Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures have had luck with short films that star popular characters from their franchises; most notably those minions from the Despicable Me series. This success with the short-form platform is experimented with in The Secret Life of Pets 2, the feature-length sequel to 2016’s hit family film.
Illumination Entertainment’s featherlight The Secret Life of Pets will surely entertain families. The vibrant animals and the large-scale chases will delight youngsters, and adults – who may already be prepared to count down the minutes – will find strange gratification from hearing R-rated comedians lend their vocals to cute animals.
Like a near-death experience, I can recall the exact moment when I first watched the trailer for Underdogs. The shabby preview – exchanging comedic pacing and intelligence for celebrity vocals that didn’t match the animation and a stupid premise – almost eclipsed the train wreck that followed it (Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2).