Ever since its unveiling to the public, The Secret Life of Pets has been (sorry for the pun) dogged by comparisons to Toy Story. But aside from being computer animated and taking a page from the Pixar plot template (an idyllic status quo upended, the ensuing conflict that brings about, the reconciliation between old and new), it is more in line with the Disney films of the hand-drawn generations. Oliver & Company in particular it feels like a spiritual successor to, but there’s traces of 101 Dalmatians and The AristoCats.
Jack Russell terrier Max (Louis C.K.) lives in a Manhattan apartment with his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper). When she leaves every day for work, his friends from elsewhere in the building and surrounding ones stop by to hang out. These include Chloe the tabby cat (Lake Bell), Buddy the dachshund (Hannibal Buress), Mel the Pug (Bobby Moynihan), Sweet Pea the parakeet (Tara Strong), Norman the guinea pig (Chris Renaud, also the film’s director), and Gidget the Pomeranian (Jenny Slate). This helps pass the time until Katie returns.
Everything changes one day when she comes home from the pound with Duke (Eric Stonestreet), a large Newfoundland who tries to be friendly but is greeted with hostility by Max and the war begins. When taken out the next day by the neighborhood dog walker, a mutual attempt to get rid of each other goes sideways and both are picked up by Animal Control. Soon though they are freed and taken in by Snowball (Kevin Hart), a rabbit who leads a sewer gang planning to wage war on humanity.
Meanwhile, the other pets have noticed they are missing and under Gidget’s leadership have begun searching. Employing the help of Tiberius the hawk (Albert Brooks) and Pops the Basset Hound (Dana Carvey), they set out across the city in pursuit. Gidget, the avid telenovela viewer, has also developed romantic feelings for Max and with it an amplified drive to retrieve him, fighting whoever gets in her way.
Something interesting is that the pets behave as, well, pets, exhibiting appropriate psychological traits. For example, they have no idea why their owners leave for long stretches of time. They have no concept at all of humans having jobs or social lives or just anything else that prevents them from spending time together. Short attention spans are also played to, for comedic effect as well as significant story moments.
The pacing is quite faster than expected and that’s mostly for the best. Numerous parts that would have been cliched if dragged out zip by. Another thing is that the suggestions of violence are pretty grim and might be upsetting to some (albeit not dissimilar to the Disney films of old that gave us Cruella de Vil), but don’t linger for very long and the fun returns.
However, this also works to the picture’s detriment. At the close of the second act, Duke receives what should be a springboard for major development, but it is promptly forgotten. It would have actually been better for this event to have played out entirely in the backstory, and Duke coming to terms with it being his arc throughout.
Pets is foremost a funny family film, on which count it delivers and then some. The gags are genuinely clever and the dialogue sharp, not reliant on juvenile humor or innuendos. Characters have appealing designs with the perfect voices to match. And the Minions short that starts things off is amiable enjoyment.
But along with parents of children, parents of pets ought to give this a watch. Despite the Secret Life focus, it reaffirms the bonds that humans and animals share.
