Max is a simple, happy
dog. Content to sit staring at the front door all day waiting for his owner
Katie to come home, Max wants for nothing more than to live his life out alone
with her. Then Duke shows up. A mountainous shaggy carpet of a dog, Duke wastes
no time in making himself at home after dog-lover Katie rescues him from the pound.
Needless to say, Max and Duke do not get on and things only go from bad to worse
the following day.
Having
found themselves separated from the dog walker, Max and Duke soon run into trouble
with the animal control men followed by a brief induction in a gang of discarded
pets (lead by vicious ex-magician’s bunny Snowball). With their cost home falling
further and further away, it’s left up to Max’s ragtag menagerie of friends to
track them down and save the day.
What
follows are a series of predictable tropes that weave in and out of the usual heart-pulling
sentiments of two opposing characters coming together against the odds and
becoming best friends. To say that this is Illumination’s attempt to create an animal-based
carbon copy of Toy Story would not be an understatement. There’s even a sausage
dog and a pig!
That
said, for all of its pilfering of Pixar’s primary franchise, The Secret Life of
Pets actually works pretty well. Admittedly, the one-note gag that made the
teaser trailer so enjoyable does wear thin quite quickly (there’s only so many
times the head-banging poodle will make you laugh) but the quirky characters
and journey through New York’s streets (and sewers) makes for enjoyable enough
entertainment.
If
Illumination had hoped to make this an instant classic then the team behind
this film may need to go and sit in the corner. However, the fun animals, fast
pace and family-friendly fun earns this film a pat on the head and keep it from
winding up in the dog house.
There
are plenty of added features on the Blu-Ray, although they’re all pretty bog-standard.
Featurettes with staged recording sessions (at least kids won’t realize that
you don’t record audio in a big empty room filled with press material), stars
holding a variety of animals, animation breakdowns and music videos are all present.
Standing
out above the crowd are the obligatory three short films, featuring the underdog
(or rather under-hamster) Norman, the adorably bizarre hot dog sausages and –
of course – the Minions.
THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS / CERT: U / DIRECTORS: YARROW CHENEY, CHRIS RENAUD / SCREENWRITERS: CINCO PAUL & KEN DAURIO / STARRING: LOUIS C.K., ERIC STONESHEET, KEVIN HART, STEVE COOGAN, ELLIE KEMPER / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 14TH
