The Secret Life of Pets
The Secret Life of Pets is a film made for pet owners who have often wondered what their furry friends get up to when they’re left to their own devices. A peak behind closed doors offers an unusual adventure in this animated comedy as a troupe of city-dwelling animals inadvertently end up going on a trip to remember. Their story begins after a lovable dog named Max struggles to share his living space with a mongrel called Duke; a much larger dog who turns out to be more trouble than he’s worth. It’s not long before the two must team up, however, after they meet an evil bunny named Snowball who drags them into the dark world below the city’s streets.
Following in the footsteps of Disney’s highly successful Zootopia, The Secret Life of Pets is another animal-focused story with an urban edge. Made by Illumination Entertainment, who are most well-known for creating the Minions, the film feels like a much weaker alternative to the Disney movie, with barely a sliver of the depth within its family-friendly content.
Where Disney use their non-human space as a way to metaphorically explore the preconceptions that people face within society, the team over at Illumination Entertainment take a much more simplistic and babyish approach to their movie which doesn’t really work in its favour. The film is undoubtedly great for younger kids who will find it easy to keep up with the action and basic storyline but it can be quite frustrating for older audiences looking to be entertained by a meatier narrative.
While cute dogs, aloof cats, and evil bunnies are likely to keep the kids quiet for a couple of hours, the film’s characters will feel mostly uninspired to anyone with an awareness of similar animal-centric movies. If you’ve seen Stuart Little, Cats & Dogs, or Babe then you’ve already experienced a number of pet adventures that manage to pack more of a punch. The film does feature a huge range of animals which is quite amusing to begin with but the novelty of the opening scenes, all of which are featured in the trailers, soon wears off as the story itself kicks into action.
Overall, The Secret Life of Pets is unlikely to be one of the more memorable animated films of this year, especially as it meagrely follows in the footsteps of Zootopia, but if you’re looking for some predictable entertainment that’s easy to follow then this is probably your best bet.
