Three of the genres that the summer film season holds is the of the big-budget, high adrenaline, visual effects packed films, horror films and the animated films. These are for the teenage, young adult and kids out there no longer in school. There are other films, however this is the brunt of them. When "The Secret Life of Pets" was released in 2016, it was amazingly well thought out and very funny film. It profited so much that Illumination Animation Studios had to produce "The Secret Life of Pets 2" as a very clever, funny follow up to an already film franchise ready to please its audiences.
This story is, like the original film of 2016, about the lives our pets lead once the owner leaves for work or school. What do these animals do? This gives us another scenario at the hijinks of these pets who are friends.
Max (Patton Oswalt) faces some major changes after his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper) gets married and now has a child. On a family trip to the countryside, Max and Duke (Eric Stonestreet) meets a farm dog named Rooster (Harrison Ford) and both he and Max attempt to overcome Max's fears. Meanwhile, Gidget (Jenny Slate) tries to rescue Max's favorite toy from a cat-packed apartment, and Snowball (Kevin Hart) and Daisy (Tiffany Haddish) sets on a mission to free a white tiger named Hu from a circus run by a tyrannical owner, Sergei (Nick Kroll)
Others to round out the cast are Lake Bell as Chloe, Dana Carvey as Pops, Bobby Moynihan as Mel, Hannibal Buress as Buddy and Pete Holmes as Chuck, Katie's husband.
This was wittily directed by seasoned veteran, Chris Renaud ("Despicable Me" '10, "The Lorax" '12, "Despicable Me 2" '13, "The Secret Life of Pets" '16) plus video shorts and co-drector Jonathan del Val (animation dept.). Obviously, Renaud has the directing experience here, however, with the animation dept. experience Val comes from, he will probably graduate into that elusive director's chair given more experience. Surely Val had important input with this, but Renaud is the consummate pro that is truly a filmmaker that knows how to get his actors to emit the characterizations as they did, especially since their faces aren't in front of the camera. It was equally written cleverly and deftly by Brian Lynch ("Big Helium Dog" '99, "Hop" '11, "Puss in Boots" (story) '11, "Minions" '15, "The Secret Life of Pets" '16) based on characters created by Lynch. As with the original film, this is just as witty, well-thought out and extremely funny. Usually, sequels aren't as well thought out or executed as well as its predecessor, but since this was written by the same writer, I figured it would be a shoe-in, and I was correct. At first, between the three distinct storylines within the plot, I wondered if these were going to connect since they were all so different, but as the story continued to unfold, I was simply amazed how effortlessly they all connected and by films' end, it was all incredibly wrapped up. Saying this doesn't spoil the story--it has to end well, however how it gets there is funny and clever. The continuity and cohesiveness of this script is awesome. Others screenwriters could take lessons from this consummate writer. As far as the animation created by Illumination Mac Guff Animation Studios, it was seamless and simply amazed me.
One doesn't need to see the original to appreciate this or 'get it', but if you've never seen the first installment, it is a must see. As said prior, this is just as brilliantly put together as its predecessor, and with this, go see this and enjoy the fun escapism this provides. It's the quintessential summer fun flick. Enjoy this gem--I know I did!
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: PG 86mins.
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