The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  5 / 10

  The Secret Life of Pets is lovely to look at, but nothing more. Illumination aren't my favourite animation studio by any means, I find their films to be more about the merchandise rather than actual quality animated features (just look at the Despicable Me franchise). For this super child-friendly film, a dog named Max is forced to live with another dog. The two don't get along, they accidentally get lost and so try to find their way home again...with the help of other pets...naturally. The massive question this film tried to raise was: "what do your pets do when you're not home?". The first 15 minutes answered this excellently. Dogs barking at birds, cats eating from the fridge and a bird flying in the gentle breeze from a fan whilst watching a flight simulation. You know, the usual. Then we get onto the actual 'plot', which is where the film falls apart. Obviously we couldn't have an animation that just consisted of different pets doing various stupid actions, instead we got an unfocused boring generic story about friendship. It's hardly exciting at all, just two dogs accidentally coming across various creatures in alleyways, sewers or other areas of the city whilst their friends follow them. Sure we meet other characters, hardly any of them are memorable or interesting. I'm sure the children will love Kevin Hart shouting throughout the runtime as a cute fluffy bunny rabbit. I on the other hand did not. It was loud, annoying and an uninventive casting choice. Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet and Jenny Slate suited their characters well and felt natural. The standout, without a doubt, is the animation. It's vibrant, colourful, bright and looks damn good on bluray. The cityscape was crystal clear and really showcased some talented animators. The attention to detail is flawless, you can even see the reflection in Max's eyes...it's that pristine! So whilst this is absolutely unoriginal *cough* copied Toy Story *cough*, uninteresting and annoying, the animation is wonderful and various voice actors were well suited.

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