Review of The Secret Life of Pets (2016) by Spangle — 10 Feb 2017

Remember the awful scene in a Finding Dory, an otherwise good movie, where the animals all drive the truck? Ever want to see a full movie about animals walking the streets and driving vehicles? No? Well, too bad! Here is The Secret Life of Pets, a largely cute and harmless slice of family entertainment with a too-good voice cast and good animation. Decently funny and likely the best film a five-year-old has ever seen, this one is yet another film from Illumination and my first time coming across their films. Largely disposable entertainment, it simply lacks the heart good animation needs to be more than just watchable for adults. Pixar gets this and so does Laika (from what I have seen). Sadly, this one is just a series of jokes with a disposable and cliched plot.

Fortunately, the voice cast really does liven this one up a lot. Louis CK, Ellie Kemper, Eric Stonestreet, Lake Bell, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Albert Brooks, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, and Steve Coogan, are all well-cast voice actors who deliver terrific roles. Hart's bunny may be a bit racist since Hart is black and the character is a street-wise gangster type, but regardless, he does the voice incredibly well. The rest of the cast is also quite strong, making the most of this paper thin plot. In particular, Steve Coogan's small roles were a real highlight and added great character to this film. Fortunately, these voice actors are also all quite adept with comedy and it shows, as each punchline really do hit quite well.

The talented voice cast is met with good animation that really captures the size and odd beauty of New York City incredibly well. Shots from across the river of the city skyline do look quite good, even if the animation is not some of the best around. It does the job well and looks okay, making it more than passable for children and adults alike.

Unfortunately, the plot is terrible and just a rip-off of Toy Story. I can deal with it being inspired by Toy Story, but it just rips it and every buddy comedy off from the very beginning. It never tries to innovate or become unique, instead opting to play it safe and put pop song band-aids over its open sores. This does become pretty annoying, even if the pop songs are poppy and the comedy works. It is impossible to look past entirely, though the plot will likely feel fresh and interesting young children, hence Illumination can get away with it, but as an adult who has seen more than three movies in my life, it does become overly predictable. A shame since the concept of giving an inside look at pets when their owners are gone is a cute idea for an animated family film. Unfortunately, it got the conveyor belt treatment.

Funny, cute, and disposable, The Secret Life of Pets is a marketing opportunity for Sing, PetSmart, YouTube, and more. It also gives a spot for the talented cast to show off their impeccable voice acting ability. While not a great - or even good - film, The Secret Life of Pets is fun and will make the whole family life and be entertained for a little over an hour (merciful length really, prayers to the parents who will have to watch this one weekly/daily).