DC League of Super-Pets did not have the best marketing leading up to its release. Many of the jokes in the trailer consisted of low-brow humor and painstaking similarities to Secret Life of Pets. Low-brow humor can possess comedic value (see Dumb & Dumber) but within the advertising of this animated movie, a dog using the restroom felt tiresome as a joke. What will surprise audiences is DC League of Super-Pets is cleverer than it appears, within the animated film are jokes that cut deep into DC lore and a story that is rather endearing about adopting animals.
With pet adoption as its backdrop, the animated film finds a small emotional hook. And while some elements are underwhelming, such as the approach to the animation, the new DC animated movie might serve as training wheels for children entering superhero fandom. If Goosebumps is a gateway for kids discovering horror, this movie can serve as a gateway for children to eventually find their way to heroic dramas like The Dark Knight.
The film centers on Krypto (Dwayne Johnson), Superman/Clark Kent's (John Krasinski) ultimate canine companion. As the film begins, the animated movie reimagines the destruction of Krypton, only here Kal-El is sent to Earth with his furry companion Krypto. Flash forward many years later, Krypto and Superman are the best of friends fighting crime as true friends and companions. Enter Lois Lane, whose relationship with Kent becomes increasingly romantic, disrupting the harmonic life enjoyed by Krypto and Superman. Meanwhile, an adoption center has a group of pets that cannot find homes. These pets include a pig named PB (Vanessa Bayer), a squirrel named Chip (Diego Luna), a turtle named Merton (Natasha Lyonne), and a dog named Ace (Kevin Hart).
Among these group of pets is a devious Guinea Pig named Lulu (Kate McKinnon) who was once owned by Lex Luthor (Marc Maron) as a test subject. McKinnon is having a blast here voicing the maniacally evil and hairless rodent. Her character seeks to regain the affection of Lex by using orange Kryptonite as a method of obtaining superpowers. In the process of doing so, she gives all the pets powers and becomes a supervillain herself. Once Lulu becomes ultra-powerful, she manages to weaken and kidnap Superman, as well as the rest of the Justice League. This places Krypto and his new powerful friends in the position of having to save the DC superheroes.
As this unravels, the writing is sprinkled with gags that are surprisingly clever. For example, Cyborg is placed in airplane mode as a means of incapacitating him as a threat. This is complemented by humorous references to DC Comics and the DCEU throughout the animated spectacle. Some references poke fun for the kids while others are easter eggs for the parents. And to be honest, the DCEU made it easy to roast the movies.
Just like the DC movies, this animated film has an All-Star lineup of talent. While many will be discussing Kate McKinnon's hilarious work as a power-hungry guinea pig, the show stealer is Natasha Lyonne as Merton, a tortoise with Flash-like powers who occasionally drops foul language. But for concerned parents, these moments are intentionally edited out by the iconic censoring noise.
Many will have concerns about Dwayne Johnson playing in this movie as well as Black Adam. The truth, his performance as the voice of Krypto ends up serving the character well. Johnson has always exhibited a commanding cadence in the way he speaks. Here, it is appropriately utilized for Krypto's canine persona. Furthermore, Johnson and Kevin Hart continue to have great chemistry together. Even though it's just voice acting, their fondness for each other shines through the audio.
DC League of Super-Pets does possess a few setbacks. As surprisingly funny as the film becomes, there are some jokes that fall flat. It's one of the common issues that frequently hinder movies for a younger demographic. Specifically, where a writer will craft comedy they believe children will enjoy, instead of respecting their intelligence. But these moments are few and far between. Another issue is the choice of animation style. To be perfectly clear, this is not a critique of the animation work on the film. Animation is one of the hardest and most stress-inducing careers in the industry and it is clear the animation department worked hard to bring the characters in this movie to life on the film. Still, the style choice leaves much to be desired. In an industry where Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse and others like it exist, this movie's approach feels cheaper than intended.
Issues aside, DC League of Super-Pets is a pleasant surprise that families will not see coming. It's not a game changer like many of the Pixar offerings nor is it attempting innovation. It's a silly serviceable superhero movie for kids who love DC characters and pets. Moreover, the parents who grew up with the DC films and comics have plenty of easter eggs and references to enjoy as well. This is a comical and sweet movie. And for the viewers who have adopted pets, this movie might be their emotional kryptonite.
DC League of Super-Pets is now in theaters.
DC League of Super-Pets
DC League of Super-Pets follows the animal companions of various DC heroes in a family-friendly animated adventure. When a number of Justice League Heroes are kidnapped by Lex Luthor, it's up to Krypto (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) and Ace the Bat-Hound (Kevin Hart) to rescue their owners. Also features the voice talents of Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Keanu Reeves, Diego Luna, and Ben Schwartz.