The Secret Life of Pets 2 - Review
Director: Chris Renaud
Cast: Patton Oswalt, Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Jenny Slate, Harrison Ford
Three years after the financially successful The Secret Life of Pets (it grossed nearly $900 million worldwide), its sequel has hit our screens, but has it managed to expand on its intriguing gimmick and mine a story that warrants its existence?
Jack Russell terrier Max's (Oswalt) life experiences an upheaval after his owner gets married and has a baby. This shift causes a wave of neuroses in the canine which he is forced to confront on a trip to the countryside. Back in the city, Max's friends find themselves embroiled in all manners of hijinks.
Many of our favourite characters from the first instalment return but the sequel also offers a host of fresh and furry faces voiced by big-name talent. Comedian Tiffany Haddish jumps on board as Daisy, a boisterous and thrill-seeking Shih Tzu who teams up with Hart's Snowball to save white tiger Hu. Arguably, cinematic icon Harrison Ford is the most notable recruit; In his first animated role, Ford plays Rooster, a macho Welsh sheepdog who Max encounters on his countryside retreat and attempts to ease his anxieties.
Max's story and emotional journey is positioned as the film's prominent concern but more often that not, The Secret Life of Pets 2 feels like a culmination of a series of animated shorts rather than a cohesive narrative. As Max wrestles with his demons on the farm, Daisy and Snowball attempt to save Hu from an abusive circus owner whilst Gidget channels her inner feline to infiltrate a hoard of cats and retrieve a prized toy belonging to Max. The film jumps around these separate stories, occasionally lingering too long on one that we begin to forget that the others exist. Eventually, all of our central characters collide in an action-packed finale that doesn't quite align with the tone that was previously set.
Whilst The Secret Life of Pets 2 is lesser than the sum of its parts, its perky energy and irresistible humour will keep audiences amused and entertained.
EB
Cast: Patton Oswalt, Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Jenny Slate, Harrison Ford
Three years after the financially successful The Secret Life of Pets (it grossed nearly $900 million worldwide), its sequel has hit our screens, but has it managed to expand on its intriguing gimmick and mine a story that warrants its existence?Jack Russell terrier Max's (Oswalt) life experiences an upheaval after his owner gets married and has a baby. This shift causes a wave of neuroses in the canine which he is forced to confront on a trip to the countryside. Back in the city, Max's friends find themselves embroiled in all manners of hijinks.
Many of our favourite characters from the first instalment return but the sequel also offers a host of fresh and furry faces voiced by big-name talent. Comedian Tiffany Haddish jumps on board as Daisy, a boisterous and thrill-seeking Shih Tzu who teams up with Hart's Snowball to save white tiger Hu. Arguably, cinematic icon Harrison Ford is the most notable recruit; In his first animated role, Ford plays Rooster, a macho Welsh sheepdog who Max encounters on his countryside retreat and attempts to ease his anxieties.
Max's story and emotional journey is positioned as the film's prominent concern but more often that not, The Secret Life of Pets 2 feels like a culmination of a series of animated shorts rather than a cohesive narrative. As Max wrestles with his demons on the farm, Daisy and Snowball attempt to save Hu from an abusive circus owner whilst Gidget channels her inner feline to infiltrate a hoard of cats and retrieve a prized toy belonging to Max. The film jumps around these separate stories, occasionally lingering too long on one that we begin to forget that the others exist. Eventually, all of our central characters collide in an action-packed finale that doesn't quite align with the tone that was previously set.
Whilst The Secret Life of Pets 2 is lesser than the sum of its parts, its perky energy and irresistible humour will keep audiences amused and entertained.
EB
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