The Minions have done castles, super-villains and the 1970s. Now they've gone Hollywood — literally.

A silent-era romp

"Minions & Monsters," the seventh film in Illumination's "Despicable Me" universe and the third Minions standalone, sets the goggle-eyed trio loose in 1927 Hollywood, where they blunder into silent-film stardom just as the talkies arrive — and then try to make a monster movie, only to find the monsters are real, according to the film's synopsis. It is directed by Pierre Coffin, the franchise mainstay who also voices the Minions, alongside co-director Patrick Delage, with a screenplay by Coffin and Brian Lynch.

The voice cast leans starry: Jesse Eisenberg as a lovelorn alien robot, Zoey Deutch as the object of his affection, Jeff Bridges in a dual role as studio-boss brothers, and Trey Parker of "South Park" as a Lovecraftian creature. Allison Janney and Christoph Waltz feature as well, and George Lucas turns up in a cameo as himself.

A strong opening

The film opened July 1 to $13.75 million on its first day, Deadline reported, setting up a big Fourth of July holiday frame; trade projections pointed to a five-day domestic total in the range of $65 million to $80 million and a global opening near $170 million. That would extend Illumination's enviable track record — the studio has never released a Minions film that lost money — though analysts noted the World Cup is competing for attention this summer.

Critics come around

Reviewers were unusually kind for a fourth trip to the Minions well. Variety called it "the smartest, funniest film the Minions have appeared in," while cautioning that the picture loses some of its inventiveness as it barrels toward a big finale, in its review. Other critics were more measured but broadly positive, with several calling it the best of the standalone Minions films and praising its balance of gags for children and jokes aimed at the adults in the row behind them.

An LA love letter

For Los Angeles audiences, part of the fun is the setting itself: a lovingly animated version of 1920s Hollywood, complete with nods to silent-comedy greats like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin — the same hills and back lots where the film industry the Minions are spoofing was actually born. Rated PG, it is now playing nationwide, and a post-credits appearance by Gru signals the franchise has no plans to slow down.