The Secret Life of Pets
2016
**½
Director: Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney
Cast: Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Ellie Kemper, Bobby Moynihan, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Jenny Slate, Albert Brooks, Steve Coogan
A Jack Russell Terrier named Max has the perfect life with his loving owner Kate, until she decides to adopt a second dog, Duke. During their first day together, Max and Duke accidentally end up as stray dogs on the streets of New York City. This typical modern day animation delivers a safe mix of action, humour, noise, wacky characters, and a script which unashamedly rips off Pixar's flagship franchise. What the pets do when people don't see them is taken straight from Toy Story, and so is the story arc about the two heroes who see each other as competition but end up as friends. When the neighbouring pets form a group and go out to find Max, we're in the Toy Story 2 territory.
