The Secret Life of Pets is a 2016 animated film from the people behind the Despicable Me franchise, featuring an all-star voice cast.
THE STORY: Following the tale (tail?) of Max (voiced by Louis C. K.), a Jack Russell Terrier who has lived his whole life with his human owner Katie (Ellie Kemper), he becomes frustrated when she brings home an enormous mutt named Duke (Eric Stonestreet) from the pound. However, when the two end up in alley after some shenanigans get them separated, things get out of hand and soon enough, the two dogs are working together to escape all kinds of misadventures, including a run in with a gang of misfits led by a powderpuff rabbit with much ‘tude named Snowball (Kevin Hart).
Directors: Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney (co-director)
Writers: Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio
Stars: Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Ellie Kemper, Jenny Slate, Albert Brooks, Dana Carvey
THE RUNDOWN: A shameless retelling (read rip-off) of Toy Story, something that many critics jumped on in demeriting the film, the story is jarringly violent, the answer to most every problem a weirdly go-to attitude of hyper aggressiveness where so many characters simply go right off the rails with mayhem. Still, the voice-acting is great, and while the whole thing is woefully unoriginal, the animation is top-notch with loads of creative and amusing characters that should earn some chuckles.
No doubt the energetic voice work keeps this the most interesting, with lively and often funny dialogue from some talented actors working with a not so terrific script.
It’s exceedingly familiar and hopelessly predictable with all too much of the story relying on silly violence and clichés instead of more constructive problem-solving.
THAT MOMENT: Max spends his entire day staring at the door, waiting for Katie to come home. It’s his routine, and he loves it, is dedicated to it, and believes their relationship is, well, close to being soulmates. He has friends, cats and dogs and hamsters who live nearby, but mostly, all he cares about is Katie, whom he also thinks is devoted to him.
So it is that all things crumble when she brings home gasp another dog, and a big fluffy mongrel at that. What is she thinking? Needless to say, Max isn’t all that welcoming of the big mutt and makes life a living hell, even as much of his schemes run afoul.
Eventually, they end up at the park and then, after things come to a head, the two find themselves in a bad situation involving an alley full of angry cats. Their leader, a furless feline named Ozone (Steve Coogan), removes their collars and leaves them to the fate of Animal Control, something that Duke greatly fears, believing if he ends up with them again, he’ll be put down. This is important.
The two then end up underground in a nest of even worse problems as circumstances (which I’ll not spoil) lead them further on the run, forced to work together just to survive. This has Duke feeling more comfortable to tell Max about his past, explaining that his previous owner was an elderly man who adopted Duke as a puppy, the two very close. One day though, after Duke got lost after chasing a butterfly (as one is want to do), he got nabbed by Animal Control and his owner never came looking for him.
A little touched by the story, and also seeing an opportunity for Duke to be rid of, Max convinces his new friend to find his old house and reunite with his previous owner, thinking once together after all this time, his problems are surely solved and Katie will be his alone once more. However, as the old adage says, you can’t go home again, and this leg of their journey changes everything.
WHY IT MATTERS: Duke does find his old place, and right away things are a little different. The car in the driveway isn’t familiar, and worse, there’s a cat on the front porch, a snarky kitty with some troubling news. It’s at this point when a second car pulls onto the property and poor Duke is completely turned around. Who are these people? Why is there a cat here? He begins to get a little crazy, shouting (barking) for answers, which only terrifies the family, who quickly dial for help.
Meanwhile, Max sees the error of his ways and recognizes that Duke’s actions are leading to some very bad things, that of the Animal Control truck, who of course show right up. However, just before that, Duke confronts Max, telling him he knows what he was up to, that he brought him here just to get rid of him. It’s a sharp verbal attack that has Max reeling, and it’s right here when the Animal Control guys arrive and throw a snare on Max, though Duke suddenly jumps in and rescues him, snagged by the officers while shouting for Max to run home.
However, Max having eluded capture, does go home, instead, cowering in the shadows while watching Duke get tossed in the back. This would seem to immediately fix everything for Max, having Duke out of the picture, but naturally, that’s not the case as he simply can’t let his new friend end up in the pound, especially since it would spell certain death. I told you it was important.
What’s smart about this moment is the sacrifice, one both dogs commit without hesitation or thoughts of consequences. Duke leaps into the fray to save Max even though he knows entirely why Max lured him to this house, their time together on the run already forming a strong bond.
So it is with Max as well, the moment he realizes what Duke has done, instantly having him commit to his own sacrifice, taking off in a dead run after the truck, hoping he can find a way to return the favor of rescue.
I like how this sequence deals with a reality for pets that isn’t just made for a laugh, like everything else in the film (an obvious and maybe forgivable concession considering the genre), that of the fate of an owner, rather than the fate of the animal. Duke is a damaged dog, his time spent with a loving and protective human lost, leaving him scarred by his experience in the pound. Returning to his home is not the joyful homecoming we might expect, with Duke actually stalling as he works up the courage to head to the front door, a great little visual about the stresses of further rejection. Maybe he wasn’t picked up at the pound because he wasn’t truly wanted. This is the mind of Duke.
In a film dedicated to chaos and absurdity (the very next scene sees Snowball and Max actually driving a bus like trained stunt drivers in an action thriller that will leave you scratching your head), this quiet and genuinely moving moment is a welcome shift in the story. It allows us to put a little backstory on Duke, but more so, give some depth to the other side of the pet ownership relationship. I don’t much like this movie, disappointed by its laziness, however, when a troubled lonely mutt comes face to face with his past and the truth about his future, The Secret Life of Pets proves on old dog can still do some new tricks.