The Secret Life of Pets

The Secret Life of Pets is a film engineered not to create demand but to fulfill it. In the wake of Finding Dory, the moviegoing parents of the world still need something, anything, to occupy their kids for a couple of hours. Pets is just that something, even if it doesn’t accomplish much more than filling a void. It’s quickly paced, largely unobjectionable and reasonably fun. While it’s not as saccharine as Dory, it’s also not as well-executed. That being said, it’s a passable diversion and far from the worst children’s movie I’ve reviewed so far this year. Those with children insisting on seeing this film will not leave the theater regretting their lot in life, and sometimes that’s enough to warrant the price of admission.

Illumination’s output resembles something akin to Pixar’s ADD-addled cousin after missing a prescribed dose of Ritalin — the resemblance is evident, but it’s sometimes hard to tell with the damned thing bouncing off the walls. The film’s premise is promising enough: a purported exploration of the daily activities of a group of Manhattanite pets in the absence of their owners. However, that premise quickly gives way to a relatively unexceptional buddy comedy following two “frenemies” trying to find their way home under duress. It’s somewhere in between The Odyssey and The Warriors, with a dash of The Defiant Ones thrown in for good measure, although these comparisons are far too generous for the film in question. While Pets is nowhere near as interesting as any of those narratives, it does manage to hit all the appropriate story beats and throw in a few legitimate laughs and visually engaging set pieces along the way.

Visually, Pets is an extremely accomplished piece of technological mastery. The character designs may not be the most appealing of any modern computer-animated kids’ feature, but everything is consistently on-model, and the animators’ grasp of the physics of their creations is commendable. There are some impressive cityscapes, a few well-choreographed chase scenes and a Berkeley-esque sausage factory acid-trip sequence that’s just bizarre enough to be interesting. Chris Renaud’s track record as a competent director of CG children’s animation (established by the Despicable Me films) remains untarnished, while co-director Yarrow Cheney has justified his promotion from production design. In addition, their team of animators have left the indelible impression that Illumination might soon be nipping at the heels of Pixar’s largely unquestioned dominance in the field (assuming they can rope in some better writers).

The ensemble cast of comedic notables, possibly the strongest selling point for adults (beyond the anguished admonitions of their children, that is) performs admirably, if unevenly. Louis C.K. seems a little out of place here, and those used to his borderline-nihilistic comedic persona may find his role as the straitlaced protagonist somewhat disconcerting. Jenny Slate delivers the most gratifying voice performance of anyone in the cast, but the script relegates her character to uni-dimensionality by refusing to give her any motivation beyond an unrequited crush on C.K.’s Max. Kevin Hart falls flat with a one-note-joke of a character, Hannibal Buress is given next to nothing do and Steve Coogan is given far too little screen time. The old-timers are the saving grace of the supporting cast, with Albert Brooks continuing to make a strong argument for the legitimacy of his late-career resurgence as a voice actor (having also performed admirably in Dory this year), and I have to credit this film with reminding me for the first time in possibly two decades that Dana Carvey used to be funny and likable.

To be clear, The Secret Life of Pets is not a great film, but it is a good one. The movie doesn’t make a whole hell of a lot of sense, and the script, tightly paced to a fault, favors expedience over character development. At the same time, it dedicates too many resources to shoehorning in an afterthought of a lesson to kids about accepting new siblings. Although the plot is somewhat convoluted and the character turns are uniformly arbitrary and unearned, its intended audience is predominantly unconcerned with such matters. For those of us not counted among those ranks, the lack of heavy-handed sermonizing in a kids’ film comes as a welcome respite from the contemporary standard. And, while the script’s brevity deprives us of a truly compelling narrative, at least it’s mercifully short. In no way is this a must-see movie, but it will almost certainly be mandatory viewing for some parents nonetheless. As such, you could certainly do a lot worse. Rated PG for action and some rude humor.

Now Playing at Carmike 10, Carolina Cinemark, Epic Theaters of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande, UA Beaucatcher.