The Secret Life of Pets 2 | Movie Review
How well do we really know our pets?
The Secret Life of Pets 2 is an adorable animation which is fast-paced, energetic, and provides several laughs throughout.
This sequel is not as dark as the first and is well suited to keeping the kids entertained and interested for the entire movie. You’ll see old favourites return, and some new characters introduced, as we step back into the lives of Max, the cute terrier, and his fun-loving furry friends.
We did find that it felt as though there were three separate storylines that they tried to mash together at the end. This did feel a bit clunky but it also worked in its own way.
In the first plot, we follow terrier Max (Patton Oswalt), who must learn to cope with the major life change of his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper), welcoming her new baby into the family.
There were plenty of laughs and understanding, as Max turns into a neurotic nervous wreck and becomes the ‘helicopter pet’. A trip to the countryside and some fresh air is in order, but here he must contend with strange new animals and dangers that are not found in the City.
While Max is away he’s entrusted Gidget (Jenny Slate), the fluffy Pomeranian that has a major crush on him, to look after his favourite squeaky toy, Busy Bee. There were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments when Gidget turns to her catnip induced feline neighbour, Chloe (Lake Bell), for help to rescue Busy Bee.
The third subplot was a little darker than the others but still provided the laughs. Follow Snowball the bunny (Kevin Hart), and a new addition to the gang – the fearless and sassy Shih Tzu, Daisy (Tiffany Haddish), as they embark on a dangerous rescue mission. Some of these scenes may be a little scary or confronting if your child is more on the sensitive side.
In the end, we found that The Secret Life of Pets 2 was a good family flick with a little bit of something for everyone. It’s a fun movie to get you out of the house during the upcoming winter school holidays.
Is it suitable for little kids?
The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a cute and light-hearted family movie. It’s full of fun characters that are easy to relate to and quick to love. The kids are kept entertained throughout with the bright fast-moving actions and silly jokes. There’s also adult humour thrown in, which always helps!
There is some unnecessary language thrown in such as stupid and jerk, and one character calling another character ‘pissed’. This all did seem to go above our children’s heads though and wasn’t brought up later in the family discussion about the film.
Scary bits: There was some violence in terms of kicking, ninja moves, knife throwing and being hit by a car but (as with many animations) no-one ends up seriously injured. Some sensitivity may be felt in terms of how a circus villain treats a tiger. There is also a pack of wolves which could be scary for the younger ones.
What we got from the movie was the positive message of the rewards felt when finding your inner courage to face your biggest fears.
We have good reviews and thumbs up’s from a 5-year-old and 8-year-old, who both loved The Secret Life of Pets 2 and both said they thought it was better than the first one.
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View the trailer here:
This review was written and photographed by Brooke Hendry. An Adelaide mum of 2 girls that’s always on the hunt for fun places to get her family out of the house. You can see more at Kids Play SA
For more information about the movie refer to our The Secret Life of Pets 2 post.
What: The Secret Life of Pets 2
When: In cinemas 20 June 2019
Where: Check your local cinema guide
Who: Rated PG
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
Image Source: Universal Pictures website.
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