Why did I even went to see this animation when Suicide Squads just premiered?!
Once again, rotten tomatoes lead me astray: a 20% for Suicide Squad vs 70% for TSLofP. I decided to go with the critics. How wrong I was..
The second reason was Louie CK. I'm a big fan and I know he only takes on passion projects so it should be good.
Let me start by saying that the animation is amazing as you can see from the trailer. The NY seems realistic and complex to me, and it must have been a huge undertaking. The pets are funny and interesting and while not life-like, you can totally imagine them as real animals. The colors are bright and everything si cute.
But, does this matter all that much?
I think not, nowadays animations are AWESOME but the story is what really makes the difference between a FLOP and a HIT.
The intro is the best part: we see various pets and their owners and we are introduced to our hero: MAX.
Max is all you might expect from a dog: in love with his owner, and his whole life spins around her. When she is out for work [ "where does she go every day? what can she possibly do?! MAX wonders ] he await her return for hours. It's all very sweet and also a bit sad, and maybe creepy.
That the dogs refer to the owners are owners, can be any other way but weird?
But, his living block is full of life and not all pets are as patient as MAX. When the owners leave, they do...stuff. Party, talking, fun.
We are introduced to his friends: dogs, a cat, a lost hamster forever looking for his home.
The crux of the movie starts when Katie, his owner, brings home a dog from the shelter. It's a HUGE, HAIRY dog that stirs jealousy in Max. Needless to say, they don't get along.
As Max tries to get rid of him, the dog (Duke) tries to do the same with Max and as a result they both get lost and eventually found by an underground [ literally, they live in the sewers ] gang of abandoned animals. Their leader?
Snowball, a psychotic rabbit, some sort of Joker of the animals. He's small, fluffy and wants to get his revenge on the human race. He's also incredibly funny and steals every scene- voiced by Kevin Hart, who finally did something I like.
The underground world is very different and the colors are a bit darker, and although their stories are mostly sad- we're talking about abandoned, forgotten pets - they are a band of misfits that seems to have a good time bringing down humanity.
There's : a tattooed pig [ was used for practicing at a tattoo shop then discarded ], a sacred viper, a crocodile! And many more.
That's the best part of the movie really, a lot of interesting pets appear, as long as they don't have much screen time, they shine. When they do...it falters.
So the whole movie is this race of max and duke to escape the gang, the animal control and get back home while in the same time his friends at home try to find them, save them and bring them home.
When they finally intersect, all the pets realize that more or less they should all be friends and good wins and we can all be happy.
The movie ends with the return of the owners in various apartments and the happiness of the pets at their arrival.
Again, a bit creepy.[yet, maybe true, my dog is happy to see me every time! ]
So, it's a movie about pets that delivers EXACTLY what you might expect from the trailer. Nothing more: with the exception of some funny gags, there is nothing that could be called creativity or innovation.
But also, it lacks soul. Even the most emotionally-charged moments feel counterfeited and hollow. I remember a scene from ToyStory3 when I almost cried, and everyone around me was crying. That's what emotion in animation should feel like.
Here... we're all numbed with a half-smile on our faces. Are we supposed to care for these animated pets?
In conclusion, it's a nice average movie that pushed its boring journey to the ending we all expect. For me, a big disappointment.
Should have seen Suicide Squad.
75% on Rotten Tomato?! Noup. The wisdom of crowds failed this one!
60% and that's because the rabbit stole the show.