The Secret Life Of Pets (2016) Dir: Chris Renaud
- Ridley Coote
- Aug 9
- 2 min read
Instagram post:
Talking animal films tend to be either good fun or downright terrible, and, as far as I am concerned, it's far more often the second of those two options. This one, an animated family adventure directed by Chris Renaud, wasn't exactly high on my watchlist, but an evening of boredom beckoned it through my doors.
The animation was pretty standard, which may not be a compliment, but it's also better than being substandard, so take it as you will. I have certainly seen much better looking animated films, including from Illumination, who produced this. The soundtrack didn't much inspire me either, it felt very rinse-and-repeat from other films in the family genre.
The story was simple, yet somehow still very forgettable. At it's core, it was the same basic makeup as so many other animal-based family films. It was mildly funny, but not overly so. It made so many of the same, tired jokes as films of the same ilk. The characters weren't even that compelling - I felt no attachment to any of them, which is impressive coming from an animal lover.
The film starred the controversial Louis C.K. whose performance was anything but notable, unlike some of the allegations made against him. The likes of Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, and Albert Brooks, evidently tried to bring the story to life with the vocal performances, but they were swimming upstream the whole time. Truth be told there was not a whole lot to shout about from the cast.
Overall, I would classify this family film as light entertainment at best. In truth, it was entirely unremarkable. It felt like a pretty lazy piece of corporate cinema designed to satisfy the widest net possible, in order to make as much profit as possible. This is not what cinema is about. Films like this bore me immensely. It lacked creativity, and, even though nothing about it was inherently bad, it failed to keep me engaged or satisfied.
Comments