DC League of Super-Pets (2022)

DC League of Super-Pets (2022)

 3/10

 

Starring

Dwayne Johnson

Kevin Hart

Kate McKinnon

John Krasinski

Vanessa Bayer

 

Directed by Jared Stern

The movie felt like Paw Patrol on speed. I’ve seen many people rate this movie well, and I watched it knowing it was for kids, but I didn’t realize it was for the Paw Patrol-type children. I was bored out of my mind and, at one point, almost gave up. There’s nothing impressive about the voice work; it was the same duo of Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, doing what felt more like a routine than actual voice acting. Nothing spectacular about the graphics either—it was slightly better than Paw Patrol, and the story was just poor. I expected too much from the writers, but if you watch this and think of how easy those children’s shows are, you’ll understand why it felt lame.

In those shows, the bad guys carry a face with bad, almost pasted-on expressions, and the good guys seem to mature daily, learning new ways to be better. This movie had all those weak writing traits drooling all over the screen.

It starts with a visit to Krypton, where we see Kal-El (Clark Kent/Superman) playing with a puppy. Krypton is about to be destroyed, so he’s sent to Earth with this puppy. They grow up together and become a superhero duo, known everywhere: Superman and Krypto.

Krypto has the same powers as Superman but struggles to mix with the other dogs, staying only close to Superman. When Superman and Lois Lane begin to get close and want to spend more time together, Krypto becomes jealous, and Superman does all he can to make him feel better.

It’s here (when Superman tries to adopt another pet) that we meet a group of animals at the shelter, led by Ace, a dog who promises the other animals there (a pig, squirrel, tortoise, and guinea pig) that when he breaks out (which he’s always trying to do), he’ll break the others out and take them to a farm.

One of the animals used to work with Lex Luthor, and during the time spent in captivity, he built something which he used to steal a fragment of Orange Kryptonite. This Kryptonite gave the creature and the others superpowers. This animal has a grudge against Krypto and decides to hurt him by kidnapping Superman and the entire Justice League. Now, Krypto must work with the other animals to come up with a plan to save the superheroes.

Nothing spectacular about this animation, other than it being made for children and not for anyone who can think for themselves.