Source: blog.universalorlando.com
The Secret Life of Pets was released on July 8, 2016. It produced a revenue of $104,352,905 in the United States on its opening weekend. The movie is charming, but falls a little flat on the story. The story is not very complex and I felt it could have had more depth to it. Overall though, the movie is entertaining and worth the hour and a half.
The Pros
• Humor
• Voice Actors
The Cons
• Story
• Dislikable Main Character
Humor
The humor in this movie was what made me ultimately enjoy the entire experience. Have you ever wondered what your pets do when you’re not around? In this movie, the pets go wild and take advantage of their owners’ absence. For example, the pets were seen in the beginning of the movie doing things that they could not do if their owners were there. Chloe, for example, is shown throwing her food bowl to the side and looking inside the fridge for a different food. She sees a plate of turkey in the fridge and tries to resist eating it. The scene shows her opening and closing the fridge, before she finally gives into temptation and eats the turkey. After she is through eating the turkey she sees a cake and immediately eats it. For example, my cat does yoga poses when she thinks I am not looking. She imitates the famous yoga pose, Downward-Dog.
In the movie, Buddy is seen using a hand mixer to massage his back and stomach. Sweet Pea turns on a fan to propel herself into the air and fly towards a TV with airplanes playing on it. A Poodle living in the apartment complex would go from listening to classical music to listening to heavy metal. His owner was also never home and he would use his house as a place to throw parties. The movie does little things to tie loose ends. For example, at the end of the movie, the Poodle’s owner comes in and says, “I see you’ve been a good boy.” A pig falls from the chandelier hanging and the Poodle smiles, looking nervous. The movie’s humor is similar to this throughout the entire movie and I found myself laughing a lot. I recommend this movie if you’re a fan of cartoons and love animals being anthropomorphized.
Voice Actors
The voice actors in this movie were truly terrific. I recognized their voices from other TV shows and movies. Kevin Hart plays Snowball, the leader of The Flushed Pets, a group of former domesticated animals. His role as Snowball, a white rabbit, was both serious and funny. He usually plays the goofy comic relief character in many movies such as Ride Along and Central Intelligence. In The Secret Life of Pets his role is the same, even though he is the antagonist of the film. Jenny Slate plays Gidget, a white Pomeranian, who is in love with our protagonist, Max. She is also known for her role in Zootopia as Bellwether, a shy and reserved secretary for Mayor Lionheart. In The Secret Life of Pets she plays a character who is shy, but who opens up and becomes a strong character. Albert Brooks plays Tiberius, a red-tailed hawk, who wants to eat everything and anything, but in the end helps our heroes. He is known for his role in Finding Nemo as Marlin, the overprotective father of Nemo. In The Secret Life of Pets he does a good job of being tough and intimidating, a role opposite of Marlin. Eric Stonestreet plays Duke, a Newfoundland dog, that tries to take over our hero Max’s life. He plays Cameron Tucker in Modern Family, a gay man who makes everyone laugh. In The Secret Life of Pets he plays the role of an outsider. Max does not like him at all and tries to kick him out of his life. Duke is a dog that has been rescued from the pound and wants to fit in. Throughout the movie, Max and Duke become closer and eventually become friends. The Secret Life of Pets was a good movie, because the voice actors were phenomenal and believable.
Story
While The Secret Life of Pets had its strong points, it also had its weak points. The story for example seemed to be weak and fall flat. It went from the pets wanting to have freedom and be away from their owners to realizing they actually needed them. While this shows growth in the movie, it leaves something to be desired. The story seemed too simple and almost childish. The movie is intended for children, but most cartoons have deeper plots. For example, Inside Out, a movie produced by Pixar, had a deeper storyline than expected. The movie looked like it would just be about a child’s emotions and ultimately be a cute and simple. However, that is not what the movie portrayed. The movie portrayed a darker side. The movie goes through turmoil and strife and the meaning is deeply rooted. Everyone must grow up, and the film explores the idea that childhood eventually must fade and bring forth adulthood. Inside Out was cute, but it also explored themes that not many cartoons have explored. The Secret Life of Pets is good for a laugh, but in the end the meaning is a little weak.
Dislikable Main Character
The main character in The Secret Life of Pets was unlikable. For example, the story’s main protagonist, Max, a terrier seemed to be in his own world. He lived his life dependent on his owner, Katie. Max seemed a little stuck up in the beginning of the movie. He was hard to like, because he seemed to not care for anyone but himself and Katie. Even when his friends came over to visit him, he still seemed indifferent. By the end of the film, he was more likable, but I still preferred Snowball over him. His character did not seem to be fleshed out as much as some of the other characters. Snowball for instance had a backstory. He became the leader of The Flushed Pets, because his owner had gotten tired of him. His owner was a magician and used him in his tricks. When rabbit tricks became tired and overused though, his owner tossed him to the side. I could understand how Snowball acted the way he did in the movie. Even Duke, a bossy and pushy dog was more likable than Max. Duke had a backstory as well. He had an older owner, who loved him. They did everything together, but mostly they took naps. The backstory was cute and the movie went as far as tying the past to the present. Max ended up taking Duke to his former owner’s house, only to find that his owner was dead. I enjoyed the other characters, they seemed to be more developed than Max. Max could have had a backstory, and maybe he would have been more likable.
Conclusion
I am giving this movie a 3 out of 5 rating for the humor and the voice actors. The humor in this movie was silly, but meshed well with the story and characters. The story and dislikable main character knocked the rating down from a 5 to a 3, because these were things that should have been more developed. The movie was good overall, and I would want to see it again
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