Some might think Katie should have let sleeping dogs lie (. . . or in her case, one sleeping dog lie).
Max (Louis C.K.) and Katie (Ellie Kemper) are best friends. Katie got Max when he was just a puppy, so they’ve been together almost all of Max’s life. Max dutifully waits for her to come home from work every day, and she always greets him with a big hug when she comes home before they eat dinner and stare off into the scenic, brightly-lit New York City skyline together.
One day, though, Katie messes up the idyllic life they have; she brings home, to their small New York apartment, a “brother” for Max — Duke (Eric Stonestreet), a gigantic mutt from the shelter who doesn’t have a family.
Max, of course, doesn’t take to this new family member well. Viewers can see Max’s perspective; Duke is a “threat,” taking over Max’s life — eating his food and sleeping in his bed. On the other hand, Duke was eager to join a new family and is just getting accustomed to his new life.
Eventually, the two new brothers get lost in NYC together and meet up with Snowball (Kevin Hart), a bunny with a posse of misfit pets trying to lead a revolution against mankind.
There’s a host of likable characters, including Max’s friends — Chloe, (the cat who could not care less, voiced by Lake Bell), Tiberius (the hawk who’s just learning how to make friends rather than eat them, voiced by Albert Brooks — aka Marlin in Finding Nemo), and Gidget (the soap-opera-watching, crazy-in-love French pup leading the rescue mission, voiced by Jenny Slate) and many more charming animal friends from the apartment building.
The film comes from Illumination Entertainment, the production company known for Despicable Me (2010) and its sequel and prequel, Despicable Me 2 (2013) and Minions (2015).
Although the story is completely far-fetched, ridiculous and, at times, a mess, that’s what makes the animated comedy succeed in a way that resembles the Looney Tunes cartoon days. It’s refreshing to see an animated film that hearkens back to its cartoon roots, simply entertaining viewers and forgetting about introducing a sociopolitical message or teaching you more lessons than you can count, unlike Pixar’s 2016 anti-racial-stereotyping-message-driven film Zootopia (whose message and lessons are, undoubtedly, worthy to learn). Coincidentally, viewers might recognize Zootopia‘s Mayor Bellwether’s voice as The Secret Life of Pets’ Gidget.
For better or worse, The Secret Life of Pets aims for fun and laughter, forgoing any sort of large, apparent message, other than the sweet and simple note to treat your pets well because they love you. It’s simply there to entertain.
It’s not particularly original, and it’s not all that memorable. It is, however, hilarious, and it holds its own with Illumination Entertainment’s successful Despicable Me films.
The Secret Life of Pets isn’t going to go down as one of the all time great animated flicks. What it will do, however, is keep moviegoers of all ages laughing at its nonsense and fun throughout the whole film. And that counts for a lot.
Photo courtesy of Illumination Entertainment