Kim's Movie Korner

Movie Review: The Secret Life of Pets 2

Three years ago, Illumination stole my heart and created one of the cutest, original, most entertaining animated films of recent memory.  The Secret Life of Pets was the perfect blending of snark, cuteness, humor (both kid and adult friendly), freshness, and imagination.  On June 7^th, 2019 the follow-up, The Secret Life of Pets 2 will hit theaters in wide release.  Not wanting to wait the additional two weeks, I took part in Fandango’s early release showings and headed to one of my local theaters.

There’s little doubt in my mind that Pets 2 will be another hit for Illumination studios.  The kids in the packed audience loved it (thankfully, so I didn’t end up going off on the whiny little girl sitting next to me who got on my nerves as soon as her mother forced her to sit down), the adults in the audience enjoyed it, and I enjoyed it as well.  However, truth be told it became quickly apparent Pets 2, while entertaining, wasn’t going to be as strong a film as the original.

Most of the elements to equal if not surpass the original movie are present.  With one glaring (yet not surprising exception) all the original voice over cast members returned.  The soundtrack is definitely bumping. The animation is solid, and the pacing is good.  All things point to a great movie experience.  Truthfully, it was a good movie experience, but not great.

Why?

First off, the storyline or rather the storylines Rather than one overall plot with a secondary plot or even two, The Secret Life of Pets 2 is largely comprised as 3 separate subplots loosely mashed together in hopes of forming a whole.  Resulting in a watered-down film.  None of the three plots is developed as fully as it should be and are weakened.  The characters are all separated off into their corresponding story groups limiting their interaction.  Even within each story many of the previously prominent characters are reduced to secondary or even background roles.  I’m looking at you Duke. Furthermore, having so many “individualized” trailers running up to the films’ release is a bit of a misfire/backfire.  All the teasing has given away too many character/scene moments so I felt like I’d already seen a good portion of the film while viewing the whole. 

Further, while Tiffany Haddish and Harrison Ford (making his voice over debut) are welcome additions, the story structure has created another instance of under-utilization.  Haddish’s Daisy just appears out of nowhere to kick off Snowball’s story, but there’s no development of who she is, where she came from, how she came to hear of Snowball’s alter ego etc.  A missed opportunity.  And speaking of missing opportunities, Harrison Ford.  You get Harrison Ford people, make good use of him.  Ford’s Rooster is intriguing, but, again the lack of development and screen time left me wanting more. 

Finally, there’s the weakness of antagonists/villains times  three.  One storyline has part of life as an antagonist and the other two consists of a generalized stereotypical villain and an even more vague “them” for out protagonist to go up against.   All three ring hollow and fall a bit flat.

After all that, it may sound like The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a real dud.  While it was less than I hoped or wanted, it is entertaining, and not without its charm.  It’s a cute movie, with good action, humor, and the underlying message is relevant. I don’t regret an early viewing or seeing it at the theater.  It’s worth a viewing, especially if you have kids.  Paws down, I’m giving this one a 7.5.

 

Oh, as always, stick around for the first part of the credit sequence at least.  There’s some major cuteness and an additional scene to enjoy.