The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

[Small Man Big Horse]

An occasionally grotesque comedy film in which supposedly beloved pets treat each other horribly when humans aren't around, normally such a thing would be exactly my cup of tea but I felt it was cynically made and forced. The set pieces are often a best of collection from other, better animated movies, and parts don't quite fit in to the tone of rest of the film, like the bizarre sausage hallucination sequence. It also lacks imagination, sure, a lot takes place, but most of the jokes you can see coming a mile off, along with the predictable sad bit, and it doesn't feel natural or organic. More problematically at the end

Spoiler alert

the big villain's character is completely changed for absolutely no reason and he saves our heroes, which didn't make any sense at all.

[close]

I really wanted to like this, I'm normally easily won over by animated fare and I love a lot of the cast, but most of the time I found myself left cold sadly.

[A Car With No Doors]

Sometimes I get pissed that this was given more of a push over here than the obviously superior Zootropolis, but then I remember they're kids films and so I shouldn't get so upset.


BUT STILL, FUCK EM