The Secret Life of Pets

We've been offered several animated films so far this year, and although they all had something to say, they just couldn't hold a candle to "The Secret Life of Pets. Even when I thought "Finding Dory" was going to be a tough act to follow, this film did, and I really liked "Finding Dory". Illumination Entertainment, who produced this film hit a gold mine in this uproarious film.

This story clearly asks the question: what do our pets do all day when we're not home? For the critters living in a Manhattan apartment building, the answer is: whatever they want! A terrier named Max (Louis C.K.) regularly invites his friends to hang out at his place while his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper) is gone, but his quiet life is upended when said owner also takes in Duke (Eric Stonestreet), a stray mutt whom Max instantly dislikes. Their feud eventually causes both of them to get lost in New York City, and as they work together to find their way home, they cross paths with a vicious bunny, Snowball (Kevin Hart) who plans to lead a group of abandoned pets on a mission of revenge against humanity
Max's friends, Gidget (Jenny Slate), Chloe (Lake Bell), Buddy (Hannibal Buress), Mel (Bobby Moynihan) and Pops (Dana Carvey) soon realize Max's disappearance and Gidget enlists reluctant hawk Tiberius (Albert Brooks) to assist in their search.

Others to round out the cast are Chris Renaud as Norman, Steve Coogan as Ozone, Michael Beattie as Tattoo, Sandra Echeverria as Maria and Jaime Camil as Fernando.

This was directed by two consummate pros in the animation field, Chris Renaud ("Despicable Me" '10, "The Lorax" '12, "Despicable Me 2" '13) plus shorts, and Yarrow Cheney (shorts). Clearly Renaud has the brunt of experience here, however Cheney is slated to direct 2018's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", whereas Renaud is slated to finish "Despicable Me 3" slated for a 2017 release. These guys are busy for a reason. The emotion they pull out of their actors almost makes them seem human as opposed to an animated character. It was brilliantly written by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio and Brian Lynch. All these guys have a heavy dose of experience and it speaks volumes with this storyline. The script was cohesive, inventive, well thought out all the while being so entertaining that I didn't want the film to end. The message here was clearly delineated: Two dogs (or could be people) meet and don't like each other. So to end up liking each other, they must go through a trial to realize that either ain't that bad after all. I typically don't like sequels, however I'd love to see what these writers could do with these characters in another scenario. Considering Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet and Kevin Hart have never performed animated voice-overs, they were naturals.

This film simply ROCKS! One and all has got to see this gem for the writing, directing, story and the quality animation. This also has got to be seen on the large, because even if you don't see it in the IMAX or 3D format, it still exudes a bigger-than-life look on the big screen. Break out the popcorn and enjoy the laughs with this one.

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                   Rated: PG                                  90mins.