This is what I’ve always wanted from the Despicable Me franchise.” (07:56)

  • Stephen Thompson misses the more ensemble feel of “Minions: Rise of Gru,” but concedes the film serves existing fans.
• Franchise Continuity Concerns:
  Discussion over Minions’ timeline inconsistencies; speculation on different “tribes” of Minions, referencing previous films and online discourse:

  “Raises the question of where the Minions went in the 1930s and 40s.” (07:41)
  “Pierre Coffin, the director, has said in interviews that the Minions did not serve Hitler.” (07:50 – Rihanna Cruz)

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3. Monsters, Suffragettes, & Surreal Storylines

• Monsters Arriving Late:
  The titular “monsters” don’t appear until halfway through; branding called into question.

  “The monsters don’t even show up until halfway through.” (11:00 – Stephen Thompson)

• Suffragette Subplot:
  Critiqued as hilariously anachronistic and thrown in regardless of history.

  “This movie is set in 1927, and for absolutely no reason, there’s a whole subplot involving a suffragette whose work has been done for her by this point.” (09:56 – Stephen Thompson)

• Response to Plot Randomness:
  • Rihanna Cruz draws parallels to classic Godzilla/Kaiju films, arguing the randomness enhances the film's playful cinematic homage.

    “Minions and Monsters is, for all intents and purposes, a Kaiju movie in that regard.” (11:06)

    • Sees the “big bad” slime monster as a metaphor for “consumption slime AI slop,” countered by cinema’s communal creativity.

      “Cinema is the antidote to the consumption slime AI slop economy that we find ourselves in.” (12:32)

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4. Meta-Commentary on Pop Culture and IP Extension

• Film’s Self-Awareness:
  • Candice Lim:

    “There is a meta-ness. There’s a self-awareness while acknowledging the, you know, Safety Last and the Singing in the Rain that came before.” (15:39)

  • The movie mirrors the real-world explosion of Minions merch and their “iconic” status in the culture.
• IP Extension Trend:
  • Stephen Thompson: Observes Minions fits the broader trend (Toy Story 5, Scary Movie, Jackass) of franchises as “fun hangs” rather than new canonical entries.

    “You just reach a point where the movie is just supposed to be a fun hang with characters you’ve seen before...If you’re into these characters, it’s a fun hang.” (14:15)

• Marketing Prowess:
  • Candice Lim marvels at the film’s four-quadrant appeal, attracting audiences of all ages.

    “There’s eight-year-olds behind me, like so excited. …And then there’s old guys next to me being like, I remember when the talkies were silent. This is my jam. And I’m just like, wow, like you really did that.” (15:17)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Minions are here to save cinema.”
  – Rihanna Cruz (02:03)
• “I was laughing the entire time. Was really chuffed watching the Minions.”
  – Rihanna Cruz (02:43)
• “Minions were more like cilantro, right? They’re seasoning. They’re not necessarily what you want to build an entire film around.”
  – Stephen Thompson (06:13)
• On the film’s meta-appeal:

  “I really think this film does a good job of being like the Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson of 4-quadrant marketing.”
  – Candice Lim (15:15)

• On franchise timeline oddities:

  “Raises the question of where the Minions went in the 1930s and 40s.”
  – Stephen Thompson (07:41)

• On why it works for older fans, too:

  “There is a meta-ness. …you can’t say they don’t know their history.”
  – Candice Lim (15:39)

• Playful banter about old moviegoers:

  “Wait, are these people 115 years old?”
  – Stephen Thompson (15:45)

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[02:43] Rihanna Cruz sums up the Minions appeal:

“This movie is a love letter to cinema. I laughed, I cried.”

[06:13] Stephen Thompson expresses skepticism:

“I thought the Minions were more like cilantro...not necessarily what you want to build an entire film around.”

[09:56] Stephen Thompson’s historian frustration:

“I majored in journalism and history in college, and my history major was furious. …There’s a whole subplot involving a suffragette whose work has been done for her by this point.”

[12:32] Rihanna Cruz gives a hot take:

“[T]he fact that the big, bad villain is a ball of slime, I think is really smart, low key, because it’s kind of positing that cinema is the antidote to, you know, the consumption slime AI slop economy that we find ourselves in. That’s me big braining.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:16] - Introduction to Minions and Monsters (Premise, setting)
• [02:02] - Panel reactions: Rihanna’s praise
• [04:08] - Candice Lim joins the love for Minions
• [06:07] - Stephen Thompson’s measured criticism
• [07:41] - Timeline and canon confusion
• [09:52] - Feminist and suffragette subplot critique
• [11:05] - Monster discussion and kaiju parallels
• [12:32] - Slime monster as metaphor for digital “AI slop”
• [14:15] - Stephen reflects on IP extension and franchise fatigue
• [15:15] - Candice highlights the film’s four-quadrant appeal
• [16:33] - Meta-commentary and Minions as merchandise
• [16:48] - Wrap-up: Panel agreement and playful banter

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What’s Making Us Happy This Week

(Audience Recommendations – [18:43-23:37])

• [18:50] Rihanna Cruz:

  • Love Island USA on Peacock
  • “I see it as a sociological experiment. …I’m watching how normal people move about the world and it scares me and I can’t look away.”

• [20:18] Candice Lim:

  • “Bottle Up” by Backstreet Boys (from Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie soundtrack, written by Ed Sheeran and Savin Kotecha)
  • “You put Savon with a boy band and it’s over. … This song is…it’s so funky!”

• [21:59] Stephen Thompson:

  • Band: Angine de Poitrin (French-Canadian art rock duo, famous for wearing papier-mache masks)
  • Recommended their new album Volume 2.
  • “If you are folding socks, listening to Angine de Poitrin is going to make that so much fun. It’s rock and roll. It’s weird art. It’s so fun.”

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Concluding Thoughts

• The episode is a blend of heartfelt fandom, intelligent critique, and meta pop-culture laughter.
• The Minions continue to be a lightning rod for playful debate about nostalgia, fandom, and the meaning of modern blockbuster comedy.
• The panel is united by the joy of shared silliness and infectious creativity—“exactly what we need for the Minions.” (23:46 – Rihanna Cruz)

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For more recommendations, sign up for the Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter at npr.org/popculturenewsletter.

Transcript

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[Stephen Thompson]

Learn [e-mail] the weekend is for catching up on the best stuff you missed. The Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter is here to help steer you in the right direction. It's a perfect companion for your Friday that'll help set the stage for your weekend. Sign up [e-mail] newsletters. The Despicable Me franchise has made billions of dollars at the box office and it's spawned a second gigantic franchise with a series of movies starring those chattering yellow pill shaped oddballs known as the Minions. I'm Stephen Thompson. Here to talk about Minions and monsters on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour is Rihanna Cruz. They're a freelance music and culture journalist. Hey Rihanna Bello.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Stephen.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh boy, we're gonna do this.

[Rihanna Cruz]

You stole by.

[Stephen Thompson]

Also with us is former host of Slate's Internet culture podcast, icymi, and former Pop Culture Happy Hour producer Candice Lim. Hey, Candice.

[Candice Lim]

Hello.

[Stephen Thompson]

So nice to see you, buddy. For those who don't know the Minions backstory, they're silly little yellow chatterboxes who've existed since the daw dawn of time with the express purpose of supporting the worst villains around. But they're not villainous in and of themselves, in part because they have a habit of accidentally killing the various ogres and masterminds they're trying to serve. This is the third Minions movie and another prequel, this time set in 1920s Hollywood. Their hijinks make them natural silent film actors, but as talkies take over, they struggle to stay relevant until one of them ends up conjuring some cute but deadly monsters using a dead wizard's old spel. Minions and Monsters is in theaters now. Rihanna Cruz, I'm gonna start with you. What'd you think?

[Rihanna Cruz]

I loved it.

[Candice Lim]

That's right.

[Rihanna Cruz]

To the surprise of nobody, the Minions are here to save cinema.

[Stephen Thompson]

You are our Minions correspondent and our Jackass correspondent. And I feel like the two orbit each other like a binary star.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Oh, absolutely. They're kind of the same movie. If you like butt jokes and pratfalls

[Stephen Thompson]

and a tight 90 minutes.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Yeah, exactly, exactly. I mean, Minions of Monsters, what's not to love? You know, if you like bust Mr. Keaton, if you like Orson Welles, if you're a fan of the movie the Day the earth stood still somewhere.

[Stephen Thompson]

Orson Welles absolutely just turned over in

[Candice Lim]

his grave and he said, turn on the DVD player. I gotta watch this movie. Minions and Monsters.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Absolutely. It is rife with references. I love a reference, you know, in a movie. I mean, I think I'm one of those few people that references can sustain a film. A 90 minute one, specifically. And I was laughing the entire time. Was really chuffed watching the Minions. I mean, I love the Minions. You know, this movie is a love letter to cinema. I laughed, I cried. Minions and Monsters.

[Stephen Thompson]

You cried?

[Rihanna Cruz]

I did. Because I love movies.

[Candice Lim]

Cinema can do that to you, Steven.

[Stephen Thompson]

I'm a big crier. But what made you cry?

[Rihanna Cruz]

I love movies.

[Candice Lim]

That's right.

[Rihanna Cruz]

I was sitting in the theater.

[Stephen Thompson]

Presence of flickering images on the screen,

[Candice Lim]

or like, the bromantic friendships that have persisted through the, like, history of Hollywood. Henry and James, they invented cinema.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Exactly. Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's. There. I don't know. I like. As soon as the movie started, we get the Edward Muybridge, a man riding a horse. And the Minions are right there in the clip. Right. Immediately, I. I said, oh, this is a movie made specifically for me. Film lover who loves the Minions. And watching through it was just a riot. I thought it was really clever. Honestly, I. I feel like they threw a lot at the wall, but I liked everything that they threw, and I think there's enough in there for people that are not six years old to love.

[Candice Lim]

Okay.

[Stephen Thompson]

How about you, Candace?

[Candice Lim]

Yeah, Stephen, of course. I agree. I love this movie. So I actually have had a very fraught relationship with Minions ever since they first came out in the first Despicable Me movie. I was like, they're so corny. They're for millennials who can't let a hot topic go. And then as I approach that age now, I was like, oh, no, no, no, no. I get them. They represent my people. And so I had weirdly high expectations for this movie. And guess what? It beat them. This movie is better than I expected.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Exactly.

[Candice Lim]

And I think on a very surface level, it's just because it, like, reminded me how playful and, like, visually satisfying Minions as an entity is. And I was very locked in. I didn't know where it was going. And that intrigued me. It was mystique. I loved it. I just think, actually, something beautiful about this film, which is that they make this conjecture that cinema was shepherded by these two minions named Henry and James, who were essentially a buddy comedy. They're best friends. And I looked at them and I said, that's not Damon Ben Affleck, like, that's Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. That's letting into Courtney. Like this.

[Stephen Thompson]

You know, the great duos throughout history. Yeah.

[Candice Lim]

Yes, exactly. Like, this is what that's about. And so I loved it. Even though it's. I will admit, there is a lot. They do throw a lot at the wall, and I could take away one or two things. I'm happy, guys. I loved it.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Steven, your face, as me and Candace were both talking, tells me you have a differing opinion.

[Candice Lim]

And by the way, during Rihanna's run, Steven takes a huge chug of that leader Diet Coke, because he's like, I gotta. I gotta prep.

[Stephen Thompson]

Look, I'm not here to yuck anybody's yum. If you love this franchise and if people listening who love this franchise or who have kids who love this Franchi, clearly two devotees of this franchise are here to tell you that this is in line with the quality of the other films.

[Rihanna Cruz]

It's the best one yet.

[Candice Lim]

I do think so. I do think so.

[Stephen Thompson]

That's interesting to me, because I thought Rise of Gru. I came in as a Minions skeptic, as somebody who had seen the Despicable Me movies and felt that the Minions were more like cilantro, right? Like, they're seasoning. They're not necessarily what you want to build an entire film around. It's a lot of the same thing. And I thought Minions, Rise of Gru had this kind of visual style to it and brought in different characters and let the Minions at times be supporting players in their own movie a little bit. And this definitely centers them. And for me, I just. I wasn't as down with it. I did enjoy, as Rihanna described, a lot of the, like, efforts to retrofit them into early cinema. I mean, as soon as you're seeing the minion, you know, with the man on the horse and that stuff, you're like, one of those Minions is going to take a rocket to the eye. Like, I see where this is going. I clapped for me references without necessarily new jokes on top of them. It's not really my particular flavor, you know, but at the same time, I mean, who am I to argue with two devotees? I did find myself constantly thinking about the Minions canon and how this kind of differs from the Minions canon, because I had a whole conversation with our wonderful producer Liz Metzger before we were taping, because I was like, In Minions, parentheses 2015, we learn that the Minions were, like, trapped in an ice cave from the 1810s to the 1960s, but now we have minions in the 20s. But apparently this is a different tribe of Minions, which, I'm sorry, people. Raises the question of where the Minions went in the 1930s and 40s.

[Rihanna Cruz]

See, but Pierre Coffin, the director, has said in interviews that the Minions did not serve Hitler. And this is a tribe. Right? And I like the fact that the Minions, though, are just on a side quest in this movie. That's what I want out of the Minions movies, to be honest. And that's what I think lacked a little bit in Minions. The rise of Gru is that I. I felt like the plot was too plotty, for lack of a better term. You know, I. I think there was a little bit too much happening, a little bit too much effort was put into making the Minions fit into this larger story that they had crafted. And I like how this movie is Minions focused, because I do come to these movies for the Minions. I don't come for anything else. I come for the little short yellow guys to say funny stuff like, sorry, that's just what I'm here for. And that's why I like this movie, because it's literally Minion side quest movie. This is what I've always wanted from the Despicable Me franchise.

[Candice Lim]

Yeah, it's funny because you guys had mentioned Jackass. I actually was thinking a little bit about Scary Movie that came out this summer and how that is a movie that uses references. I have to say it kind of in a similar way. Like, in this movie, they're doing shot by shot, Citizen Kane, and I loved it. Scary Movie, they're referencing Get Out. And I think the critique there was kind of just that they're making references but not making a point with it. And I'm not gonna sit here and say, like, the Minions are making a point when they reference modern times.

[Stephen Thompson]

This is revolutionary cinema.

[Candice Lim]

Exactly. But I think it's. That's because they are now entering Shrekdom of knowing that they are ironic. And they are. They have a cultural cachet of stupidity, and they are able to rise one inch above that stupidity and be like, watch me. Because guess what? The Citizen Kane little parallel, they actually did it quite amazingly. It was actually quite beautiful in terms of things in this film that I will say are questionable in terms of timeline and whatever.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, boy.

[Candice Lim]

I mean, Steven, did you want to talk about the feminist of it all? The suffragettes of it all?

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, my gosh. I majored in journalism and history in college, and my history major was furious. This movie is set in 1927, and for absolutely no reason, there's A whole subplot involving a suffragette.

[Candice Lim]

Right.

[Stephen Thompson]

Whose work has been done for her by this point. Did news not get to LA that seven years earlier, the 19th Amendment was ratified? I hope somebody got fired for that blunder. You know, I seriously, I sat there like, why are my arms folded? This is a Minions movie.

[Candice Lim]

But people I know, the thing is, like, that entire plotline also involves. Okay, I will say there is another critique of this movie that I wonder if anyone else cares about, which is there are actually, like, too many monsters in this film, too many villains. In some of the marketing you've been seeing, there's like, this orange blob with a bunch of eyes. I didn't know what that was.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Irene.

[Candice Lim]

And basically, Irene is what I would describe as like, a collab between Orange Julius and Sarah V. Lotion. And they don't really come until the very end of Act 3. I could have taken them out. I could have taken them out, to be honest.

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, the film is called Minions and Monsters, and the monsters don't even show up until halfway through.

[Candice Lim]

But there's so many monsters.

[Rihanna Cruz]

I think there's two things about that, though. One is that I've been watching a lot of the older Toho Godzilla Kaiju movies, and there are so many monsters in them that serve zero purpose. They come in and out. They have no backstory. They're just there to, like, cause havoc for a few scenes and then leave. Minions and Monsters is, for all intents and purposes a Kaiju movie in that regard. And that's part of the reason why I loved it. Part of this larger ode to cinema that they're doing in the way that the story is structured. Very Godzilla coded in my eyes. And second, I don't know. I think that the movie exists in this kind of scattershot timeline where everything is kind of the same. I don't know. Like, there really is no timeline distinction here. Like, I. I don't really mind that the Suffragettes are there. Do I think it was random? Absolutely. But also there's like, a Merlin type character conjuring monsters. Right. And it's on the same timeline because that's the inciting incident to get them to go to Hollywood. So you're putting too much weight on the time line of the Minions when I think really it, like, is just the animators doing literally whatever they want and that creativity you could see come through. And also, last thing, the fact that the big, bad villain is a ball of slime, I think is really smart, low key, because it's kind of positing that cinema is the antidote to, you know, the consumption slime AI slop. Yeah, right. Like the consumption slime AI slop economy that we find ourselves in. That's me big braining.

[Candice Lim]

No, no, no, no. But you're onto something, because first off, Rihanna, I think what you're trying to say is actually Pierre Coffin said, the suffragettes, their work is never over. He's right. Feminist movie number two. When I looked at the title Minis and Monsters, I really genuinely thought, oh, they're gonna say that the real monster is the industry of film and tv. And weirdly, right, they're saying, no, no, no, no. It is the thing that will save us.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Right. Because I. I think, like, you know, we live in this era, especially with the young children that this movie is designed to serve in a way where, neato, the little, like, balls of slime that people can, like, hold and grasp, those are, like, the king of entertainment. Right. For children of a certain age, this movie is saying that actually what you really need to do is link up with your homies and engage in communal creativity. Like, don't give in to, I don't know, the slime wars. I'm very passionate about this, but I saw that in the movie.

[Candice Lim]

Yeah, you should be.

[Stephen Thompson]

This is definitely the summer in which I see AI commentary in everything from backrooms to Toy Story 5. But I am very impressed with what you have managed to read into this film. I think what this film does continue in terms of trends that I've seen play out over and over again in movies I've seen this summer is this kind of IP extension where you just reach a point where the movie is just supposed to be a fun hang with characters you've seen before, and that it doesn't necessarily have to fit into this, like, larger ranking of these points in the franchise's history and conversation that we had around Toy Story 5, where I just ultimately was like, I don't care how it ranks next to 1, 2, 3, and 4. I'm just happy to revisit these characters. And if you're happy to revisit these characters, same goes for the latest iteration of Scary Movie. The same goes for the same latest iteration of Jackass. You know, where we've talked about all these different films that have come out this year, and this film is ultimately. Does it perfectly fit canonically with the other display Despicable Me and Minions movies? Not necessarily. But if you're into these characters, it's a fun hang.

[Candice Lim]

Yeah. I think there are two things I am like deeply impressed about when it comes to this movie. First off, from like a marketing perspective, I really think this film does a good job of being like the Dwayne Durock Johnson of like 4 quadrant marketing of like, there's 8 year olds behind me, like so excited. There's me chronically online meathead, loving this. And then there's like old guys next to me being like, I remember when the talkies were silent. This is my jam. And I'm just like, wow, like you really did that.

[Stephen Thompson]

Wait, are these people 115 years old?

[Candice Lim]

LA is different. LA water is different, Steven. They're at the Grove and they're ghosts. But the other thing is, I can't believe I'm giving them credit for this. The Minions and Monsters movie does a really good job of acknowledging the Minions place in the film industry while acknowledging how we got there and its history. And what I really mean by that is there is a scene where they become the most popular actors in town and they like become paparazzi famous. They're getting like, you know, stuffed animals made out of them. And I'm like, that's literally what happened in 2010 when the first Despicable Me came out. And I'm like, there is a meta ness. There's a self awareness while acknowledging the, you know, safety last and the singing in the rain that came before. And I'm like, you can't say they don't know their history. Good job.

[Rihanna Cruz]

I can see that. Candace, I think there's.

[Candice Lim]

Thank you so much.

[Rihanna Cruz]

A meta commentary happening for sure.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, absolutely. These films are nothing if not self aware. Well, I think we can agree that this is a film that is in theaters now.

[Candice Lim]

The greatest film in theaters now. What are you talking about, Stephen?

[Stephen Thompson]

Up next, what is making us happy this week?

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[Stephen Thompson]

Now it's time for our favorite segment of this week and every week. What's making us happy this week? Rihanna, Cruz, what do you got?

[Rihanna Cruz]

I know I just went on this long tangent against slop and how slop is infecting our content that we consume, but unfortunately I am tapped into Love Island. I haven't watched it prior to when the boys were introduced to Casa Amor, where the couples get split up and the production brings in a bunch of new bombshells to tempt the guys into abandoning their current couple. I was very anti Love island prior to that and now I am hooked. I am watching it every night out of the week except for Wednesdays because that's when we don't get any new content.

[Stephen Thompson]

I mean, you're eventually going to run out around the year 3500.

[Rihanna Cruz]

I have a lot to catch up on. Steven, I am very tapped in. I see it as a sociological experiment. I'm watching how normal people move about the world and it scares me and I can't look away. It's like a train wreck. I've turned other people onto it too by explaining it that way. My little brother, who has no interest in watching any content but chess videos on YouTube, is now watching Love island every single night with me and my partner. So I think what's making me happy this week is in fact Love Island,

[Candice Lim]

Trinity and Bryce forever. That's all I wanted to say.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Brinity moment. Absolutely.

[Stephen Thompson]

So that is Love Island USA streaming on Peacock. Thank you. Rihanna Cruz, Candice Lynn, what do you got?

[Candice Lim]

So what's making me happy is actually from Paw Patrol, the dino Movie. Hold on, hold on. Stay on the line. Stay on the line.

[Stephen Thompson]

Really did not know what you were gonna say there.

[Candice Lim]

I know. So the Backstreet Boys, yeah, they have made a song for the movie Paw Patrol, the Dino movie, and it's written by Ed Sheeran and Savin Kotecha.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Wow.

[Candice Lim]

Saavan worked on a bunch of, like, Ariana Grande songs. He wrote what Makes yous Beautiful by One Direction. And basically they have put together a song, and it is called Bottle up by the Backstreet Boys. I need you guys to listen to it right now.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yes.

[Candice Lim]

Guys, Is that not a hit? Is that not an absolute banger?

[Rihanna Cruz]

You put Savon with a boy band and it's over.

[Candice Lim]

Yeah.

[Rihanna Cruz]

It's lights out.

[Candice Lim]

Yeah. We're so back. This song is. It's so funky, and it's kind of like on the Edge of Bruno Mars without falling into Uptown Funk territory. And it kind of does remind me of, like, Pharrell Williams and how some of the songs he made for those Despicable Me soundtracks were, like, way too good for no reason. Like, sometimes when I hear Double Life from Despicable Me 4, I'm like, Whoa, whoa.

[Stephen Thompson]

I mean, I'm also hearing a little bit. I mean, not to do the inevitable Backstreet Boys NSYNC comparisons, but I'm definitely getting Justin Timberlake Trolls movie soundtrack.

[Candice Lim]

Exactly. Exactly. Exact. So, yeah, that's what's making me happy. Bottle up by the Backstreet Boys.

[Stephen Thompson]

Awesome. Wow. Thank you, Candice Lim.

[Candice Lim]

You're welcome.

[Stephen Thompson]

So this is going to be a hairpin turn from the Backstreet Boys. We're heading into a holiday weekend that celebrates all things American. So naturally, what is making me happy is a French Canadian duo that plays truly weird, mostly instrumental art rock music while clad in giant papier mache masks. Rihanna is pumping their fist right now. Last week, the band Angine de Poitrin became one of the most unlikely artists ever to crack the Billboard albums chart when both of their albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2, made their debuts. Here is a little sample from volume two from a song called Mata Ziklek. The word of mouth on Angine de Patrine is still spreading. If you have not seen this band's performance on kexp, that's kind of gone viral, I highly recommend it. It's so theatrical and silly and weirdly hypnotic. If you are like folding socks, listening to Anjin de Poitrin is going to make that so much fun. It's rock and roll. It's weird art. It's so fun. That's Angine de Patrine and their new album Volume two. And that is what is making me happy this week. If you want links for what we recommended plus some more recommendations, sign up for our [e-mail] popculturenewsletter that brings us to the end of our show. Rihanna, Cruz, Candice Ltd. Thanks so much for being here.

[Candice Lim]

Thank you.

[Rihanna Cruz]

Thanks so much for having us. I feel like this was a very spirited conversation. Spirited, spiritual, exactly what we need for the Minions.

[Stephen Thompson]

It really is. This episode was produced by Liz Metzger, Hafsa Fathoma and Mike Katsif and edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reed. Hello. Kamen provides our theme music. Thanks for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr. I'm Stephen Thompson and we will see see you all next week.

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[Terry Gross]

Hi, it's Terry Gross, host of FRESH AIR. Hey, take a break from the 24 hour news cycle with us and listen to long form interviews with your favorite authors, actors, filmmakers, comedians and musicians. The people making the art that nourishes us and speaks to our times. So listen to the FRESH AIR podcast from NPR and whyyy.