This will be best for younger viewers, and the short film beforehand, “Mower Minions,” is tailor made for that demographic: lots of slapstick-y humor from those little yellow characters, lots of visual gags, not so much on the emotional depth or nuance. The story, about a pair of dogs who don’t get along crossing paths with a gang of human-hating animals and trying to get back home to their owner, is pretty standard stuff. In comparison with other family summer fare like “Finding Dory” or “The BFG,” “Pets” just isn’t that creative. But those are the kind of cute images offered up by “The Secret Life of Pets,” which plays to animal lovers in the audience without offering up much original story.
What do your pets dare to do when you’re not around? In reality, it’s probably not playing video games, receiving massages from kitchen mixers, or breaking into your refrigerator and eating your roast chicken. But the story itself is mostly unremarkable, and its narrative shortcuts will annoy parents. ‘The Secret Life of Pets’ has a number of cute moments that will be familiar and comforting for those who love their dogs, cats, birds, or other animals. Some wild party scenes from the pets’ perspective, some bullying, a few characters die off-screen, some bathroom humor (including jokes about defecating and pets being fixed), and a lecherous character who calls another his girlfriend, even though his feelings aren’t returned. Some cartoon violence, including fistfights, numerous car crashes, the threat of drowning, an initiation ritual that includes a snakebite, and a ruse where pets pretend they killed their masters to get in good with the other group.
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