Just when you thought pets couldn't become more adorable!

Rating: 7/10 (21 July 2016)

The Secret Life of Pets plays with your most sensitive area – the part that goes Awww a lot. The visual animators come up with adorable characters and wrap them up with cutesy faces that it is hard not to giggle when you find them talking to each other. Even though the concept is quite an old one, a clichéd formulation per se, this lucid animation by Illumination Entertainment makes it worthy of every nod it deserves.
CHARACTERS OF THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (SPOILERS IN COVER) Characters to watch out for are so many actually, but the one that beats them all is a cute bunny named Snowball. Kevin Hart makes the persona unforgettable. His witty liners, rogue nature and contrasting mien make him outrageously adorable. The best parts are when he misses the deceased with a crying fist pump.
Amongst other ones are of course Max and Duke who start off on a wrong foot but end up becoming the best of friends. It is quite affectionate to see them get along after a series of unfortunate events. Chloe as the blue tabby cat is well thought of. Her abominable shenanigans are in blunt reflection of how a cat behaves in reality. She gets a proper screenplay where she delivers haughtily to every issue like a pro. Lake Bell voices her to perfection.
Another great character is that of Gidget, a white Pomeranian who is in smothering love with Max. Unfortunately it takes the whole movie and a hell lot of beating, for Max to actually notice her for real.
All the members of The Flushed Pets make the movie interesting. Though none of them are too memorable to be cherished, they still pack in entertainment galore.
HUMOUR There is humour alright, in little things like a poodle headbanging to Bounce by System of a Down. The secret passage of Pops, the old hound who has the hots for Chloe. Norman, the lost guinea pig, who comes out at odd intervals to deliver something funny. That Steve Coogan voice of Ozone, the Sphinx cat who happens to be the only true villain of The Secret Life of Pets. All such bits will tickle you fine. But to be really candid it isn't all that funny. Most of the funny bits were already shown in the trailer, that left the movie in some stark deprivation.
HEARTWARMING MOMENTS In the end we get to see the doting side of the pet-human relationship that is sure to bring a smile to your faces. Also, when a little girl finds Snowball in the end and he goes jab jab at her only to give in when she touches his head, is definitely going to melt you. It is satisfying to see him finally escape the dark side.
DOWNSIDES OF THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS The big downside of The Secret Life of Pets lies with the filmmakers. No matter how bad Illumination Entertainment tries, they can never do a Pixar. A sense of sentience is always missing in their work. Also, their humour has this weird way of skimming only the shallow surfaces. There is nothing genuine to their storyline either. You have a good look at it from a distance and you realize, their work always wades towards the purposeless.
Despite the obvious problems that Illumination Entertainment deal with in their every release, they still manage to make The Secret Life of Pets fairly delectable.
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