Review of The Secret Life of Pets (2016) by Carfan1999 — 12 Aug 2016

The Secret Life of Pets is insane, but in a fun way. First, I'll say the problems I had with this movie. For one, it's too noisy in places. There is a lot of screaming from the characters and the action is non- stop. There is never a quiet moment, just constant noise. The pacing is also too fast, which doesn't allow for full character development. In addition, it makes the emotional moments not as emotional or deep as they could have been. But that's about it, now to the fun stuff.

What makes up for the lack of character development is the vocal performances. The celebrity voice actors all do a great job of giving life to the characters. Louis C.K., Jenny Slate, and Bobby Moynihan all do a fine job. And despite yelling a bit too much, Kevin Hart also does a good job. As far as the story goes; yes; it's like Toy Story in the beginning and ending. Also that the whole premise of "what your pets do when you're not around" is also like Toy Story. But this is thrown out the window after just the first two minutes, devolving ultimately into a series of chases for 90 minutes. Frankly, that's fine. The biggest pleasure I had watching this was the amount of sheer craziness that happens. Not only is it fun, but it goes far beyond anything Disney or Pixar would ever do. Some themes (like death) are presented in an even more blunt manner then Disney or Pixar. The jokes and Looney Tunes- esque comedy work, thanks to good writing and timing. Pets isn't necessarily a funny film, but it is fun and will put you in a good mood. What makes something like this work for Pets, but not for something like Angry Birds, is the characters. Thanks to the voice work, most of the characters here are lovable and memorable. Max and Duke are fine main characters, Snowball and Gidget are fine secondary characters, and even the large supporting cast is fine. Thanks to the large cast, it allows the film's subplots to all work and support the standard main plot. While the main plot is basically Toy Story or Garfield, it's where the emotion comes from. Snowball's subplot about revolution is interesting and original. The other subplot about the others rescuing Max and Duke is where the comedy comes from. All together, it works out. Not to mention the awesome jazzy soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat.

Making all the physical comedy work is thanks to the animation. While a bit basic, I love the unique stylization this goes for. All the pets have big bodies, but very skinny legs. New York City looks the way a tourist would see it, clean and gleaming. The fast movements, the variety of pets, the cuteness of the pets, and the many different settings keep the animation interesting.

Overall, The Secret Life of Pets was surprisingly a great movie. It doesn't pander to the audience with over cuteness, pop culture gags, or bathroom based jokes. Instead, thanks to wonderful writing, slapstick like Looney Tunes, subplots that nicely support the main plot, and lovable characters, makes Pets is a very good movie. As a pet owner myself; specifically a cat owner; I can say that the stereotypes depicted here about all the various pets are hilariously accurate. Pets is a bit too loud and fast at times, but simply is a fun and heartwarming experience.