"The Secret Life of Pets" Review

Baxter and I about to go on a bike ride

 

Anyone who knows me knows I love all of my pets. Especially, not to pick favorites; my dog Baxter. I adopted him about 3 years ago and we have been the best of friends ever since. The bond Baxter and I have is just like any loving pet parent and their fur/scale/feather companions- there's something special about owning a pet that just can't be explained. On one hand, it's extremely fascinating for members of completely different species to form bonds with one another as very few creatures are capable of such a feat when left to their own devices, but also there's just so much love that can be felt with our pets that is a very different type of love than the type we build with other people in our lives.


As a pet lover, I was very excited to see this film thanks to its clever and numerous advertisements that perfectly seemed to celebrate not only the bond between owner and pet, but also have fun with the thought "Just what does my pet do when I'm not around?" After what seemed like forever I finally saw the movie and I wasn't disappointed.

I wasn't exactly blown away, but I wasn't disappointed. 

"The Secret Life of Pets" is the new animated film from Illumination Animation and it tells the story of a spoiled terrier mix named Max who lives in New York City with his loving owner Katie. One day Katie brings home a new dog from the pound named Duke and the two dogs automatically start bickering over food, living space, and of course Katie's attention. However, the two pets accidentally wind up getting lost and captured by animal control, but soon they are busted out by the adorable and insane bunny Snowball who is the leader of The Flushed Pets- a group of animals who for one reason or another, have been abandoned by their owners. At the same time, Max's pomeranian neighbor Gidget is desperate to find him, so she teams up with other pets in their neighborhood to track him down and bring him safely home. 

Duke and Max are introduced (above)
- and they aren't too thrilled about it (below)
[Found on Google Images]

This movie lands some pretty solid pet jokes that had me chuckling throughout, and I really liked the upbeat and colorful animation that Illumination is known for. I loved all of the banter between the different animals in the movie and I really was impressed with how they kept the focus not on the owners, but the pets- where the story needed to be. I was also very impressed with how the animation team

and the director were able to tap into the minds and mannerisms that our pets exhibit- from playing with their toys, to being excited when their owners come home, and their interest in chasing butterflies. All of these factors paired with a great cast of some of my favorite comedians (Louis C.K., Jenny Slate, Dana Carvey, Eric Stonestreet, etc.), and a story that does have a lot of humor and heart behind it made for an enjoyable film, but unfortunately it wasn't as great as I envisioned it being.

Fat-cat Chloe has her eyes on a tasty prize
[Found on Google Images]

This movie was cute and entertaining but it wasn't all that much to shake a stick at story-wise. The concept of the movie has been done a thousand times- Character A is living an ideal life until Character B is introduced and upsets Character A's world. After a series of unfortunate events, Character A and B must put aside their differences and work together to get out of their current situation and become friends by the end of the story. Ultimately, it didn't really bring anything new to the table. In regards to certain scenes, especially the scenes that dove deeper into Duke's character as well as the characters of The Flushed Pets; it would have been nice to have a little more focus on why and how they became the way they are during the present. They explored it with Duke more so than the Flushed Pets, but  I feel that had they delved deeper into his past it would have made a more lasting impression with movie goers.

Max enjoying chewing Katie's shoes [Found on Google Images]

 Also, there was a VERY odd scene that literally comes right out of no where and really took me out of the film for a while. If you've seen the movie you'll know EXACTLY the scene I'm talking about, and if you haven't seen it yet consider yourself warned- you'll know it when you see it. It was odd, jarring, has nothing to do with the plot or the progression of the movie and is literally never referred to again. I was reminded of a scene from the movie "All Dogs Go To Heaven" in which a giant musical alligator performs a song-and-splash number that is also never brought up again in the film and has almost nothing to do with the story. I say 'almost' because it does serve as a plot device to aid in the eventual destruction of the villain in that film, but this scene doesn't even do that. It was so beyond anything I was expecting and I'm still not sure why this was even incorporated into the final product- it seems like something that would be much more at home in the "Deleted Scenes" menu on the DVD.  

Snowball has Max and Duke go through "Initiation" to join the Flushed Pets
[Found on Google Images]

But really, I feel like I'm nit-picking a pretty good movie by pointing those minor things out. While the movie wasn't anything that I haven't seen before, it was still very enjoyable and is probably one of the better animated films I've seen so far this year. While "The Secret Life of Pets" is no "Zootopia", it is miles ahead of bland movies like "Ratchet & Clank". 

So ultimately, the film is definitely worth checking out. While it probably won't be the most memorable animated film as the years go by, it is definitely a film that lives in the moment and can bring a smile to everyone's face- much like our beloved pets do. 

The love between pet and owner [Found on Google Images]