Pet Story (Alternate Title: Underground Zootopia)

Rating: 8/10 (18 July 2016)

Yeah, I know, I'm certainly not the first reviewer to realize that the plot of the animated"The Secret Life of Pets (hereafter "Secret Life") closely resembles that of the "Toy Story" trilogy. Hence, the first title of this review. Nevertheless, the borrowed plot is an ideal vehicle for answering one of the baffling mysteries of our time: what do pets really act like when their owners are away (you can solve that problem with security cameras, but never mind)? The unsurprising answer is: when the cat's away the mice will play, so to speak. In other words, the cats, dogs, birds, and other assorted domesticated animals in a New York apartment building cut loose and party, stuff themselves, and basically wreck the joint.
Except for one brown-and-white Jack Russell terrier named Max (voice of Louis C.K.). Little Max is generally liked and respected by all the other apartment building animals, even by the obese, sarcastic, misbehaving tabby cat Chloe (voice of Lake Bell). In particular, the fuzzy, hyperactive, but gutsy Pomeranian Gidget (voice of Jenny Slate) harbors an unrequited crush for Max. Max is content being a kind of "top dog" and the apple of his owner Katie's (voice of Ellie Kemper) eye. The only downside is that Max suffers acute separation anxiety whenever Katie is out of the apartment, and is willing to stare at the front door all day until she returns.
Katie seems to realize that Max is lonely, so she brings home a new dog – a huge, brown, generally good-natured Newfoundland named Duke. Max is none too thrilled with his new roommate, despite Duke's efforts to make friends. In fact, Max is so eager to get rid of Duke, he breaks apartment items and tries to frame Duke. Max and Duke become bitter rivals. But before the rivalry can escalate, both dogs get lost in New York during one of their walks, lose their collars and licenses during an encounter with an army of fierce alley cats, and begin a frantic run to get away from them AND Animal Control officers and get home.
Animal Control catches Max and Duke, but they escape their cages with the help of the maniacal, bitter, abandoned (like Lotso Hugging Bear in "Toy Story 3") white rabbit named Snowball (voice of Kevin Hart), the unlikely leader of a menagerie of other abandoned animals of ALL kinds, including snakes, alligators, and lizards. Hence the second, alternate title of this review. Snowball frees Max and Duke only because they pretend to agree to help him carry out his vengeful desire to punish humanity for their abandonment. But the ruse can only last so long; Snowball figures out the dogs are domesticated "sellouts", so Max and Duke have to put their differences aside even longer to escape a third group that wants to capture/destroy them.
Meanwhile, Gidget is the first apartment pet to realize that Max and Duke have been gone an awfully long time. Therefore, the fearless Pomeranian rallies the other pets, including the energetic pug Mel (voice of Bobby Moynihan), the stretchy wiener dog Buddy (voice of Hannibal Buress), the confused guinea pig Norman (voice of Chris Renaud), and even a red-tailed hawk with almost overwhelming predatory instincts named Tiberius (voice of Albert Brooks), to mount a rescue mission. On their way to save Max and Duke, they meet an old, cantankerous, handicapped, but New York-smart basset hound named Pops (voice of Dana Carvey) who grudgingly offers to help ferret Max and Duke out. And so were off on a merry, almost exhausting, almost non-stop chase above and below New York to see who will get to Max and Duke first – Snowball and his scary "henchmen" or Gidget and her motley crew- and to see if the mismatched pooches make it home after all.
"Secret Life" is perfect for summer because it is loaded with action, gut-busting laughter, wild fantasy, and memorable characters. But the movie is not mindless because it manages to sneak in lessons about forging alliances and friendships, the sometimes cruel things humans do to animals, and the sacrifices true friends make for each other. There is even pathos, as when former pound pooch Duke tries to locate his former owner and realizes that in one sense you really can't go home again. In short, "Secret Life" is bound to please both adults and children, but it is rated PG for a reason, because some of the animals, especially the colossal, one-fanged viper that challenges Max and Duke to battle, might terrify impressionable children, and because there is at least one reference to death. Still "Secret Life", despite its derivative plot, or more likely because of it, is a fun, fitting tribute to pets that deserve human love because of the comfort and devotion they give, even if they make the occasional mess.
P.S.: Preceding "Secret Life" is an animated "Illumination" short called "Mowin' Minions" where the little yellow guys in blue overalls perform yard work to raise enough money to buy a blender. The expected, irresistibly hilarious roller coaster ride of chaos ensues.