Quality Children's Entertainment Family Movie Reviews

The Secret Life of Pets 2 – Love, love love this movie! Everything about it is Dog-tastic!

Max the terrier must cope with some major life changes when his owner gets married and has a baby. When the family takes a trip to the countryside, nervous Max has numerous run-ins with canine-intolerant cows, hostile foxes and a scary turkey. Luckily for Max, he soon catches a break when he meets Rooster, a gruff farm dog who tries to cure the lovable pooch of his neuroses. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Selene W. comments, “Love, love, love this movie!  Can’t wait to see it again this Friday.  This film is absolutely hysterical. Both the audience and I laughed throughout the screening.  Everything about this film is dog-tastic, from the screenwriting to the art, animation, sound, special effects and characters.” KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Katherine S. adds, “I absolutely love this family-friendly animated sequel. It has so many superstar voice actors and the animation is dramatic and ingenious. The creators introduce new zany and lovable characters.” Kendall M. wraps it up with, “The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a phenomenal, all-around fantastic movie. The film is enjoyable and puts a smile on your face. It’s a movie for everyone to enjoy with their friends and families. The movie has different aspects to it. It is also cool to see how the pets interact with each other and seeing how they work together as a team.” See their full reviews below.

The Secret Life of Pets 2
By Selene W., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Age 11

Love, love, love this movie!  Can’t wait to see it again this Friday.  This film is absolutely hysterical. Both the audience and I laughed throughout the screening.  Everything about this film is dog-tastic, from the screenwriting to the art, animation, sound, special effects and characters.

(from left) Duke (Eric Stonestreet), Liam and Max (Patton Oswalt) in Illumination’s “The Secret Life of Pets 2,” directed by Chris Renaud.

Secret Life of Pets 2 continues with the story of Max and Duke, but this time Katie gets married and has a son named Liam. At first, Max doesn’t really like having Liam around, because he never leaves him alone. Then they start to bond. Max starts to really care about Liam and vows to protect him. Katie decides to take a family trip to a farm and this introduces a whole new cast of characters and funny situations on the farm.  Max meets Rooster, a brave dog who rules the farm and teaches Max how to handle a lot of his issues.  Meanwhile, back in New York City, all of Max and Duke’s pet friends continue with their crazy antics, including rescuing a white tiger from the circus and Chloe helps transforming Gidget into a cat, to get out of a messy situation.  My favorite character is Snowball, the white rabbit. His superhero scenes rescuing the tiger with his new pal Daisy are hysterical. 

Max’s voice is portrayed by Patton Oswalt and Duke is, once again, performed by Eric Stonestreet. The introduction of Rooster, voiced by Harrison Ford, adds a lot of depth and meaning to Max’s outlook and the film.  The animation is breathtaking, from the first scenes in Central Park, to the various scenes around the farm. The cast are all very talented portraying their various vocal roles. Brian Lynch’s screenplay pulls it all together, with amazing humor for every character.

(from left) Chloe (Lake Bell) and her owner in Illumination’s “The Secret Life of Pets 2,” directed by Chris Renaud.

The message of this film is to be brave and embrace change.  Max worries about the changes a baby will bring to his family, but learns to love Liam and become his best friend. Max continues to learn about changes at the farm and how to deal with them, as Rooster advises, “Some stuff happens and then it’s over.”  Accept and move on, because change can be positive.

I rate this movie 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 3 to 18, but adults will enjoy it as well as evidenced by all of the audience laughter.  This movie opens in theaters June 7, 2019. Look for it!

The Secret Life of Pets 2
By Katherine S., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 11

I absolutely love this family-friendly animated sequel. It has so many superstar voice actors and the animation is dramatic and ingenious. The creators introduce new zany and lovable characters.

Max (Patton Oswalt) grapples with some pre-exam anxiety at the veterinarian in Illumination’s “The Secret Life of Pets 2,” directed by Chris Renaud.

The Secret Life of Pets 2 is about a bunch of New York city pets and their daily adventures – from parks to farms and more – while their owners are away at work. The writers are very creative.  They are successful intertwining different stories throughout the entire movie. For example, when Max and Duke get a new kid named Liam, they take a trip out to a farm where they meet a new character named Rooster. Snowball meets a darling new friend named Daisy and the two of them save a white tiger named Hu.  My favorite part is when Pops is doing puppy school.

The best thing about this film is that you don’t have to see the previous movie to enjoy the sequel. I think The Secret Life of Pets 2 blows The Secret Life of Pets out of the water with its incredible music and star-studded cast. The voice actors include Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Harrison Ford and Eric Stonestreet.

Snowball (Kevin Hart) in Illumination’s The Secret Life of Pets 2, directed by Chris Renaud.

The messages in The Secret Life of Pets 2 are: It is okay to be afraid and 2. Teamwork is important. Note that it does have some mild violence, a couple fight scenes and some chase scenes. There are a few risky things that kids might try to imitate such as running into forests unsupervised, fighting wolfs and saving a wild animal. But, really, it’s pretty tame.

I give this film 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 6 to 15, as well as adults. I highly recommend this to all pet lovers. This film opens in theaters June 7, 2019 so look for it.

The Secret Life of Pets 2
By Kendall M., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 14

The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a phenomenal, all-around fantastic movie. The film is enjoyable and puts a smile on your face. It’s a movie for everyone to enjoy with their friends and families. The movie has different aspects to it. It is also cool to see how the pets interact with each other and seeing how they work together as a team.

(from left) Max (Patton Oswalt), Duke (Eric Stonestreet) and Liam in Illumination’s “The Secret Life of Pets 2,” directed by Chris Renaud.

The storyline is about different pets going on adventures and exploring New York City. The protagonist Max goes through changes in his life, when his owner gets married and has a child. On the other hand, a cute bunny named Snowball and a puppy Daisy go on a crazy adventure saving a tiger from an evil circus owner. The movie has crazy, funny jaw-dropping moments that you don’t want to miss.

(from left) Hu, Max (Patton Oswalt), Daisy (Tiffany Haddish) and Snowball (Kevin Hart) in Illumination’s “The Secret Life of Pets 2,” directed by Chris Renaud.

Some of the highlights of this are the cast and storyline. Big ups to writer Brian Lynch for a great screenplay. The message of the film is to always look out for each other, not just family and friends, but others we may not know. In this movie, these pets always have each others’ backs and really look out for one another. As human beings, we should do a better job of that, especially in our society. It would make the world a better place.

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 to18, as well as adults. Note that it  has some rude humor. It opens in theaters nationwide June 7, 2019.

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