Standard terrier Max (voiced by Louis C.K.) is utterly devoted to his owner, Katie (Ellie Kemper), doing the standard dog ordeal of seeing his parent figure as a perfect little snowflake. Add a fine set of friends in the form of the various pets that reside in nearby apartments – including an American Eskimo dog suffering from an acute case of unrequited love called Gidget (Jenny Slate) and a grumpy pessimistic cat called Chloe (Lake Bell) amongst countless others – and all seems fine for the pup... until Katie comes home one day with a giant mongrel who she calls Duke (Eric Stonestreet), who immediately comes across as a threat, and after a feeble attempt at regaining control leads to the two of them being captured by animal control, the duo must become an unlikely team in their quest to find their way home whilst staying away from an anti-owner band of creatures lead by former magician prop Snowball (Kevin Hart). Add Gidget forming her own band of would-be rescuers, can they all reunite and find their way home before Katie finds out?
With an opening shot of a cloud and its basic premise aping that of the Pixar classic, it's easy to understand the ongoing Toy Story comparisons that this film is bludgeoned with. But with the included additions of overbearing promotional material within the film (a segment in Times Square features ads for The Voice and The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, whilst prominent appearances of a poster for upcoming project Sing! and dozens of Minions are sprinkled across the 90 minute runtime) and countless major characters that don't hold quite the same level of charm or personality as the Toy Box gang, and elements of the actual story itself inadvertently drifting away from pure plagiarism, Pets thankfully manages to stay away from being an easy court case for stolen ideas. What it's instead left with though is a very standard story of two people forced to get along with one another as they face mild versions of doom – and in numerous cases, certain death – whilst meeting a range of eccentric characters that, if one was deluded enough, could be a social statement on forced slavery and entrapment. But I digress – it's simply a tale of two would-be brothers, and with that lies the main focus of attention, as aside from the opening few minutes of standard pet life without human interaction (that which has been heavily promoted in the trailers) there isn't much else to really applaud story-wise.
In terms of the animation designs, it’s pretty much standard for Illumination Entertainment. Whilst not ranging in exaggeration like Despicable Me or The Lorax, the characters still resemble a more animated variation of the standard breed they represent, whilst the New York backdrop doesn't exactly offer much in terms of astounding landscapes. But with no clear errors in terms of technicality, it does still present the studio as being fine enough to warrant the attention they deserve from the mainstream audience; even if the actual look and feel of it all do come across more as a colourful feature-lengthed cartoon that one would catch on a Saturday morning. Meanwhile, the direction by Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney is fine enough for similar reasons - a good job for something that feels like a lesser effort in-between Despicable Me movies.
As our new iteration of Woody, Max is a fine enough replacement; perhaps lacking in much of the charm and depth, but still a thoroughly likable lead who's intentions – whilst perhaps a tad poorly-done thanks to how it's presented – do lead as an understandable spearhead to the situations that he later encounters. C.K. does a stellar job with the vocals, though; his usual monotonous tones absent for the majority of the picture. As right-hand dog and partial enemy Duke, Stonestreet does a fine performance also, but with his character's forced emotional backdrop inserted late into the movie does feel incredibly underused. Recurring enemy/ally Snowball offers a handful of good laughs, but there's some underlying irritation to be had with his character and his unjust insanity; Jenny Slate fails to repeat the same level of success as her white animal Disney counterpart from Zootropolis earlier this year but is still quite fun; Bobby Moynihan as pug Mel is overactive but harmless, as is also the case for Hannibal Buress's Buddy; Lake Bell's Chloe is a typical cat character complete with YouTube cameo; Dana Carvey is just a surprising turn-up considering how he's been stuck in Adam Sandler movies ever since Master of Disguise tanked, but does an okay job as a disabled pup with an unorthodox thing for Chloe (which doesn't actually go anywhere, like many of the story arcs present); and Albert Brooks as a hawk seems to have a rushed story arc in his own right about friendship and food – perhaps not helped by the fact that he also voices Marlin in Finding Nemo, which instantly drew me out of the film.
The Secret Life of Pets is a middling Toy Story-like adventure which takes weird twists and turns but is still trapped in its own element – resorting to repeating many of the first half's antics for a larger finale. But unlike the similarly problematic Angry Birds Movie from earlier this year, and indeed Illumination's own Minions, there is still some form of fun to be had (especially from its youngest viewers, although they may be a tad worrisome when comments on murdered owners come out in full force). The basic premise does lend to some early laughs, and a freaky Grease musical number set within a sausage factory makes The Good Dinosaur's berry drugs seem tame by comparison in terms of sheer absurdity, but with likeable enough characters at the helm and a story that, while predictable, can still offer some enjoyment, The Secret Life of Pets is fine enough viewing. 6/10.
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