WesternAnimation An animated movie by the numbers
If there is a list somewhere of uninspired works made solely to cash in with sympathetic audiences, The Secret Life of Pets is sure to be on it. Beneath the slapstick humor and pretty animation is an uninspired by-the-numbers story that doesn't make much of an effort to even paper over its storytelling defects. Everything that happen in this movie occurs only to set up the next scene or check off a marketing executive's highlights; motivations are hinted at one moment and ignored the next, conflicts are played up or ignored based on whatever best serves the next gag, and characters appear just to appeal to audience members and sell toys. Why is Duke threatening Max one moment and saving his life the next? When did Snowball learn how to drive a bus? How did pampered Chloe become a one-bitch fighting machine? Why are Mel, Buddy and Sweetpea in the movie when they don't do anything? Who cares? Don't think about it, just laugh at the next gag.
Some animated movies are destined to become instant classics through beautiful storytelling, fleshed-out characters, and themes that resonate far beyond their screen time — and Secret Life of Pets isn't one of them. Sure, it's an unoffensive film and an amusing way to spend 90 minutes, but when the credits roll, you'll walk out of the theater realizing that it was a tepid return for your time and money.
WesternAnimation I really tried to be positive.
I began watching the film, expecting it to be on par-level with Despicable Me. Suffice it to say, I was disappointed to no end. It began pretty well, but then just... detoriorated. I don't know where to begin... when I finished watching it, it didn't leave me with either joy or satisfaction over the conclusion, like other great movies do. It's forgettable, and sometimes, it's an even worse fate than being a pile of shit, because at least when you're a pile of shit, it's hard to ignore your stink.
Other than the blatant Toy Story elements, particularly the sequel (bunch of misfits walking around in the street trying to get home... yeah), the pacing was poorly executed. The introduction of Duke was terrible, Max was a terrible character with no solid reason to change his mind about him, his buddies were terrible, and there were too many characters to count, dividing equal Character Development to all, leaving most characters boring blank slates. Not to mention Max's sudden reciprocation of Gidget's feelings just because he got basically turned on by her beating the crap out of people was just... ugh. Wreck-It Ralph's coupling of Felix/Calhoun made more sense, and they had very little screen time together too! Or hell, the company's own Grucy is fantastic! Max/Gidget just felt like "hey, people like romance so let's have them suddenly become a couple out of nowhere hurr durr". It's one of the worst writings for a couple I've ever seen. I'm dead serious.
I could go on and on; Snowball joyfully just agreeing to side with Max out of the blue despite wanting to tear his intestines out earlier, and the oh-so-not-predictable ending of Max and Duke accepting each other (noooo way, I could not see that coming!) Jenny Slate's performance was the only thing good coming out of the movie, but she should stick to her talent as Ponyhead in the future.
But let me end this review by saying that there's nothing (and I really mean nothing) in it you have never seen before. You thought Twilight was a Cliché Storm? Take this film about doggies.