It works without elevating the genre

Film review: The Secret Life of Pets

MANILA, Philippines – Was it just me? When I saw the first trailer for The Secret Life of Pets, my immediate thought was how were the filmmakers going to keep the storyline distinct from being a Toy Story derivative?

You exchange toys with pets, plus substitute the dogs Max and Duke for Woody and Buzz, and this could practically be films moving along similar and parallel lines — concept of what are they up to when humans turn their backs and aren’t around. Coming from Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney, who were involved with Despicable Me, I really shouldn’t have worried. Even if the premise may share common ground, Secret Life has an absurdity and zaniness all its own.

Max, a terrier mix (voice of Louis C.K.), seems to have a happy life with owner Kate (Ellie Kemper). But life turns topsy-turvy when Kate brings home a rescue named Duke (Eric Stonestreet), whose size and demeanor clearly put Max at a disadvantage.

What transpires between the two dogs and the plethora of animals they encounter, both domesticated and running wild in the city, make up the frenetic, constant action of the film. There is an over-arching storyline (that competitors can actually co-exist, again, the Woody and Buzz angle); but the real magic of the film is created as vignettes and sequences involving all the assembled animals flash by to our perpetual amusement and entertainment.

Primary to the craziness that ensues is the appearance of the crazed Snowball (Kevin Hart), leader of Flushed Pets, a band of resistance rebels, out to wreak havoc and revenge on humanity ­— and not minding if some domesticated animals get caught in the proverbial crossfire.

Set in New York City, there’s a great aerial fly-through of the city to open the film. It would have us believe that we are getting the lowdown on what really happens with pets and animals as they commune among themselves to our exclusion.

It is a given that we love to anthropomorphize our pets, and Secret Life taps into this to produce hilarity and constant commotion. If I have a complaint, it would be that whereas Pixar takes pain to maintain internal story integrity, giving us its own version of morality, the people at Illumination, via the film, are more concerned with set pieces that raise the funny quotient.

Enjoyable but more as a guilty pleasure, Secret Life works without really elevating the genre.