CinemaNerdz

Movie Review: The Secret Life of Pets

Scott Davis

Illumination Entertainment has been responsible for some of the biggest animated movies of the last couple years. They started with Despicable Me back in 2010, and have since released The Lorax (2012), Despicable Me 2 (2013), and Minions (2015). All of their films have been financially successful, with varying degrees of critical and audience reception, but their new film, The Secret Life of Pets, is the studio’s first attempt at an original property since Despicable Me. A few weeks ago, Pixar was able to tell a funny and fairly emotional story with Finding Dory, and The Secret Life of Pets Posterwhile it might be unfair to compare Illumination to Pixar, The Secret Life of Pets is nowhere near the level of most things Pixar has done.

The Secret Life of Pets tells the story of Max (voiced by Louis C.K.), who loves his owner, Kate (Ellie Kemper), very much. The two have a seemingly perfect relationship, until Kate brings home a new dog named Duke (Eric Stonestreet), and Max feels threatened that Duke will get in the way of his relationship with Kate. The two get lost in New York City and run into the cute, but not so innocent, rabbit Snowball (voiced perfectly by Kevin Hart) and his crew of misfit animals. Max and Duke must learn how to survive undomesticated life if they want to make it home to Kate by the end of the night.

The main problem with the plot is that it takes a seemingly original concept and turns it into a formulaic animated story that would much rather entertain with over-the-top hi-jinx than show any emotion. Pixar’s Toy Story (1995) featured toys who came to life when humans weren’t looking, a new toy that threatened a meaningful relationship, and then the two toys having to overcome their differences to make it home. The Secret Life of Pets uses that formula exactly, but with far less subtlety. Characters bounce from situation to situation with such zaniness that it is hard to take any of the emotion the characters have seriously. It all feels too immature, which is the farthest thing from what Toy Story felt like.

Much like last year’s Minions, The Secret Life of Pets stretches the realism of its world and embraces its cartoony nature. Which is not all bad, there are a few amusing gags, but it all seems to be aimed at a young audience. Many other animated films (and studios) are able to appeal to children and their parents because they not only entertain with animated humor, but tell a good story. The Secret Life of Pets is too concerned that the audience is not laughing every two seconds so when it tries to show something meaningful, they throw in another gag to make sure the kids are laughing.

The animation is beautiful and very colorful, and although nothing looks realistic, every animal has their own unique characteristic and shows off incredible detail. The voices go well with the animals for the most part, with Kevin Hart stealing the show as Snowball. He delivers each ridiculous line with such conviction and easily gets the most laughs out of any character. Louis C.K. (Louie) and Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) are fine as the two lead dogs, but don’t really put their stamp on their characters and feel like they are going through the motions.

In the end, The Secret Life of Pets will surely entertain children, but probably no one else. The same could be said for last year’s Minions, and arguably Despicable Me 2. It seems that Illumination Entertainment is satisfied with producing colorful, fast-paced, shallow animated films that could be impactful if they took their time and decided to show some emotion. They love their cartoons to be extra cartoony, which is fine for children, but eye-rolling for adults.

Scott Davis

Scott Davis is a recent graduate of Oakland University where he earned a degree in journalism. He worked for the student newspaper on campus, The Oakland Post, where he became the paper's managing editor. He also earned a minor in Cinema Studies at OU. Scott enjoys all things film and TV related, especially the blockbuster kind. He might be the biggest Christopher Nolan fan you know.
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