Brand synergy eats its own tail as The Office recreates its intro with Minions

Welcome friends, to the Steve Carell Vortex—that place where all Steve Carell fandoms collide into one unholy singularity of comedy (with occasional affecting dramatic turns). In this magical wonderland of brand synergy, “That’s what she said” and “Welcome to Marwen” can interact in perfect harmony; you can love lamp, 40-year-old virgins, and catching foxes all in one fell swoop. And you can, of course, enjoy a professionally crafted, officially licensed version of The Office opening recreated by the Minions from Minions, because hey, why in the name of Steve couldn’t you do that thing?

Hence the above video, posted, not to the depths of Tik Tok or some bizarre fan channel, but to the official The Office YouTube page, in which the various interchangeable yellow monsters you know and fear from Carell’s Despicable Me franchise instead invade Scranton, apparently working in a paper company run by Carell’s character Gru—who’s supposedly set to Rise whenever the second Minions movie ever actually manages to come out

If nothing else, it’s a staggering amount of thought and effort to put into such a weird concept; eagle-eyed viewers will see references to a whole host of Office in-jokes, including a “Prison Mike” callback, that time Dwight wore a terrifying human face mask, and, of course, the famed “Kevin’s famous chili” scene. (Is it driving us nuts that the Minion who drops the chili is labeled Otto, instead of Kevin? Trick question, baby: We’re already in the Steve Carell Vortex!) You will also get to see a Pam Minion and a Jim Minion suck face for a second, in case that was something you needed to fill out your personal sexual awakening bingo card this afternoon.

The much-delayed Minions: The Rise Of Gru is supposedly due out on July 1, 2022; meanwhile, we’re holding out hopes to see the Minions address Carell’s turn as Vice’s Donald Rumsfeld, next.