The Secret Life of Pets (2016) Film Review

A big issue flourishing animation studio Illumination Entertainment is currently trying to overpass is their issue with only being able to have massive financial success with their much-adored Despicable Me franchise, with generic creations the Minions being a key part in that series' inability to die out (their spin-off film last year earning $1bn proving that factor). Granted, they had moderate success with both The Lorax and their live action-CGI hybrid Easter flick Hop, but neither have exactly been as well-received or lived up to their version of Shrek for Dreamworks (a brand which may live again under the same people behind Illumination following a buy-out earlier this year). But what better way to try and hit the same heights as Gru and company than with a Toy Story clone? Taking the now-classic basis of "what ____ do when you're not there" that helped put Pixar on the map, Universal are now trying their hand at it with their big name animation house, but can the little creature thrive under the pressure or will it have to be put down?

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.

Film Revisitations: Finding Nemo (2003)

Finding Nemo is a film many would consider a modern day classic. Released back in 2003 during a period in which Pixar's brand name was still on the rise and when Disney themselves were in a critical and financial slump, this fishy feature film was served onto screens worldwide and quickly managed to gain a life of its own – to this day it's one of the studios' biggest hits, with a recent 3D re-release only cementing the well-known fact that the film is beloved – while also getting the studio its first Best Animated Feature Oscar; this coming from first-time solo director Andrew Stanton, who would later get an even bigger critical hit in the form of WALL-E and even moved on to live action with the box office bomb John Carter. So with the long-awaited sequel Finding Dory about to hit the shores of US theaters (we in the UK have to wait until July 29th), we dive back into the big blue world of the Indian Ocean and question the validity of 'modern classic'... 

After a surprise attack from a barracuda from the comforts of their own anemone causes the loss of his wife (Elizabeth Perkins) and the majority of his unborn children, Marlin (Albert Brooks) is transformed into a neurotic and overprotective clownfish, who will do whatever he can from keeping his only surviving son – Nemo (Alexander Gould), who's egg survived the attack but at the cost of him being born with a small right fin – from any form of danger; moving house to an in-coral area, enforcing that he's always in his sights and keeps to safer means of play. This all comes to a head though on Nemo's first day of school, which is unfortunately timed from the same day as the school trip to 'the drop-off', as the kid finally decides to rebel against his father and swims out to open waters unprotected... where a deep-sea diver captures him and drives off in his boat. In utter dismay, Marlin quickly swims off to rescue his son, bumping into a memory-prone blue tang called Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) who joins him on his quest as they bump into all manner of sea creatures and situations. Nemo meanwhile finds himself residing in a Dentist's fish tank in Sydney, and with the help from the 'Tank Gang' (lead by fellow disabled fish Gill, voiced by Willem Dafoe) learns not only to embrace his "lucky fin" but also strive out into dangerous territory, as he has little less than a week to escape from the death clutches of the Dentist's niece Darla (LuLu Ebeling), who's been known to inexplicably kill her pet fish. 

With morals behind it that works for both children and parents alike, Finding Nemo has remained as enduring as it is thanks largely to its sublime and emotional story which, when paired together with the incredibly witty screenplay by Stanton, Bob Peterson (who also has an acting credit as Nemo's teacher Mr Ray) and David Reynolds and a top-notch orchestral score from Thomas Newman, creates something of an instant classic for the family feature genre. While it does follow a simple structure of our two leads bumping into various different areas (which Pixar would later repeat for last year's big hit Inside Out), they never feel unwelcome or stick around long enough for viewers to become irritated, while offering different ranges of emotional responses to them (thanks largely to a vibrant selection of lighting and colours too). And even with a slight environmental message added to the ending comes some well-constructed drama and a fitting big finale for the feature just viewed. It's a simple story executed to perfection.

The animation itself is a marvel to look at. With the ocean landscapes being so vast and imaginatively crafted, it makes the water-bound world that surrounds these characters such a wonder to behold – which can also be credited towards the cinematography department and director Stanton. Add to it some memorable character designs – the anglerfish being a personal highlight just for how detailed and terrifying it is – and you have a film that, at this stage of the company's history, quickly elevated to being of the highest quality. 

While hardly being new ground for Brooks, Marlin is a lead character who's initial high-strung personality may cause early discouragement, but thanks mostly to his effervescent charm and amusing 'straight man' act he does make for a solid character, who's growth as the story progresses feeling natural and with the flow of the currents. And together with the scene-stealing Dory, the duo do make for a highly entertaining double act. Dory herself is perhaps the more likeable of the duo, but that's largely thanks to her short-term memory motif being so amusing that it's almost impossible to dislike her (with DeGeneres an absolute blast in the role; her devotion to the character so clear in her performance). Nemo (Gould) himself is a fine child character who strives away from what could be an annoying role, and it's great that he gets his own B-plot that adds its own elements and entertainment to the overall film. And as the only real constants outside of the main three characters, the Tank Gang themselves are a delight. Granted, it's only Dafoe's Gill with the most to do, but each member still brings their own unique personalities and jokes to the table. From the bubble-obsessed Bubbles (Stephen Root) to the French cleaner shrimp Jacques (Joe Ranft) and plenty more, you have a band of characters who are great to watch.

As for the various supporting characters that Marlin and Dory come across during their swim across the sea, there's firstly the vegetarian shark trio lead by Bruce, voiced by Barry Humphries. He, Eric Bana and Bruce Spence are all superb, but naturally Humphries takes the biggest compliment for his excellent delivery and instantly recognisable presence. Plus, vegetarian sharks having an AA meeting of sorts – genius idea. There's also a brief sidebar with Pixar good luck charm John Ratzenberger as a school of fish which adds some good laughs, while hippie sea turtle Crush (Andrew Stanton) and his son Squirt (Nicholas Bird) bring about some great fun in their respective areas and pelican ally Nigel (Geoffrey Rush) glues the two storylines together with natural ease and entertainment. Add Bill Hunter as the Dentist, a colony of hungry quotable seagulls, a terrifying anglerfish and a dangerous onslaught of beautiful but deadly jellyfish, and you have a collection of characters that are not only utterly remarkable in just how iconic they already are, but in just how well-crafted and executed they are in their own right.

On countless occasions, I've let slip that Finding Nemo is my favourite film period. As one of the most well-produced efforts by one of the film industry's top creative teams, Finding Nemo is a film that suitably fits the "fun for all ages" bracket of movies and as an absolute thrill ride from beginning end. It hits every emotional heartstring; it features characters that are still memorable 13 years on; it has animation which some studios are still struggling with matching in their own efforts. It's a lot of fun and utterly hilarious, and it's a film one continues to go back and watch whenever they want to. It's arguably a timeless modern classic, and one that Pixar is making a gutsy move in trying to match with Finding Dory. 10/10.