'DC League of Super-Pets' Review: Pets Assemble!
PG: Action, mild violence, language, and rude humor
Runtime: 1 Hr and 46 Minutes
Production Companies: Warner Animation Group, DC Entertainment, Seven Bucks Productions, A Stern Talking To
Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures
Directors: Jared Stern
Writers: Jared Stern, John Whittington
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves
Release Date: July 29, 2022
In “DC League of Super-Pets,” Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime in Metropolis side by side. When Superman and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a rag-tag shelter pack—Ace the hound, PB the potbellied pig, Merton the turtle, and Chip the squirrel—to master their own newfound powers and help him rescue the Super Heroes.
The overabundance of superhero movies we’ve gotten in the past several years has me exhausted, specifically the live-action films. I’m there with open arms whenever it’s an animated WB/DC wheelhouse project, though. After a streak of 4-star movies, such as The LEGO Batman Movie and Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, which were some of the best comedies/animated features of their respective years, I was excited to see how DC League of Super-Pets was gonna end up. Come on, it’s a movie about Kryptooooo the Superdog!
Ever since Illumination’s The Secret Life of Pets made bank, everyone has tried to make their own talking pets movie. From a visual standpoint, they all look about the same. However, League of Super-Pets has great character design work on the pets. Krypto (Dwayne Johnson) looks as stoic as his original comic book design, the primary difference being that he has expressive eyebrows and his voice actor’s smug grin. The pets are not the copy-paste, bright-eyed, fluffy animals you see in every other kids' flick. Their designs are the type of caricature you’d see in a daily strip comic like Mutts or a film like Over the Hedge… or from a graphic novel. The same goes for the Justice League, who all either have their original classic designs (Cc: Superman and Cyborg) or have a new look that matches the zaniness of this world. This is a DC universe where Batman looks like Mr. Incredible and is voiced by Keanu Reeves. What more could you want?
I almost expected this film to be as formulaic as every generic talking animal movie where characters must find their way from point A to point B. But when they have a superhero as their owner, it’s all about the pets saving their BFFs. Thankfully, writers Jared Stern and John Whittington take an endearing approach to make Superman and Krypto’s dynamic something worth woofing for.
The film opens with the Kal-el origin story but with Krypto added to the mix. Krypto was given to Kal to be his protector throughout life. Cut to today and that lifelong friendship turns into toxic co-dependency. Remember how Woody was envious of Buzz being Andy’s favorite new toy? That’s how Krypto is towards Lois Lane, the love of Superman's life. He fantasizes about throwing her into the ocean and listens to Tay Tay’s “Bad Blood”––although I feel Folklore would’ve been a more suitable album––when he’s in his bag. The Superdog has a hard time making friends since he’s all about Kal-El. There isn’t space for two in their studio apartment fortress of solitude. When Superman goes down at the hands of Lulu, an evil hairless guinea pig––what’s up with animation and evil guinea pigs this year?––who obtained superpowers alongside another shelter pet, Krypto must team up with some unadopted animals and make heroes out of them.
The writers could’ve easily made a cash-grab clone of Secret Life of Pets given how financially successful that franchise was. But, being familiar with the works of writer/director Jared Stern, who developed the incredible Green Eggs and Ham Netflix series, I wasn’t surprised to see how much effort he put into making this an honest superhero movie for kids with pets of their own. The frenetic action sequences of pets going up against an army of superpowered guinea pigs are lavish and well-directed. Stern used Man of Steel's destruction as a challenge to cause property damage in Metropolis on the same level as a Snyder film. Outside of the action, the pet ensemble is effortlessly charming and funny without using obnoxious screaming as a mask for comedy. Ace (Kevin Hart) is a laid-back big brother empath, PB (Vanessa Bayer) is optimistic, Chip (Diego Luna) is anxiety-ridden, and Merton (Natasha Lyonne) is old and blind.
The all-star voice ensemble is fantastic. They bring life to their characters and elevate the sentimental moments of the story. Kevin Hart gets his cake and eats it by being in another talking pet movie. He’s the total antithesis of what Snowball was in Secret Life of Pets. As Ace, he delivers a monotonous and calm voice to give his chill, empathetic brother figure character so much soul. Given that his friendship with Johnson has spanned multiple movies and is now presented in animation form, that buddy dynamic is better than ever before. Their banter is naturally funny and when it gets to the emotional beats, it still maintains strong integrity.
Apart from him, I got some huge belly laughs from Natasha Lyonne as Merton, an elderly turtle who curses nonchalantly (give me the PG-13 Lyonne cut). Kate McKinnon as Lulu, I kid you not, is the best superhero movie villain I’ve seen since Ewan McGregor in Birds of Prey. Lulu has the thespianism of Brain from Animaniacs, along with his motivation for world domination, but is also full of Wendy Williams-type sass that you can’t help but love. She is full of funny quips that match the silly tone of the movie and I couldn't help but love her.
The pets and foes that express an impressive amount of personality do a much better job of executing the meaning of teamwork and discovering their powers than some other animated movies out this summer. *Coughs in Lightyear*
Though I am fond of the designs and art direction, the animation quality leaves much to be desired. Outside of the action sequences where the money was spent, the movement has a weird motion blur effect. The movie looks like very early Illumination quality, like the first Despicable Me movie before the studio improved on textures and lighting with their characters. The colorful lighting and production design are shiny, but the character models' motion doesn't feel as polished as the background. Given that the feature animation is done by Animal Logic, who did The LEGO Movie and Legend of the Guardians, it's visually a huge step back from them. The animation on the pets is the main property so they get to be as expressive as they please, but the rest of the Justice League are second fiddle. Some side characters like Flash and Wonder Woman have NPC-looking eyes and are freaky.
Not all the jokes are winners. Granted, this movie has well-written with clever jokes that poke fun at the DC universe and cute comedic bits elevated by the voice actors, but when a joke falls flat, it falls hard. One or two jokes would make me grimace with every five or six chuckles. Plus, the script is very on-the-nose for its audience, which is young kids and that’s fine. The aim is for families and is sincere despite its overwhelming familiarity with the plot and beats.
It’s funny how in a movie where John Krasinski and Dwayne Johnson are Superman and Krypto, their voice performances are as bland as Superman and Krypto. They don’t get to be as lively as the rest of their co-stars even though their relationship is the primary focus of the narrative. To make this feeling whole, they needed to get people who could do comedy in a charismatic manner to hit the same wave of self-awareness the movie goes for. I know Zachary Levi is Shazam but… he would've vocally been a much stronger Superman than Krasinski. Johnson is fine because Krypto is supposed to be stoic but he accomplishes that stoicism and comedy balance in live-action form rather than voice. So when it's time for the comedy, the delivery barely lands as much as it should.
The animation may leave much to be desired but DC League of Super-Pets' silly and earnest nature—along with its great voice cast—compensates for its visual shortcomings. It’s a fun kiddie flick for the whole family that wears its affection on its sleeve. Jared Stern’s balanced eye for action and endearment shines wonderfully and makes for a fun summer animated comedy. Heck, it’s possibly the best superhero movie that the summer, if not the year, has offered thus far.
