Peps' Movie Wrap-up: The Secret Life of Pets

http://despicableme.wikia.com/wiki/The_Secret_Life_of_PetsI would have chosen something else to watch, but I needed to get an energetic toddler to sit still for more than few minutes so I could recoup my energy. So... The Secret Life of Pets, it is.

In truth, I expected she would tire of it in mere minutes (I still haven't finished The Good Dinosaur after two months of numerous attempts) and be running off to do heaven-knows-what out of sight. But surprisingly, The Secret Life of Pets kept her entertained, bar several minutes when her uncles arrived from work. It kept me entertained, too, because I ended up finishing it in more or less one sitting.

When owners leave their homes, they don't realize that their pets lead their own lives behind closed doors. Sure, Max, might be content to just wait for his owner Katie to come home, but he also has friends who come over to chat. Pets find ways to entertain themselves, with some even hosting parties while their owners are away. They gossip and play together. And they give each other advice, which Max seeks from neighbor cat Chloe when Katie's new adopted dog Duke starts taking over their apartment. Max and Duke clash, leading to an unfortunate event that gets them caught by animal control. In an effort to get back to Katie, however, they run into Snowball the Rabbit and his group the Flushed Pets, and things get from bad to worse.

The Secret Life of Pets is meant to be populated with characters who have big personalities. Chief among them is Snowball, who is about as crazy as he is cute. Among Max's friends, it's easy enough to remember pomeranian Gidget, who has a crush on Max and assembles their friends when she notices that he didn't come home after his walk with the others, and Chloe the cat, who has enormous appetite for chicken and sarcasm. There's also Tiberius the hawk, who always has to curb his predatory instincts so he doesn't end up eating his companions. The rest of Max's friends and Flushed Pet members, however, I could only refer to as what type of animal or what breed of dog they were. My lack of attention to detail is attributed mostly to keeping a toddler from jumping off the couch every time a scene excited her, and various chores I had to take care of every now and then while the film ran.

At its core, The Secret Life of Pets is an adventure film. Max and Duke, without their collars after a bad meeting with stray cats, can be easily considered strays themselves. They are far from the comforts of their apartment home and their owner, Katie, could very well come home to find them gone at the end of the day. So, they scramble to find their way back, but, not only do they have to evade animal control before they reach their destination, they also have to outrun the Flushed Pets, who are out for revenge. Their journey takes them to different parts of New York, while their friends from their neighborhood tries to find them. The film tackles friendship, acceptance and even grief. There's a lot to overcome, especially when it comes to the crazy that Snowball dishes out throughout the film.

The Secret Life of Pets was fun to watch, but I didn't end up giving it the must-watch label. The characters were colorful, the comedy easy to appreciate and the adventure was interesting to watch unfold, but there's a bit of predictability to how it all plays out. While they were fun to watch as the movie was playing, it's hard not to comment on how cliched the characters can be after the credits have rolled. This is probably a movie that I would watch only if the little one asks for it specifically or if I encounter it playing on cable... but not necessarily something I would seek out to revisit in the future.

Moderately fun viewing with this one.

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