The Secret Life
of Pets is a 3D computer-animated movie from the creators of Despicable
Me and Minions
(2015), Illumination Entertainment. Their previous franchise (Despicable
Me) has been well-received both critically and commercially, and I have
to say, they’re great movies to get sucked into.
This new addition is no Minions,
and although I found the movie OK-ish, it wasn’t funny enough for me. That
said, it will likely appeal to children.
My biggest
dislike for this movie is the whole Disney/Pixar’s Toy
Story rip-off. It felt like I was back in Andy’s room again,
watching his animals (not toys this time) have a life outside of him. Then, the
two leads in this movie—Max and Duke—reminded me of the feud between Woody and
Buzz Lightyear.
This movie is being marketed as an original story, but to me, it’s a shabby
rip-off of a great franchise, Disney/Pixar’s Toy
Story. I expected better from Illumination Entertainment.
The movie starts
with a short Minions film, which, for me, was the highlight of the
whole experience. It’s not that The Secret Life of Pets is no good,
but it doesn’t hold up when compared to Zootopia (2016) or Finding
Dory (2016).
The movie’s
theme, life after the owners head off to work, was its greatest barrier. Halfway
through, I wished the movie would take a different turn from this story
rip-off, but the writers and directors stuck to it.
This has been a
wonderful year for animations, but Disney has got it covered. The Secret
Life of Pets starts off interestingly, but the whole journey—which begins
with a goodbye and ends with a welcome home—wasn’t grand enough to make me want
to see it again.
My low rating is
mainly because the excitement I felt watching the trailer didn’t match the
actual movie experience. The characters were too ordinary (except for Snowball,
the white rabbit). The voice casting, though, is something you’ll enjoy—from
Kevin Hart to Jenny Slate. I actually preferred the voice work of the
supporting cast over the main characters.
The movie’s plot
revolves around a dog, Max, and his owner’s love for each other. One day, the
owner comes home with a surprise for Max: a new dog, Duke.
Max lets his jealousy get the best of him and tries to get rid of Duke, but
later succumbs to blackmailing him into doing his bidding.
His plans backfire, and now both dogs are lost in the streets of New York.
Their collars get stolen by alley cats, and they’re captured by animal control.
But the trip
isn’t over yet—they get rescued by a crazy rabbit named Snowball, who welcomes
them to his “hate pet owners” club.
Now, Max and Duke must find a way to escape this new crowd and get back to
their owner.
Illumination may
decide to make a sequel to this movie since it’s doing well at the box office.
And the story shouldn’t be hard to put together—they can just go rip off Toy Story 2.
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