The Secret Life of Pets 2 Movie Review
Max and pals go on rescue missions that challenge and test them.
In The Secret Life of Pets 2, terrier Max must accept a new family member and gain self-confidence while his pals have separate adventures. Does it all really tie together? Read Kidzworld’s movie review.
By: Lynn Barker
In The Secret Life of Pets 2, terrier Max’s (voice of Patton Oswalt) life changes when his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper) gets married and has a baby named Liam. Jealousy turns to overprotection making Max a nervous wreck. On a family trip to the countryside, Max meets confident farm dog Rooster (Harrison Ford) who helps him overcome his fears. Meanwhile, in the city, doggie Gidget (Jenny Slate) needs to reclaim Max's fave toy from a cat-infested apartment and bunny Snowball meets new canine friend Daisy (Tiffany Haddish) and goes into superhero mode on a mission to free Hu, a white tiger cub, from a circus.
The Secret Life of Pets 2 Trailer
Gidget and her toy rescue posseCourtesy of Universal Studios
New Additions
In the last movie, sweet terrier Max freaked when owner Katie brought home huge shaggy pooch Duke (Eric Stonestreet). Now the two are best buds but their world is rocked when Katie marries Chuck (Pete Holmes) and has a baby. At first Max feels displaced and the baby pulls his ears. Later, he thinks little Liam is “his” kid and is overprotective to the point of scratching nervously.
Katie takes Max to the vet for his scratchingCourtesy of Universal Studios
Sensing a vacay from the city would benefit everyone, Katie and Chuck take the dogs and baby to visit a country uncle but Max is even more freaked when an aggressive turkey chases him and he and Duke have to sleep outside.
Max begins to like baby LiamCourtesy of Universal Studios
City Adventures
Before leaving for the country, Max had asked fluffy Pomeranian Gidget to watch over his fave squeaky toy Busy Bee. Of course she loses it and it bounces into the apartment of a crazy, over-stocked cat lady. How can Gidget enter cat central, get the toy back and not be mauled?
Superhero Captain SnowballCourtesy of Universal Studios
At the same time, bunny Snowball (Kevin Hart) loves being dressed by owner Molly as a superhero and when he gets a “rep” for aiding animals in trouble, Shih Tzu Daisy (Tiffany Haddish) asks him to help her rescue Hu, a white tiger cub, from evil circus owner Sergei (Nick Kroll).
Daisy wants Snowball to rescue a tigerCourtesy of Universal Studios
Adventures Escalate
Farm Dog Rooster realizes Max is afraid of everything while affable Duke fits in fine. When Duke accidentally frees sheep from their pen and lamb Cotton wanders off, Rooster insists that Max accompany him to find and return the lamb. Max is terrified but goes along ending up finding the courage to risk his life to rescue the endangered sheep. In the city, Snowball and Daisy see tiger Hu abused by the circus owner and have to brave scary wolf guards to set him free.
Daisy and Snowball ask Pops to let Hu stayCourtesy of Universal Studios
Of course Hu follows them so they take him to stay temporarily with elderly basset hound Pops (Dana Carvey) who is busy training puppies to be more doglike. Gidget enlists fat cat Chloe (Lake Bell) to teach her how to pose as a cat so she can infiltrate and bring Max’s toy home. She learns well and successfully enters cat lady’s apartment.
Chloe and friends teach Gidget to be a catCourtesy of Universal Studios
Outcome?
Will Max gain enough self-confidence to be less overprotective and love little Liam but let him grow up? Can he help his animal pals with their own dangerous missions? Will Gidget be successful in getting Max’s toy back and escaping the cat lady’s lair? Can Snowball, Daisy and friends avoid the guard wolves and evil Sergei to keep tiger Hu safe?
Rooster lets Max and Duke know who is bossCourtesy of Universal Studios
Wrapping Up
The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a fast-paced and funny animated adventure still answering the question…I wonder what my pet is doing and thinking while I’m not watching? This time it’s a whole lot more than we can really believe adventure-wise but the funny action is still successfully based on the true behavior of most pets. The movie also examines how we feel about a new baby bro or sis by having little Max go through various stages of acceptance.
Chloe throws up a morning hairballCourtesy of Universal Studios
A theme of conquering fear goes through the three stories presented here as Max conquers his anxiety and learns bravery, Gidget must find the courage to infiltrate enemy territory and Snowball has to save an abused animal. It’s a little distracting to jump from one storyline to the other and this may annoy some audience members but the filmmakers do a bizarre but okay job of having all these adventures dovetail together.
Tiger Hu loves rescuer MaxCourtesy of Universal Studios
Harrison Ford, in his first animated voice role, does a great job of voicing strong, take no foolishness farm dog Rooster even if his voice is so distinctive that you picture the actor in your head every time he speaks.
Rooster controls crazy farm turkeyCourtesy of Universal Studios
The movie manages to be bigger and more action-packed than the first film and even if the action is presented in three different storylines, the charm and relatability of a film about what our pets are really doing and thinking behind our backs (and sometimes in our faces) is still evident. We award four stars.
The Secret Life of Pets 2 Movie Review: 
See The Secret Life of Pets 2 in theaters Friday, June 7th!
Talk About Your Pets!
Do you suspect that your pet is plotting his or her own fun behind your back at times? What has your pet done that you want to share with us? What character from Secret Life of Pets movies do you like best and why? Tell us with a comment and/or on your profile page.
