Film Review: “The Secret Life of Pets”
Kelsi Bucknam
For the Clock
klbucknam@plymouth.edu
What would an only child do if his mother or father brought home a stranger to be his new brother?
That is how Max (voiced by Louis C.K.,) a spoiled yet nonetheless loveable dog, has his life turned upside down when his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper,) brings home a new mangy dog, Duke (voiced by Eric Stonestreet,) to their small apartment in Manhattan. Max is almost instantaneously put off by this stray dog who takes over his home, bed and food. Despite this, their relationship eventually changes from rivalry to adventure and friendship.
Universal Studio’s film “The Secret Life of Pets,” written by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio and Brian Lynch, and directed by Yarrow Cheney and Chris Renaud, is family friendly and has quite the fun and entertaining spirit.
Despite the fact that “The Secret Life of Pets” has a multitude of different pets depicted in their animated film, they focus on the stereotypical life of a dog, specifically Max’s life.
Max and his newfound dog mate get stuck in a sticky situation with some mischievous pets; Snowball, a rabbit, and his friends.
Snowball (voiced by Kevin Hart) is the leader of “The Flushed Pets”, a gang of sewer dwellers who despise humans because they were abandoned. After Max and Duke are caught lying about the fact that they are domesticated, Snowball and the rest of gang team up to kill them. A good portion of the movie also focuses on the lives of Max and Duke, showing the backstory, and how Duke came into Katie and Max’s lives.
It sounds like the film could have gotten a few stars from its viewers? Right?
Sadly, many viewers thought it was a rip-off. Even Scott Tobias, a writer for NPR, speculated it was “Toy Story but with pets.” The most appreciated aspect of the film is that it talks of coming together and working to solve a problem. This film shows this when Max’s friends came to his rescue when they realized he was in trouble.
Although “The Secret Life of Pets” portrays the act of setting aside difference for a common goal, there is so much more that could have been done. Universal Studios took the easy way out when they could have chosen a more complex storyline that didn’t focus on the stereotypical everyday life of dog.
For anyone who is interested in a cute family friendly movie “The Secret Life of Pets” is for them. For anyone not quite interested in the stereotypical story about the life of a dog, it might be the time to dust off some good old “Toy Story.” Hopefully, Universal Studios can loosen up their creative juices for their next film.
