The 2016 film The Secret Life of Pets was a surprise hit, charming audiences with its quirky humor and endearing portrayal of our furry companions’ secret antics when humans are away. It was a delightful and funny adventure set in New York City, enjoyed by both kids and adults alike. It seemed like a standalone story, neatly wrapped up. However, in Hollywood, success often begets sequels, and The Secret Life of Pets 2 arrived, aiming to recapture the magic.
Unfortunately, The Secret Life of Pets 2 serves as a prime example of why sequels aren’t always a good idea, especially when the original story felt complete. While it brings back the beloved voice cast – Patton Oswalt taking over as the anxious Max, Eric Stonestreet as the lovable but dim Duke, Lake Bell as the sardonic Chloe, and Jenny Slate as the energetic Gidget – the film struggles to deliver the same level of warmth, humor, and engaging storytelling as its predecessor. This time, the narrative splits into three separate storylines, which, while attempting to offer variety, ultimately dilute the cohesive charm of the original.
The plotlines are as follows: Max and Duke go on a trip to a farm with their family and encounter Rooster, a tough Welsh Sheepdog voiced by Harrison Ford. Simultaneously, Gidget embarks on a mission to retrieve Max’s favorite toy from a house overrun with cats, requiring her to hilariously impersonate one. Lastly, Snowball, voiced by Kevin Hart, embraces a superhero persona and teams up with Daisy (Tiffany Haddish) to rescue a tiger cub from an abusive circus owner (Nick Kroll).
While these individual threads have moments of amusement, the fragmented structure weakens the overall impact. The camaraderie that was central to the first film is significantly diminished by separating the characters. While some jokes land well and may entertain younger viewers, the humor generally feels less sharp and memorable. The Gidget and Chloe subplot in the cat-filled house provides some fun moments, but the Snowball and Daisy storyline feels largely forgettable. However, the most significant issues lie within Max’s storyline, which is surprisingly the film’s primary focus.
Max’s farm adventure suffers from remarkably slow pacing. His central conflict revolves around his heightened anxiety after his owners have a baby, for whom he feels overly protective. He’s even taken to a pet psychiatrist. While the concept of animal psychiatry can be humorous, the film leans heavily into portraying the clinic’s patients as eccentric and borderline crazy. One particularly strange and unsettling gag involves a pair of cats who ominously chant “we start fires” while staring blankly at the camera. The humor here feels off-key, more unsettling than genuinely funny.
Adding to the questionable messaging, Max is fitted with a cone to curb his nervous scratching. Rooster, the farm dog, embodies a hyper-masculine persona, ridiculing Max for wearing the cone and advocating for a “tougher” approach to dealing with anxiety. Rooster’s philosophy, which essentially boils down to telling Max to simply suppress his fears, feels out of place and potentially sends a problematic message. In a time when mental health awareness is crucial, suggesting that overcoming anxiety is merely a matter of being “tougher” is not only simplistic but also potentially harmful, especially in a children’s film. While children’s movies often depict characters overcoming fears, these fears are usually external conflicts, not internal struggles like anxiety, and they certainly aren’t typically mocked for those feelings.
Beyond the questionable handling of Max’s anxiety arc, The Secret Life of Pets 2 simply lacks the spark of originality that made the first film so enjoyable. Despite having the same writing and directing team, the sequel feels formulaic, relying on tired tropes and predictable plot devices. The metaphors feel heavy-handed, and the overall narrative lacks excitement. During a public screening, the audience, filled with children, remained unusually quiet and restless throughout, a telling sign that the film struggles to hold their attention. This subdued audience reaction speaks volumes, suggesting that The Secret Life of Pets 2 is better suited for streaming at home rather than a trip to the cinema. Clocking in at a mere 86 minutes, the film ironically feels much longer due to its sluggish pacing and unengaging segments. While it offers a few fleeting laughs, The Secret Life of Pets 2 unfortunately often embodies the very things a children’s film should strive to avoid: boredom and questionable messaging.
