cast of the secret life of pets Lake Bell movies

That’s not to say that the whole cast is wrong. It seems like there’s an episode of his show being taped off-camera where the joke is that he’s been cast in this role that’s completely wrong for him and there’s an annoying director telling him to be happier, without much success. I can’t help but feel like his more well-known persona is always poking through, even if he’s genuinely trying. So it’s jarring when he tries to play the happy-go-lucky Max in early scenes. He has made sure that we always think of him as a cynical schlub. But at least with him I can somewhat understand that his range is not limited to the genial character he plays on “Modern Family.” Louis C.K, on the other hand, has spent decades crafting a specific persona that is recognized across several mediums.

Stonestreet is too obviously likeable to play the hardened, just-got-out-of-prison Duke. The biggest problem with this movie is that the two leads are badly miscast. Max and Duke, for their part, get themselves in even more trouble by getting on the bad side of crazed hairless cat Ozone (Steve Coogan) and human-hating bunny Snowball (Kevin Hart). There’s his Pomeranian wannabe girlfriend Gidget (Jenny Slate), wisecracking cat Chloe (Lake Bell), barking bulldog Mel (Bobby Moynihan), elongated wiener dog Buddy (Hannibal Buress), reformed predator hawk Tiberius (Albert Brooks), and veteran Basset Hound Pops (Dana Carvey). Each dog feels threatened by the other, neither is good at sharing, they end up stranded together. His world is turned upside down when she brings home a rescued beast of a dog named Duke (Eric Stonestreet). The plot sees terrier Max (Louis C.K.) living a comfortable life with his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper).

But some of it is delivered well, I’ll give it that. Just like in “Toy Story.” And “ The Lego Movie.” And “The Brave Little Toaster.” And “Finding Nemo.” And “Finding Dory.” Yeah, there’s not a lot of originality in this movie. Just like in “Toy Story.” And “Inside Out.” And “The Good Dinosaur.” And “Finding Nemo.” And “Finding Dory.” But this one is also about what non-humans do when humans aren’t around. “The Secret Life of Pets” is an animated kids’ movie where two dogs don’t like each other, but they find themselves stranded and in danger, so they have to work together if they ever want to get home.

Cast of the secret life of pets Lake Bell movies