'The Secret Life of Pets' Review

Image from Illumination

By Darian Scalamoni

            Disney seems to have the upper hand in everything lately, but they’ve always been known for their animated features. They still have a huge reputation for these films but Illumination Entertainment is slowly creeping up with properties like Despicable Me, Minions and now, The Secret Life of Pets.

            The Secret Life of Pets follows the lives of pets when their human owners, a simple premise for a film that is sweet, hilarious and extremely fun. While the diverse owners are out living their lives in the real world, their animals are throwing raging parties, plotting towards trouble and even getting into fights on the street.

            The main character, Max (voiced by Louis CK) is a rescue terrier living in New York City with his owner Katie (voiced by Ellie Kemper) and believes he has a different relationship with his owner than others until one day, she brings home another dog, Duke (voiced by Eric Stonestreet). The gigantic hairy dog is a threat to Max and his “perfect” life as an only child to Katie. Soon after this, antics ensue as Max tries to get Duke out of the house and long story, short, the two find themselves lost in the city with their collars stripped after a run in with some nasty cats.

            Soon after this, things get worse for the pair of dogs as they encounter an adorable little bunny Snowball (voiced by Kevin Hart) turns out to be a hilarious but troublesome leader of an underground gang of animals that are hell bent on a revolution against humans for being neglected. Hart’s Snowball truly steals the movie and leads most of the hilarious moments throughout. But another standout is Gidget, an American Eskimo dog who watches soap operas and is in love with Max (voiced by Jenny Slate). We also learn that she has a bit of a tough side and will do anything to save the love of her life, Max.

            Gidget is the leader of the gang assembled to save Max joined by other lovable creatures voiced by veteran talents like Albert Brooks, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey and SNL’s Bobby Moynihan. Along with this, unlikely friendships are formed and it feels just as exciting as an animated action movie. The film is filled with adventure, thrills, and laughs galore in this simple, but great movie for all pet owners. At times, the plot does seem a little too simple and when comparing to other animated juggernauts this year like Zootopia and Finding Dory. But my job isn’t to compare films, but to be a critic and tell you how I felt about this movie. That is why I’m giving The Secret Life of Pets…

8/10