The Secret Life of Pets Leaves Much to Be Desired

Rating: 5/10 (7 November 2016)

The 2016 animated comedy "The Secret Life of Pets" is directed by Chris Renaud along with Yarrow Cheney and is made by Illumination entertainment (makers of the "Despicable Me" franchise). The film takes place in a fictional world where animals can talk (think "Toy Story" but with animals) and their owners are none the wiser. Even though the films premise is extremely promising, it fails to deliver much more than adorable animals and jokes that wouldn't make a twelve-year-old laugh.
Without giving away any spoilers I will say that this movie doesn't exactly head in the direction showed in the trailers. Instead it takes the much easier route of being a clichéd and mundane tale centered around these characters finding their way back home. Soon after these characters start their adventure, the plot splits into two parts. There is the story of the main protagonist and the story of his love interest. The side plot involving his love interest was absolutely horrible. This side plot takes up a good chunk of the movie, yet never once did it fail to bore. This is the biggest crime that this film commits as there was an extreme amount of potential here for a creative story. Instead what we're left with is a boring shell of what we were originally showed.
Animation is definitely a strong aspect of this film. The movie is packed with vibrant and bright colors that match the goodwill tone of the film. Every character design fits that particular characters' personality. The characters are all particularly adorable, especially the bunny rabbit voiced by Kevin Hart. Along with Kevin Hart, the film is host to an incredible cast including Dana Carvey, Louis C.K., Ellie Kemper, and many others. These voice actors do a great job of portraying their respective characters and really bringing them to life. This is especially pertinent because of the horribly simple characters within the film. That's right, unfortunately most of these characters are one dimensional and lack any sort of character development. There is the large bumbling dog, the eccentric rabbit, the mischievous hawk, and even a fat cat. These characters never reach their full potential and are otherwise useless. Never once during the film did I resonate with a single character. In fact, even the main character comes off as unlikeable throughout the film. Thankfully however, the great voice acting in the film did help to keep me engaged in the story. Otherwise however, these characters exist only to further the plot and sell toys.
Technically speaking, the direction and writing here get the job done and not much more. Many running jokes become tired after a few times on screen and most jokes not meant for seven-year old's simply fall flat. Actually most of the dialogue here only exists to further the movie and it becomes blatantly obvious after the first fifteen minutes that this is a movie geared towards children. Granted there were some genuinely sincere moments scattered throughout the film that really did connect. Unfortunately, those moments were too few and far between to make much of a difference. Surprisingly however, the soundtrack in this movie is excellent. There are several tracks from artists such as Pharrell Williams, Queen, Bill Williams and even the Beastie Boys. These tracks worked wonders for this film as the soundtrack is extremely engaging and is sure to get stuck in your head after just a few songs. Almost every time the music got turned up, the film became much more interesting.
While "The Secret Life of Pets" was not out to break any new ground in the animation department, it still should have been a fun movie the whole family could enjoy. Instead what we're left with is an unenjoyable film that caters specifically to young children. Though the animation, voice acting, soundtrack, and character designs are great, they are not enough to save this movie from the bargain bin at your local department store. Score: 5/10