While an action set-piece, with a van hanging off a bridge and a character traversing the cracking windshield, is straight out of The Lost World: Jurassic Park.Parents need to know that The Secret Life of Pets 2 is the sequel to the 2016 animated comedy about what pets do when their humans aren't home. A dream sequence in a sausage factory recalls Homer Simpson’s time spent in the Land Of Chocolate. Spotting the steals almost becomes a game - a subplot about Duke’s old owner, complete with flashback, plays like the When She Loved Me sequence in Toy Story 2. See also Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear from Toy Story 3, the Woodland Critters from South Park and, possibly the most famous, Monty Python’s Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog - also a fluffy white bunny. Here the film falls into familiarity again - the cute character who turns out to be vicious has long since stopped being surprising. They manage to escape, but become marked for death by the leader, Snowball (Kevin Hart) - a fluffy white bunny with psychotic tendencies. The duo are ingratiated into the group (on the pretence they killed their owner), but are soon discovered. Max is instantly jealous, and when Duke overhears him trying to persuade Katie to stick to one animal (although all she hears is barking - he’s a dog) the two of them clash, beginning a battle of one-upmanship that escalates until they’re both collarless and in the clutches of New York’s animal control.Įnter the villains: a group of abandoned animals, the ‘Flushed Pets’, who stage an assault on the animal control van to rescue a colleague, freeing Max and Duke in the process. Duke (Eric Stonestreet) is the interloper - a giant Newfoundland from the pound. Max (Louis CK) is the established pet, a Jack Russell who’s lived with his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper) since he was a puppy.

But the set-up isn’t handled as smartly - both Max and Duke behave so poorly, it’s difficult to feel sympathy for either of them. The similarities to Toy Story, beyond even that initial premise, are pronounced - from the colourful characters in the group they leave behind, to the murderous villains they encounter, and even the idea their owners are unaware of their secret lives. Despite falling into familiarity, it’s a likable film.

Secret life of pets movie times