The Secret Life of Pets - directed by Chris Renaud & Yarrow Cheney
The first time that I saw a teaser trailer for this movie I commented that "The Secret Life of Pets" was going to make a billion dollars.
If this turns out to be true (and it looks likely at this stage) I don't claim any talent in the box office predictions department - it is just a no brainer that an animated movie about pets is going to draw kids to cinemas like cats to catnip.
(Side Note: I have had several cats and have not once seen a single one act without anything above mild annoyance when I have thrust a catnip toy under their noses so I don't know where the phrase comes from)
And this film is from the studio that gave us two Despicable Me movies and a Minions movie.
Just the sight of a Minion under the Illumination logo giggling in excitement sets off an audience of kids in fits of giggles also.
So, no -given these facts predicting box office success for "The Secret Life of Pets" it isn't a boastworthy feat.
It currently sits at a worldwide haul of $767,374,865 with markets still left to open in.
And so a sad truth is yet again confirmed..... very mediocre movies can make a billion dollars.
I wanted this film to be hysterical, cute, exciting - all of the things that "Despicable Me 2" and "Ratatouille" are.
But sadly "The Secret Life of Pets" is not even as good as "Minions" - a movie I like okay but really expected more from.
Illumination are in danger (for me at least) of becoming a studio better at box office results than they are at delivering incredible films.
The root of the problem here smacks to me of this film being all concept and far less execution.
With a central idea that is instantly intriguing there is the sense that the filmmakers felt that the bulk of their work had already been done as they started writing the full script.
I called the central idea instantly intriguing and it certainly is....
What do our pets do when we leave the house?
As detailed in the trailers the dogs, cats, birds, hamsters and fish that live in New York City apartments and houses enjoy lazing around, raiding the fridge, using large screen tv's to mimic flying, using kitchen equipment as makeshift massage gear and they rock out to heavy metal tracks.
But from then on the storyline is lacking in originality and just doesn't ever really take off.
This is the same old stroy of a central character that resents the introduction of a stranger who is absorbing attention that he believes should exclusively be his.
In this case it is Max the small brown and white dog voiced by Louis C.K who has to deal with a large furry brown dog voiced by Eric Stonestreet from TV's "Modern Family".
They get lost in the city and must make their way back to the apartment.
If you are thinking that this sounds a lot like "Toy Story" you are not wrong.
But many movies borrow plots from other movies or utilise well worn ones and have a lot of success with it.
"Avatar" is pretty much "Dances With Wolves" meets "Ferngully" for example but it makes the story all its own.
And that is what 'The Secret Life of Pets" fails to do.
The voicework and the animation is top notch but there are very few laughs and the story just trots flatly along without engaging.
And dare I say it?..... I was a little bored several times.
Yes, this is a movie aimed at young kids - about that there is no doubt.
But many, many animated movies that aim for the kids still manage to hit the grown ups as well and often even better.
I really feel like Illumination messed up here.
That might appear a hard sell given the huge money this film has already made but the lack of laughter in the cinema today and the rush to leave even when the mid-credits scene was on speak volumes.
The only stuff I found at all funny was that which I had already see in the trailers pre-release.
This should have been far funnier and way more exciting.
Hell, I enjoyed "The Angry Birds Movie" more by quite some margin.
There are positives of course...
The cast is great with standout work from Lake Bell as Chloe the cat.
The characters are pretty good too with some nice swipes at the nature of both cats and dogs and the inherent competitiveness between animal and owner alike.
I loved the opening shot through the city- an exaggerated New York the size of which reflects how vast it must appear to the animals.
Everything that I can praise does nothing to make up for how dull and laugh free this film is.
With comedic talent like Louis C K, Kevin Hart, Steve Coogan and Albert Brooks and the creative team behind the Despicable Me movies I had high hopes for this.
The thing that I remember most from today's screening was a dog poo joke from the Minions short before the feature.... nothing much from the movie itself.
I often leave these types of films keen to see them again.
In the case of "The Secret Life of Pets" I cannot see myself sitting through it again any time soon.
I fear that I will like it even less on second viewing.
It is predictable and not fun enough to make up for this problem.
This one is destined to be quickly forgotten I think.
RATING: 67 / 100
CONCLUSION: A huge disappointment. Not funny, not exciting and if you've seen the trailer you have seen all of the good stuff already.
Starring: Louis C.K, Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Kevin Hart, Albert Brooks, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Steve Coogan, Bobby Moynihan, Michael Beattie
Screenplay: Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, Brian Lynch & Simon Rich
Music Score by: Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography: NA
Cinematography: NA
Edited by: Ken Schretzmann
Running Time: 91 minutes
Language: English
Rated: PG - MIld violence
Running Time: 91 minutes
Language: English
Rated: PG - MIld violence
If this turns out to be true (and it looks likely at this stage) I don't claim any talent in the box office predictions department - it is just a no brainer that an animated movie about pets is going to draw kids to cinemas like cats to catnip.
(Side Note: I have had several cats and have not once seen a single one act without anything above mild annoyance when I have thrust a catnip toy under their noses so I don't know where the phrase comes from)
And this film is from the studio that gave us two Despicable Me movies and a Minions movie.
Just the sight of a Minion under the Illumination logo giggling in excitement sets off an audience of kids in fits of giggles also.
So, no -given these facts predicting box office success for "The Secret Life of Pets" it isn't a boastworthy feat.
It currently sits at a worldwide haul of $767,374,865 with markets still left to open in.
And so a sad truth is yet again confirmed..... very mediocre movies can make a billion dollars.
I wanted this film to be hysterical, cute, exciting - all of the things that "Despicable Me 2" and "Ratatouille" are.
But sadly "The Secret Life of Pets" is not even as good as "Minions" - a movie I like okay but really expected more from.
Illumination are in danger (for me at least) of becoming a studio better at box office results than they are at delivering incredible films.
The root of the problem here smacks to me of this film being all concept and far less execution.
With a central idea that is instantly intriguing there is the sense that the filmmakers felt that the bulk of their work had already been done as they started writing the full script.
 |
| Duke and Max, Gidget and friends and Chloe the cat |
What do our pets do when we leave the house?
As detailed in the trailers the dogs, cats, birds, hamsters and fish that live in New York City apartments and houses enjoy lazing around, raiding the fridge, using large screen tv's to mimic flying, using kitchen equipment as makeshift massage gear and they rock out to heavy metal tracks.
But from then on the storyline is lacking in originality and just doesn't ever really take off.
This is the same old stroy of a central character that resents the introduction of a stranger who is absorbing attention that he believes should exclusively be his.
In this case it is Max the small brown and white dog voiced by Louis C.K who has to deal with a large furry brown dog voiced by Eric Stonestreet from TV's "Modern Family".
They get lost in the city and must make their way back to the apartment.
If you are thinking that this sounds a lot like "Toy Story" you are not wrong.
But many movies borrow plots from other movies or utilise well worn ones and have a lot of success with it.
"Avatar" is pretty much "Dances With Wolves" meets "Ferngully" for example but it makes the story all its own.
And that is what 'The Secret Life of Pets" fails to do.
The voicework and the animation is top notch but there are very few laughs and the story just trots flatly along without engaging.
And dare I say it?..... I was a little bored several times.
Yes, this is a movie aimed at young kids - about that there is no doubt.
But many, many animated movies that aim for the kids still manage to hit the grown ups as well and often even better.
 |
| Tattoo and Snowball, Tiberius the Hawk and Ozone the street cat and friends |
That might appear a hard sell given the huge money this film has already made but the lack of laughter in the cinema today and the rush to leave even when the mid-credits scene was on speak volumes.
The only stuff I found at all funny was that which I had already see in the trailers pre-release.
This should have been far funnier and way more exciting.
Hell, I enjoyed "The Angry Birds Movie" more by quite some margin.
There are positives of course...
The cast is great with standout work from Lake Bell as Chloe the cat.
The characters are pretty good too with some nice swipes at the nature of both cats and dogs and the inherent competitiveness between animal and owner alike.
I loved the opening shot through the city- an exaggerated New York the size of which reflects how vast it must appear to the animals.
Everything that I can praise does nothing to make up for how dull and laugh free this film is.
With comedic talent like Louis C K, Kevin Hart, Steve Coogan and Albert Brooks and the creative team behind the Despicable Me movies I had high hopes for this.
The thing that I remember most from today's screening was a dog poo joke from the Minions short before the feature.... nothing much from the movie itself.
I often leave these types of films keen to see them again.
In the case of "The Secret Life of Pets" I cannot see myself sitting through it again any time soon.
I fear that I will like it even less on second viewing.
It is predictable and not fun enough to make up for this problem.
This one is destined to be quickly forgotten I think.
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