If you’re fed up with the miserable weather and the fallout from the Brexit debacle, then grab yourself some kids and head on down to the cinema for guaranteed smiles.
The Secret Life of Pets, from the folks who bought you “Despicable me”, is bound to make all those who are young at heart laugh – whether you are a dog or a cat person or prefer small fluffies, birds of prey or even lizards and crocodiles. And the action just keeps on going so the little ones will be glued to the screen throughout. Mind you, parents are likely to receive a barrage of requests for pets as they leave the cinema.
The movie starts by introducing the main characters – small terrier dog Max with his owner Katie and neighbours Gidget (a small fluffy white dog), Chloe (the original fat cat), Sweetpea (a fearless budgie), Buddy the dachshund and Mel the dopey pug,
It’s fun seeing the pets get up to when their owners go to work – raiding the fridge, barking at squirrels outside, watching soap operas and partying.
The story starts when Katie introduces large rescue mutt Duke to the family and things kick off. Max and Duke get lost on the streets, captured by animal control, join a gang of “flushed away pets” (including a tattooed pig and a driving lizard) in the sewers and start a war with that gang as they try to get home.
Meanwhile, Gidget mounts a rescue mission enlisting Tiberius the hawk. There were numerous subtle references to various famous films – particularly the underwater rescue.
The music is fantastic, from the contemporary (“Happy”) to the decidedly old school (“Staying Alive” and “Lovely day”) via some old Grease favourites in the sausage factory. The movie opens to Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York” with some stunning flyover drone-like images of the city and Central Park.
Each of the characters was adorable in its own way. I admit that I had a particular soft spot for Leonard the posh punk poodle. And, for a change, small white fluffy heroes fought on both sides – girl dog Gidget for the good and Snowball the boy rabbit for the sometimes bad.
http://www.thesecretlifeofpets.co.uk/
And, from the trailers, it looks like it’ll be a bumper year for family films:
• Storks (all about a baby factory)
• Nine Lives (a workaholic dad – Kevin Spacey - is turned into a cat to reconnect with his family)
• Kubo Two Strings (a male version of Mulan)
• Steven Speilberg’s The BFG (Big Friendly Giant)
• Another instalment of the Ice Age franchise – Collision Course (with UFOs)
• And, of course, the one we are all waiting for - “Finding Dory”
