That old phrase “when the cat’s away, the mice will play” was never more appropriate to describe a film’s premise than the animated charmer The Secret Life of Pets. The story follows a group of pets, mostly cats, dogs, a bird or two and maybe even a rabbit, who get up to no good when their owners are away at work and generally living their life outside of the home.
As The Secret Life of Pets makes its way onto DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download, the animators whose talent has shined with their work on Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2 and Minions get to shine outside of that world and give us a fresh idea for an animated flick that brings the hilarity and heart.
The voice talent could not be better cast. Louis C.K. is Max, the most loyal of terriers who believes that his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper) can do no wrong. That is, until one day she brings home an enormous mutt named Duke (Eric Stonestreet) that changes things in Max’s house forever. He thinks it’s the end of the world, but in fact, it may just be the beginning of a beautiful friendship – if he just lets his heart open up a wee bit. When the two of them find themselves lost in the big city of Manhattan, they stumble on an off-the-rails bunny (Kevin Hart) who has big plans for a pet revolution that could change the human-animal mutual love fest forever.
Also joining the voice cast powerhouse case is Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Coogan, Albert Brooks and Jenny Slate as Snowball, a character that practically steals the movie single-handedly.
Keeping it in the Illumination house is Despicable Me franchise director Chris Renaud, and as such those who adore the budding animation house’s work will find similar joys in The Secret Life of Pets. It’s an interesting concept, but let’s be clear about something, this film is not solely about what our furry and feathered friends do when we’re away. It is about so much more than that and that aspect was frankly a surprise. There’s a larger plot and scope at work here and in that way, it stretches itself a little thing… but just by a little. Max and his new mutt roommate are navigating their way through the mean streets of New York, trying not to get pulled into this pet revolution led by Hart’s bananas bunny and all the while, attempting to avoid the evil hold of animal control — which is portrayed as riotously ruthless in this film, of course still in the most humorous way.
Given the fact that the film made $834 million worldwide, we can absolutely expert more from our trusty companions in future sequels. But until then, we have some delightful bonus features from the Blu-Ray to explore.
Animals Can Talk: Meet The Actors is a terrific look at this amazing cast and how they brought their menagerie of characters to life on the big screen. How does one tackle the voice of a rabbit for instance, that is absolutely insane and has an enormous grudge against the human race? Hart enlightens us… and so much more on this insightful featurette.
The Humans that Brought You Pets finds producers Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, as well as directors Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney, and writer Brian Lynch discussing the creative process from the first inspiration to final cut that went into creating this world of The Secret Life of Pets. Especially interesting is a look at how the filmmakers crafted the non-stop action sequences that one would not expect from a film that looks at what our pets do when we’re not home.
For the aspiring animators in your house, this family movie does a huge solid to creative types the world over by presenting the bonus feature How to Make an Animated Film. We love this featurette as it doesn’t just focus on how this particular animated movie got made; it takes a behind-the-scenes look at how an animation film is created, regardless of the genre, theme, cast or artists behind it.
A couple of cads, Hart and Stonestreet, lead the featurette All About the Pets… along with animal trainer Molly Mignon O’Neill. The trio give us an education in the personality, behavioral temperament and more that each unique animal brings to our world, and thus how it is reflected throughout The Secret Life of Pets.
One of the characters that steals scenes, left and right, as we mention above, is Slate’s Snowball. That’s why we adore The Best Of Snowball, a delightful rapid-fire, hilarious and strangely effective musical stew of all of the most legendary of Snowball’s lines.
With Hairspray Live! just having aired to great success, you won’t want to miss the bonus feature Hairstylist To The Dogs. It is inspired by the live TV musical and finds Stonestreet, aided by professional dog groomer Jess Rona, giving you the tips that will make your dog’s hair look as fine as can be for their play dates, or even a simple walk in the park.
Lastly, you don’t want to miss the three new mini-movies that are a cherry-on-the-top of this home video release — Norman Television, Weenie and of course our favorite Illumination characters return in the delightful Mower Minions.
Film Grade: B
Bonus Features: A-