Review of The Secret Life of Pets Full Movie: A deadly attack unnoticed in an office in Lagos, Nigeria - the result of the Avengers try to do the right thing, as usual - asked the US government about these superheroes must continue to operate independently. Rapid urban destruction unit mass that has occurred in recent Marvel film makes a very interesting case: Yes, they use their resources for the common good in all these cases, but collateral damage is undeniable. The fact that Marvel film dares to doubt the big show and the light is their bread and butter - and realize that thousands die in the name of fun - seems pretty new. At the same time, "civil war" methods for this problem aggressively, intelligent, rather than languish in time, rainy autumn, the philosophical "Buss" Zack Snyder replaced fairly low this year.
As the Avengers and their new allies take sides in a treaty under international characters or keep up with your world-saving current strategy supervision, regardless of cost, it is fascinating to see where it falls. This makes the way in which one cannot expect trouble; there is a bit of a role reversal here. The normally brash billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey), better known as Iron Man, is surprisingly conservative in the use of the combination of force. It has a number of things seen and believes General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt) is a point in the research supervision and responsibility. While Evans, Steve Rogers - a promise to do well, Captain America - took an about-not-now-then, if-no-it-all who approach. You want to maintain the status quo and refuse to sign.
Pet owners, or rather from their perspective, their servants, naturally wonder just what goes on when they are left alone. Recently we had a remote controlled thermostat, and one of the options included in the household control system was a motion activate video camera listed as a means to make your covert pet videos. Considering the astronomical number of cat and dog videos available on all forms of social media, this desire to know what our pets are doing when we are away is pondered by a sizable portion of the population. One of the latest films from Universal Studios tapping into this well-documented trend.
Coincidentally, several of the major studios have been investing increasing amounts of capital and resources on family-friendly animated films. Lately, they have the additional objective of creating 3-D, the two dominant players, Dreamworks and the perennial favorite, Pixar/Disney, have created an environment of creative completion engendering circumstances highly conducive to pushing the situation to ever-expanding heights of achievement that ultimately makes for higher standards and better entertainment. For the latest contender to enter the arena, Universal Studios are distributing the labors of their new animation partners, Illumination Entertainment.
Previously their most noteworthy contribution to the pervading popular culture has been the 'Despicable Me' franchise. At this point, they still lack the panache of Dreamworks or the inherent humanity infused in Pixar productions. Since Illumination Entertainment is still in the early stages of their learning curve, they remain reliant on attempting to deconstruct the masterpieces of the current grandmasters to understand better the methodology that made their films so extraordinarily popular. To this end, they retooled one of the most influential animated features to affect the zeitgeist of the generation. The result of the product of this endeavor started with one of the most iconic animated franchises, 'Toy Story.' The opportunity that began with the highly marketable items designed for their cute appeal, and subsuming the other traditional means of generating warm and fuzzy feelings, household pets.
The story unfolds in one of the best places to be a pampered pet, a reasonably upscale neighborhood in Manhattan. The humans are sufficiently stable financially to dote on their pets but still contained in the economic bracket requiring regular absences for work. Within the contextual fantasy of this premise, these conditions are highly advantageous for the antics required to propel the story forward. The primary protagonist is a Jack Russel Terrier, Max (voiced by Louis C.K.) who resides with his human, Kate (voiced by Ellie Kemper). The juxtaposition of voice talent is demonstrative of the producer's requirement of attempting to appeal to multiple demographics. Mr., C.K., is known for his blue stand-up routines and his mature-themed series. In contrast, Ms. Kemper has recently increased her audience visibility with the Tina Fey comedy on Netflix, 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt .' Old school comedians such as Albert Brooks are performing beside current cast members of 'Saturday Night Live,' Bobby Moynihan. While Kate is out of the apartment Max hangs out with other pets in the building, tabby cat Chloe (voice of Lake Bell), pug Mel (voiced by Bobby Moynihan), dachshund Buddy (voiced by Hannibal Buress), and parakeet, Sweetpea.
From the perspective of Max, life has sweet; that is until one day when Kate comes home with a surprise. She has rescued a dog; Duke (voiced by Eric Stonestreet) the new dog in the apartment is larger than most apartment pets. My late wife and I used to take in rescued cats, and the main motivation point here rooted in reality. The addition does tend to incite feelings of jealousy over the attention of the human. Many might attribute this to anthropomorphizing the behavior but it a true depiction of the reaction. Usually, the focus of stories of this nature is the original reacting to the 'interloper' but in an appreciated twist from the expected. Duke is the one to act. While outside on one of their jaunts Duke attempts to have, Max becomes lost in an alley. Duke'smotivation is the fear that if returned he will be euthanized. This is an action typically not found in any story targeting a youthful audience.
The potentially overly mature themes continue when Max and Duke are accosted by a street gang consisting of feral cats led by a Sphynx cat Ozone (voiced by Steve Coogan). I realize that my initial impression of the central themes underestimates the ability of kids to safely process topics like gang violence and putting animals down. The only impact of this observation might have would occur while watching the movie with your families. In this instance the parents might find the material more disturbing than their children, the situation for Max and Duke become severe when the cats remove their collars and tags, the Animal Control people will erroneously assume they were strays whisking them off to the pound. Fortunately, the pair of pooches is rescued by a rabbit named Snowball (voiced by Kevin Hart), the leader of "The Flushed Pets." They reside in the sewers as a band of discarded pets. Snowball mistreated as a research subject managed to escape. The dogs pretend to despise people to gain protection by joining their ranks. The test necessary to become part of their gang they must allow themselves to be bitten by one fang python.
Meanwhile back at the apartment building, Gidget (voiced by Jenny Slate), a white Pomeranian who has a crush on Max. When she realizes, he is missing and immediately engages the services of Tiberius (voiced by Albert Brooks), a red-tailed hawk to find him. For those not from New York City, there are several species of hawks and other raptors that live in the crevasses of the tall, Manhattan buildings. A ground-based search party is assembled that includes several other animals such as Pops (voiced by Dana Carvey), a paralyzed old basset hound that uses a makeshift wagon for mobility. The third act progresses to a degree of drama and conflict that is rather intense, but by this point, I realize that the purpose of the film is to engage both parents and children without talking down to the younger viewers or being overly artificial for the sake of the grownups.
All too frequently adults are kept interested in family films by including jokes, sight gags, and Easter eggs that seem innocuous enough for the kids but prompt a chuckle from the parents. Attempting to blaze a different way to proceed, the filmmakers decided to create a movie that intrinsically contains realistic themes and allow the grown-ups and their kids to work things out together. The current paradigm for many types of movies is the use of Real 3D. The filmmaker demonstrated a better than usual particularly regarding how the illusion of depth. It is relatively easy to use 3D in action sequences but what truly matters is how it contributes to the overall act of telling the story. This is where it falls a bit short. We are so used to the excellence of Pixar that our expectations. Overall the 3D was capable but not quite spectacular.
This is a really cute movie. I mean, super cute. And I enjoyed it... I just wish it had a little meat on its bones. There is nothing very clever, innovative, or thought-provoking here... not that there's anything wrong with that, not every animated movie has to be "Inside Out" or "Zootopia". But I have to admit, after seeing films like those, I find that I expect more from animated films than what this film offers. It's probably not fair - after all, it's a kids' movie, and it will definitely keep the kids happy and entertained - but there it is. This is a buddy movie about anthropomorphic dogs, and the story is VERY familiar. You know immediately where it's going, and it never 'strays' from the formula.
It moves along at a good pace and has enough humor, fun, and action to hold your attention. This is more of a kid-focused movie than I expected, there is not as much adult humor as one would think with the notoriously lewd Louis C.K. voicing the lead. But, it does throw the adults a few 'bones' here and there, and I did laugh out loud quite a few times. The film also offsets the action with some poignant emotional moments, especially if you're an animal lover... I admit that I got a little misty in parts. Pet owners will definitely like it, it's fun to see some of the characteristics from your own pets manifested in the characters on screen (though nobody in this movie ever takes the dogs out to pee! C'mon, that's the FIRST thing you do with your dog when you get home!). The voice talents are all great, of course, with Kevin Hart getting most of the props for his bunny villain "Snowball" with all of his misdirected anger... but for me that whole shtick just seemed a little too on-the-nose, and it was Jenny Slate's tenacious from-from lapdog "Gidget" who stole the show. Slate's voice is perfect for the character and she gives it her all. This movie is totally straightforward and is exactly what it was designed to be: a sweet family-friendly romp. I just would have liked it to have had a more substance to go along with the sweetness.
Pet owners, or rather from their perspective, their servants, naturally wonder just what goes on when they are left alone. Recently we had a remote controlled thermostat, and one of the options included in the household control system was a motion activate video camera listed as a means to make your covert pet videos. Considering the astronomical number of cat and dog videos available on all forms of social media, this desire to know what our pets are doing when we are away is pondered by a sizable portion of the population. One of the latest films from Universal Studios tapping into this well-documented trend.
Previously their most noteworthy contribution to the pervading popular culture has been the 'Despicable Me' franchise. At this point, they still lack the panache of Dreamworks or the inherent humanity infused in Pixar productions. Since Illumination Entertainment is still in the early stages of their learning curve, they remain reliant on attempting to deconstruct the masterpieces of the current grandmasters to understand better the methodology that made their films so extraordinarily popular. To this end, they retooled one of the most influential animated features to affect the zeitgeist of the generation. The result of the product of this endeavor started with one of the most iconic animated franchises, 'Toy Story.' The opportunity that began with the highly marketable items designed for their cute appeal, and subsuming the other traditional means of generating warm and fuzzy feelings, household pets.
From the perspective of Max, life has sweet; that is until one day when Kate comes home with a surprise. She has rescued a dog; Duke (voiced by Eric Stonestreet) the new dog in the apartment is larger than most apartment pets. My late wife and I used to take in rescued cats, and the main motivation point here rooted in reality. The addition does tend to incite feelings of jealousy over the attention of the human. Many might attribute this to anthropomorphizing the behavior but it a true depiction of the reaction. Usually, the focus of stories of this nature is the original reacting to the 'interloper' but in an appreciated twist from the expected. Duke is the one to act. While outside on one of their jaunts Duke attempts to have, Max becomes lost in an alley. Duke'smotivation is the fear that if returned he will be euthanized. This is an action typically not found in any story targeting a youthful audience.
The potentially overly mature themes continue when Max and Duke are accosted by a street gang consisting of feral cats led by a Sphynx cat Ozone (voiced by Steve Coogan). I realize that my initial impression of the central themes underestimates the ability of kids to safely process topics like gang violence and putting animals down. The only impact of this observation might have would occur while watching the movie with your families. In this instance the parents might find the material more disturbing than their children, the situation for Max and Duke become severe when the cats remove their collars and tags, the Animal Control people will erroneously assume they were strays whisking them off to the pound. Fortunately, the pair of pooches is rescued by a rabbit named Snowball (voiced by Kevin Hart), the leader of "The Flushed Pets." They reside in the sewers as a band of discarded pets. Snowball mistreated as a research subject managed to escape. The dogs pretend to despise people to gain protection by joining their ranks. The test necessary to become part of their gang they must allow themselves to be bitten by one fang python.
Meanwhile back at the apartment building, Gidget (voiced by Jenny Slate), a white Pomeranian who has a crush on Max. When she realizes, he is missing and immediately engages the services of Tiberius (voiced by Albert Brooks), a red-tailed hawk to find him. For those not from New York City, there are several species of hawks and other raptors that live in the crevasses of the tall, Manhattan buildings. A ground-based search party is assembled that includes several other animals such as Pops (voiced by Dana Carvey), a paralyzed old basset hound that uses a makeshift wagon for mobility. The third act progresses to a degree of drama and conflict that is rather intense, but by this point, I realize that the purpose of the film is to engage both parents and children without talking down to the younger viewers or being overly artificial for the sake of the grownups.
All too frequently adults are kept interested in family films by including jokes, sight gags, and Easter eggs that seem innocuous enough for the kids but prompt a chuckle from the parents. Attempting to blaze a different way to proceed, the filmmakers decided to create a movie that intrinsically contains realistic themes and allow the grown-ups and their kids to work things out together. The current paradigm for many types of movies is the use of Real 3D. The filmmaker demonstrated a better than usual particularly regarding how the illusion of depth. It is relatively easy to use 3D in action sequences but what truly matters is how it contributes to the overall act of telling the story. This is where it falls a bit short. We are so used to the excellence of Pixar that our expectations. Overall the 3D was capable but not quite spectacular.
This is a really cute movie. I mean, super cute. And I enjoyed it... I just wish it had a little meat on its bones. There is nothing very clever, innovative, or thought-provoking here... not that there's anything wrong with that, not every animated movie has to be "Inside Out" or "Zootopia". But I have to admit, after seeing films like those, I find that I expect more from animated films than what this film offers. It's probably not fair - after all, it's a kids' movie, and it will definitely keep the kids happy and entertained - but there it is. This is a buddy movie about anthropomorphic dogs, and the story is VERY familiar. You know immediately where it's going, and it never 'strays' from the formula.
It moves along at a good pace and has enough humor, fun, and action to hold your attention. This is more of a kid-focused movie than I expected, there is not as much adult humor as one would think with the notoriously lewd Louis C.K. voicing the lead. But, it does throw the adults a few 'bones' here and there, and I did laugh out loud quite a few times. The film also offsets the action with some poignant emotional moments, especially if you're an animal lover... I admit that I got a little misty in parts. Pet owners will definitely like it, it's fun to see some of the characteristics from your own pets manifested in the characters on screen (though nobody in this movie ever takes the dogs out to pee! C'mon, that's the FIRST thing you do with your dog when you get home!). The voice talents are all great, of course, with Kevin Hart getting most of the props for his bunny villain "Snowball" with all of his misdirected anger... but for me that whole shtick just seemed a little too on-the-nose, and it was Jenny Slate's tenacious from-from lapdog "Gidget" who stole the show. Slate's voice is perfect for the character and she gives it her all. This movie is totally straightforward and is exactly what it was designed to be: a sweet family-friendly romp. I just would have liked it to have had a more substance to go along with the sweetness.
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