Secret Life Of Pets (Blu-Ray + DVD = Digital HD)

Blu-Ray Reviews | Dec 6th, 2016

Secret Life Of Pets
Image used with permission for review purposes.

Starring: Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Kevin Hart, Ellie Kemper, Albert Brooks, Lake Bell, Hannibal Buress, Dana Carvey, Steve Coogan
Written By: Brian Lynch, Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio
Directed By: Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney
Studio: Universal
Buy On Amazon.com

The latest Universal animated movie is Secret Life of Pets, featuring an excellent cast of actors who voice dogs, cats, rabbits and other furry creatures. The movie is cute and fun; both parents and kids will enjoy this one.

What do pets do when their owners leave the house? Secret Life of Pets shows you what happens. Well, they might just stay by the door until they come back, they might eat everything in the fridge or they even might throw loud parties. The movie centers around Max, a Jack Russell Terrier (Louis C.K.) who lives with his owner Katie in a Manhattan apartment. Everything is going well until Katie decides to bring a bigger dog, Duke (Eric Stonestreet) home from the pound. They don’t get along and try to get each other in trouble, until they find themselves alone in the city together. They have to join together to figure out a way to get back home to Katie.

I had no expectations going into the movie but ended up enjoying Secret Life of Pets. Sure, it’s not Pixar style of storytelling but it’s entertaining. Even my 1 year old sat still for 15 minutes to watch it. That’s pretty good these days! I thought the beginning of the movie was really good and funny. I certainly cracked up at the dog rocking out to Andrew WK or whoever. Towards the end, it was a little weak but for the most part the movie was entertaining. I thought Louis CK and Eric Stonestreet’s characters were okay but felt there were too many characters in the movie. It was hard to keep track of them all after awhile. Kevin Hart’s bunny was funny in the beginning. Like with most things Kevin Hart does, it’s funny in the beginning and then it gets annoying quickly. Seemed like he was shouting the entire time. The rest of the characters I can barely, although I liked Albert Brooks as a red-tailed hawk. Steve Coogan was highly underused and wished he was used more as that creepy looking cat.

The animation was stellar; colorful and vibrant. Of course New York City doesn’t look like that but still was gorgeous. I was curious what Max’s owner does for a living, since she owns such a nice apartment by herself. Trustfund kid? I guess that’s a dumb question when I’m watching a talking furry rabbit wanting to kill dogs with a truck. If they make the inevitable sequel, I hope some of the other characters get more time to shine because they seem like they would be just as good as Max and Duke. But I’m fine if this is just a stand alone animated movie.

The special features include 3 mini movies, featurette on the pets, featurette on the actors and some other things. The mini movies were cute. The first one is Norman TV, about a gerbil that lives in the vents and watches various people. It’s a parody of Read Window. The other one is of the odd yet annoying Minions wanting to get extra money, and the other one is the weenies in a musical short. All adorable shorts and kids will like them.

Secret Life of Pets was an overall entertaining movie. It’s a bit of Toy Story but with pets and not as good. I certainly had a few laughs while watching and my little one seemed to like it for a few minutes. I’d watch this again and I have a feeling I probably will when my son gets older.

Features:
3 Mini-Movies
All About the Pets
Animals Can Talk: Meet The Actors
Hairstylist To The Dogs
The Best of Snowball

Audio
French Dolby Digital 5.1
English DTS-HD MA 7.1
Spanish DTS-HD MA 7.1

Video
Widescreen 1.85:1 Color

Bottom Line: Cute animated movie
Running Time: 87 mins
Rating: PG
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:

Topics:

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,