To Illumination Studios now, taking a valiant amount of time away from the franchise which makes them the money and putting that into the sequel which, with the very best will in the world, nobody really asked for. 2016's The Secret Life Of Pets was fun. A flimsy and somewhat linear storyline, but played out by a committed voice-cast and packed with plenty of jokes for animal lovers. So where do we go from there?
PLAGUED This seems to be a question which has plagued writer Bryan Lynch as he struggles to deliver an amiable, if bare-bones, continuation of the pet-centric New York which was crafted first time round. The cast are still on great form (with the inclusion of Harrison Ford as the taciturn sheepdog, Rooster), the character animation and sets are highly polished (although Illumination's character-design for the humans is still as lacklustre as ever), and the whole thing zips along at a heady pace.
And, somewhat ironically, it's this briskness which is the film's undoing. At 86 minutes including all the end credits, this is already a short trip to the movies. But the story quickly splits into three strands (Max the terrier goes on a farm adventure, Snowball the bunny's superhero mission, Gidget the pomeranian's stealth mission) which occur almost entirely separately from each other, only tying up at the end with some strenuous narrative gymnastics. It quickly begins to feel like a trio of straight-to-DVD spinoff adventures, hastily reformatted into a movie at the 11th hour.
FAMINED That's not to say that The Secret Life Of Pets 2 isn't enjoyable (and for a U-certificate it does extremely well on the all-round laugh count), but the lack of imagination that's gone into the title*1 is a fair reflection of the screenplay. With the well of 'hey, dogs do this funny thing' gags just about run dry in the first installment, the humour here is broader slapstick and sight-gags. A fair amount of cat jokes still remain, but any threequel is going to have to think of some actual new content.
For all my grumbling, The Secret Life Of Pets 2 is actually pretty good considering its absolute lack of purpose. And with the trailer for The Queen's Corgi playing right beforehand, you just make the absolute most of the laughs wherever you can find them these days, y'know..?
*1 and while it's more of a marketing concern, check out that tagline on the poster. "They still have their secrets". What? Is that it, Terry? Have you literally written this having no knowledge of the first movie's content, but figuring you can just blag something based on the title structure alone? The 'I Still Know What You Did Last Summer of family animation? Michael Bay called, he wants you to join his scriptwriting team... [ BACK ]
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
It seems like we've waited for ages since the first teaser trailer for The Secret Life of Pets landed. I was pretty much sold on that one alone, even though it only set the tone of the comedy, leaving the plot open to speculation. So the day is finally here, and I'm even happier to report that a) all of those visual gags made the final cut and b) they're all in the first five minutes, so we get them in the context of the movie, but we're not sitting waiting for them to land (a bugbear with most comedy flicks, to be fair).
Illumination Entertainment's summer tent-pole opens with a five-minute Minions short, which is essentially a solidified slapstick episode, and exactly what the little yellow critters do best. It sets the mood well for the main event, which is consistently funny and charming in equal measure. Following the adventure of Max and Duke, an odd-couple of canines living with their owner in a Manhattan apartment-block. When they become separated from their regular life, friends and acquaintances of various species from the neighbouring apartments come together and lead a rescue mission which will take them to the mean streets of Brooklyn and back. There's action, danger, bonding and just maybe a tear or two, but above all... laughs.
The film's U-rating means that audiences of all ages should have no problem enjoying it, and the script stays well away from double-entendres that play to the older and younger crowds simultaneously. And while that's a comedic technique I certainly enjoy, I also admire the commitment to write a script which is laugh-out-loud funny for everyone, and on the same level. Between the scripted and the visual jokes, there's not a lot of downtime (and there's also the finest non-copyright-infringing Super Mario reference you'll see in any film this year).
Louis CK and Eric Stonestreet lead the pack as the squabbling dogs, backed up ably by a voice-cast as enthusiastic as the animation team. Jenny Slate, Lake Bell and Ellie Kemper coolly threaten to steal the show at any moment, as does Mr Kevin Hart*1.
If there's one weak-spot, it would be that the storyline itself feels a little linear (all the more notable since three writers are attached). The gaps are more than patched over by the constant stream of gags and character-work, but it's debatable if the film will withstand more than a couple of viewings (which could be a problem if you have small padawans who won't be as narratively critical once it hits DVD and streaming).
But, most importantly, The Secret Life of Pets is an enormous amount of fun. That's the only bar the film sets for itself, and one which it clears easily…
For the communal experience of hearing a room full of people laughing together? Sure.
It does.
Always difficult to tell with animation and voice-work, but it's a high-point for the CV, yes.
I just might.
If you don't laugh at this movie you're clearly a monster.
There certainly is.
Level 2: The Secret Life of Pets features the voice-work of Lake Bell, who starred in Man Up with Simon 'Dengar/Unkar' Pegg.
*1 Yeah, don't tell anyone that I've really enjoyed a Kevin Hart movie, okay? Don't worry, Central Intelligence comes out soon; I'm sure that will reset the scales of critical judgement…
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Back in 2012, the first Hotel Transylvania flick had its work cut out somewhat, as it was dropped into the same release slot as ParaNorman and Frankenweenie, both of which enjoyed their ghoulish heritage much more overtly, and both of which also played with heavier themes. This year, however, the Robert Smigel/Adam Sandler-penned sequel has a clear run at the box office, so how does it fare?
The answer is better than last time, if just as blandly, somehow. The main drawback seems to be that the film's 'spooky' setting is just that, rather than a technique to frame a more layered story. Primarily a comedy, the slapstick moments are well timed and executed, but the rest of the humour relies on Addams/Munsters-level punnery, much of which has been done before, elsewhere and with the tongue more firmly in the cheek. The family-audience I sat with guffawed heartily at the film's more riotous scenes, but anything calmer than those (which is the majority of the film) left them worryingly silent.
That said, the film dabbles at bringing some subtext to the party with slightly heavy-handed and faintly insincere themes of xenophobia and cross-generational relevance. They're pretty much slapped down on the table and not pondered over to deeply, but fair play to Smigel and Sandler for having them there at all. The idea that Dracula is still actually running a hotel is largely an afterthought this time round too, presumably because all of those gags were done to death in the first film. Again, credit where it's due, since I'd rather have it fleetingly referenced than a rehash of what went before. Taking the action away from the castle and into the outside world allows it to breathe more than its predecessor could.
Ultimately, Hotel Transylvania 2 doesn't do anything remotely new, but nor does it do anything too badly, which is where it scores its marks. Definitely a film for the younger crowd, there's nothing particularly spooky in there, more what a marketing committee thinks spooky should look like if you want to upset absolutely no-one. Like a Tim Burton cover-version with all the sass and the kitsch stripped away.
As harmlessly enjoyable as it all is, the film loses a point for Sony's shoehorning in of their own branded products whenever a mobile phone or television are on-screen, which is far too often. Shameful product-placement*1 (yet paradoxically shameless in its implementation).
One thing's for sure though: as Adam Sandler in the digital realm goes, the pixels of Hotel Transylvania 2 are far, far easier to stomach than the pixels of Pixels…
Oh, God no.
This is a Sunday afternoon DVD.
[Even if the words "Blu Ray Disc" are inserted into the film's script with the same deftness and subtlety as the Sony products. There's nothing here that will be lost by watching the film in standard-def.]
With the best will in the world, I should hope not.
It does.
Not really.
There isn't.
Director Genndy Tartakovsky was also the man behind the 2D-animated Star Wars: Clone Wars series.
*1 Although I'm also genuinely amazed at the Sony-film's numerous references to 'Batman' and 'Batmobile', which are owned by Warner Bros (although these are scripted lines only, there's nothing visual and no intellectual property lines are crossed).
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
