The Secret Life of Pets Review
The Secret Life of Pets Review – Jack Fitzpatrick
From the moment I saw the trailer and was introduced to the premise of The Secret Life of Pets I was ‘in.’ The idea had me hooked and I was considerably eager to finally see the damn thing when it was finally released via preview screening in my area. I’d heard others opinions online who’d seen the movie already (Lucky bastards from other countries who get movies before Australia!) and despite it not being as critically acclaimed as other recent animated releases such as Zootopia or Finding Dory, my enthusiasm kept intact.
Unfortunately, I sort of wish it hadn’t.
While walking out of the cinema doors as the film came to an end, I contemplated the film I’d just watched, I couldn’t help but think mostly about my general disappointment. I’d looked forward to this one for a while and sadly it just wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. Perhaps I expected too much, perhaps I couldn’t help but compare the film to superior entries such as the aforementioned Zootopia (or other films in my personal favorites) or maybe it just wasn’t ‘for me.’ Either way, here are my thoughts:
So the general premise of the film basically asks the age-old question; “What do our pets do when we aren’t with them?” From here we get a number of segments showing exaggerated realities featuring cats and dogs doing silly things. Call it a gimmick but this is undeniably what drew my interest in the first place.
But the problem here is that this is the type of movie that is built around its initial premise because it isn’t enough of an idea to fill up an entire full length feature’s run-time; (not-unlike the other recent – BUT VERY DIFFERENT – animated release, Sausage Party) And so there needs to be some additional padding in form of story.
And unfortunately, I’d ultimately describe the story as average at best, all while overshadowing the promising gimmick to begin with. If you’d seen the trailers prior to the movie and were hoping for some extended sequences in the same fashion, only with a little more context, well truth-be-told you’re not really going to get that. Those brief scenes in the trailer are pretty much shot-for-shot sections in the movie itself.
Pictured: Possibly your reaction to this news
The real focus of the movie revolves around a small dog from New York named Max. Max has what he deems the perfect life living alone with his owner. Soon enough though, Max’s owner brings a new addition to their home; Another dog. This being Max’s worst nightmare, he initially does all he can to do something about his miserable situation. What follows is of course a fairly predictable and unoriginal adventure film – Which sucks because it feels like a significant waste of potential. Rather than being set in the apartment building for the length of the film and keeping somewhat set in reality, we are brought along through a “crazy” adventure full of lazy humor and simple slapstick comedy.
Pictured: The studio behind this film
The thing about this film is that it’s easily at its most funny when it is keeping to the realism of it all. When the film tries to explain the logic behind a dog’s actions or reveals another’s activities throughout its’ unsupervised day. An impressive amount of work clearly went in to the nuanced movements, subtle action and accurately depicted behavior of all of the animals in the film; from the wiggle of a cats behind before it pounces to the small circles a dog runs before laying down to sleep. It’s carefully executed inclusions such as these which make the film believable, and enhance the comedy when a character juxtaposes these actions with abnormal and cartoon-like behavior. The movie is very funny when it does try, however regrettably never seems to consistently try hard enough, but instead resides on what I will call ‘Minion Humor.’ (This is the same company that produced the Despicable Me series and thus created those damn things.)
Which by the way I wouldn’t have called a bad thing some time ago, in fact, when those little yellow bastards were introduced I was quite fond of them. However due to the life-threatening amount of merchandise, memes and general appearances in our lives which they have invaded, I’ve quickly been driven insane by them… Oh right… Different movie… I should get back on to talking about The Secret Life of Pets!
So anyway – Overall due to this ‘minion humor’ the film often comes off as significantly childish… And I know, I see the hypocrisy in criticizing a movie aimed at children for being too childish, however in comparison to some of Pixar’s entries like Up and Inside Out – both of which are very suitable for children, full of cute characters and silly moments – this movie visibly lacks maturity. The film constantly falls back on to childish gags rather than supplementing a variety of emotion – I will now be speaking to the film itself – And I mean, your film stars DOGS man, (You know, these things?) you can’t make me cry with a movie starring DOGS? You’re sitting on a goldmine of tears! What are you doing movie?!
And because of this, sooner rather than later, I began to think about the films ‘emotional weight,’ and how light it is in terms of character or drama. The whole thing felt sort of emotionally empty and it didn’t seem like that much actually “happened,” throughout its’ run-time.
However, to be fair, a mature story and an emotional journey may not have been what the film was going for. Instead, it remained as simple entertainment, all the while managing to still be at the very least respectable. I know I’ve crapped on this movie a little throughout this review, perhaps too harshly because this is far from anything offensive. It’s still an enjoyable time at the movies, it’s cute and funny – at times – and I have NO DOUBTS that this would be considered a classic by almost any kid of the relevant age.
And despite my disappointment, the film undeniably still managed to possess some moments of charm, particularly between its major characters whom were all likable in their own ways even with what little screen time some of them had for themselves. The chemistry and writing between them were done well and some of the best aspects in the movie were often due to the creative clashing of certain characters’ personalities, my favorite of which came in the form of a very little, very white and very fluffy dog named Gidget and a harrowing beast of a bird named Tiberius. Though I’m sure favorites vary from viewer to viewer!
Another strong praise that I have for the film is the BEAUTIFUL animation. It rests on this perfect middle ground between both amazingly realistic and cartoonish-ly stylized. From the distinct details of a dog’s fur movement to the extreme colorfully saturated world in which the film is set, the film is a visual feast. I seem to remain forever impresses by what animators are capable of from film to film.
The Secret Life of Pets is a good enough time for any casual watch, it’s just not as good as one might be hoping for when they hear about the idea behind it. As an enjoyable ride, the only 90-minute film does fly by and despite some moments to endure, there is still plenty to like. Though not yet on par with the efforts of Pixar, Illumination is slowly building its filmography and with an entry like The Secret Life of Pets, I’d argue that they are at least heading in the right direction.
I couldn’t decide what to rate this movie. A 7 seems too generous, but a 6.5 seems harsh. So lets say a solid and commonly used 6.75/10
Ugh, ratings are pretty arbitrary anyway…
