Produced by Chris Meledandri,Janet Healy
Written by Brian Lynch, Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio
Directed by Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney
Starring Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart,
Steve Coogan, Ellie Kemper, Bobby Moynihan,
Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress,
Jenny Slate, Albert Brooks, Laraine Newman
I love animated movies.
Honestly, I was worried walking into The Secret Life of Pets that I would be bored. Had I seen all the funny parts already in the media blitz that was everywhere I turned? Was I in for an hour and a half of poop jokes?
Thankfully, the answers are no and no. I was pleasantly surprised to be laughing
Chris Renaud, director of Despicable Me series, brings us a fun, well crafted, animated feature that will have adults as well as the kids laughing the whole time.
Max (voiced by stand-up comedian Louis C. K.) is the happiest dog in Manhattan. He has a great place to live, a ton of friends, and the best owner in the world, Katie (Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schimdt). Everything is perfect.
Enter Duke (Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family), an over-sized, scruff mutt that Katie brings home out of the goodness of her heart. A heated rivalry for Katie’s affection leads to the two dogs lost in the city, chased alternately by NYC Animal Control and army of renegade animals led by the crazed, fluffy bunny, Snowball (Kevin Hart, Central Intelligence). Max and Duke have to learn to work together to escape the pursuing horde and make it back home to their adoring Katie.
Yes, it is a story you have seen before. Lost dog makes its way back home, or the true love between a dog and his human. Or maybe it’s a classic tale of sibling rivalry. Or the animal revolt against the repression of the humans (Pretty sure you read that one in English class. At least the Cliff’s Notes.) Or it’s about a dangerous, deranged bunny that everyone should fear (See: Monty Python and the Holy Grail).
Actually, it’s all those things in a blender, add ice, hit puree, and Ta-da; delicious animated comedy.
What I am getting at is, it is not the most original story, but the way the story is told is funny and imaginative way. Kids will be entertained by the funny visuals. Adults will enjoy the writing and the voice acting. Louis C. K. and Eric Stonestreet put in solid performances as the wayward heroes, but it is the supporting cast that steals the show. Jenny Slater is perfect as the pretty-princess, Pomeranian, Gidget, who leads the rescue part of motley characters; Chloe (Lake Bell) the self-center cat, Buddy the Weiner Dog and Mel the Pug the slightly dim, but loyal friends, and deadly-yet tamed Tiberius the Hawk (Albert Brooks, Finding Dory).
Kevin Hart’s super cute Snowball is the the kind of unhinged crazy that plays fantastic on screen, and you would back away very, very slowly in real life. The laughs are in the supporting cast. The film would be banal without them.
Chris Renaud, his writers, and the rest of the folks at Illumination Studios are great at pushing the boundaries of the cookie cutter kids genre. There are a couple of scenes in the film that border on surrealism. The kids will laugh because the dogs and cats are doing funny things. Adults will laugh because the context of the joke is being made for them. It’s good to see a director and his crew playing with the medium, giving a little something for all the audience.
Illumination has proven itself time and again of being a premier animation studio. Although The Secret Life of Pets’ animation highly stylized, the animation is skillful and fluid. The animals may look cartoonish, but they still read as alive, which I feel is the goal of any animator. The animators of The Secret Life of Pets succeeded.
The Secret Life of Pets was a fun time. I had a ton of laughs. Then I went straight home and snuggled my dog. I bet she missed me soooooooooooooo much.
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