“The Secret Life of Pets” is exactly what I expected. The trailer was a hilarious series of vignettes showing what pets do when their owners leave for the day. Everybody wanted to see this film because it was going to be so funny! But I had a sneaking suspicion that once we had been drawn into the theater by the clever trailer, we would find that the vignette introduction quickly gives way to a completely unrelated story. And sure enough, five minutes into the film the slapstick ended and we were left with Illumination’s retelling of “Toy Story,” only with pets instead of toys. The film is a nice family comedy that is full of laughs, puns, and cute characters. I will even admit that I enjoyed it from start to finish, but the story is completely unoriginal and predictable. The casting is interesting, filling the film with recognizable-but-not-quite-popular actors like Louis C.K., Albert Brooks, Kevin Hart, Eric Stonestreet, Ellie Kemper, and Steve Coogan. The best part of the film is probably Dana Carvey’s turn as an elderly, respy-voiced basset hound and Jenny Slate’s highly energetic voicing of Gidget. Still, the film lacks that incredibly emotive actor whose voice helps us to connect to the film. “The Secret Life of Pets” is a film that I will share with my children someday due to its family-friendly nature, but only after we’ve exhausted the catalog of better animated films and need a break.
[Pictured: The characters are cute, the situations are funny, the animation style is unique, but the story is unoriginal]
No comments:
Post a Comment