The Secret Life of Pets
Universal Pictures | Release Date: July 8, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
15
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJul 6, 2016
The Secret Life of Pets is funnier than Zootopia and fresher than Finding Dory. Bonus points for a genuinely touching finale that had me crying behind my 3-D glasses. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsRaakhee MirchandaniJun 29, 2016
Here's something dog people and cat people can agree on: The Secret Life of Pets is hilarious, sweet and as fun for parents as the brats they take with them to the movies. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeJun 16, 2016
The formula may be familiar, but the personalities are completely fresh, yielding a menagerie of loveable — if downright ugly — cartoon critters banding together to help these two incompatible roommates from ending up on the streets. Read full review
75
MTV NewsAmy NicholsonJul 14, 2016
Where Dory was saccharine, Pets is anarchic. It’s the difference between Mickey Mouse and Looney Tunes or The Muppets, where crazy creatures take aim at each other with cannons. That sense of play infects the animation, which favors fun over photo-realism. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 8, 2016
The Secret Life of Pets is strong enough that parents won’t fall into a catatonic state while watching it with their offspring. Unlike top-notch animated fare, however, it’s questionable whether this can be considered “destination fare” for the single adult. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorJul 7, 2016
If children will be entertained by the unwilling roommates’ narrow escape from cats, dog catchers and the Flushed Pets, it is the mass of surrounding detail, from the glittering Manhattan skyline and Gidget’s sleek modernist pad to the animals’ remarkable mastery of domestic technology, that will impress the adults. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversJul 7, 2016
An animated fluffball that does everything to drive you crazy and ends up by being totally irresistible. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubJul 7, 2016
Laughs are laughs, whether you know some of the punch lines ahead of time or not. And The Secret Life of Pets has plenty of laughs. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJul 7, 2016
The disposable, summer diversion that many families will be looking for as temperatures rise and the start of school seems so far away, but most won’t be able to remember after they see it. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJul 7, 2016
In much the same way that the smash "Zootopia" demonstrated that creatures of different culture and class and species are better off when they come together, The Secret Life of Pets is a testament to teamwork and friendship and fixing the rifts that divide us. Let the fur - and the warm, fuzzy feelings - fly. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartJul 7, 2016
Albert Brooks shows up as a red-tailed hawk whose desire to help clashes with his killer instincts; Dana Carvey is pitch-perfect as the ancient basset hound whose back legs are in a wheelchair. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeJul 6, 2016
As it progresses, The Secret Life Of Pets starts to overreach dramatically, and loses some of its charm in the process. Read full review
75
USA TodayBrian TruittJul 6, 2016
Secret Life anchors itself on an oh-so-familiar concept but sparkles most when imagining some of its crazier shenanigans. Read full review
70
Village VoiceBilge EbiriJul 6, 2016
The Secret Life of Pets is an ADD-addled mess of a movie — and that, amazingly, is its charm. Read full review
70
Screen DailyWendy IdeJun 16, 2016
The latest film from Chris Renaud (Despicable Me) and his team is a madcap caper full of densely-packed sight gags, dizzying action set pieces and a healthy side-helping of Renaud trademark silliness. Read full review
67
HitfixDrew McWeenyJul 7, 2016
Like any comedy that throws 1000 jokes at you, some land and some don’t, but it’s the confident, cheerful energy of the humor that carries the day. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJul 7, 2016
Like a dog that endlessly chases its tail in circles, Pets is amusing for a while, then it just tires itself out. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesJul 6, 2016
Crafted by much of the same creative team behind the "Despicable Me" franchise, The Secret Life has wit, for sure, but it could use more balls. Read full review
67
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerJul 6, 2016
For a film designed to spawn ancilliary products and sequels, Pets is not entirely without its charms Read full review
67
IndieWireBen CrollJun 21, 2016
Moves like a bat out of hell from frame one, though if you’re looking for any kind of emotion you might be barking up the wrong tree. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoJul 7, 2016
Its animal spin on unlikely-buddies interplay is amusing enough, but hardly as inspired as the teaser promised. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldJul 7, 2016
There’s a funny, offbeat movie lurking in the details here. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaJul 6, 2016
The film's messy pile-up of comic diversions can be exhilarating in the moment—the chaos of an id given free rein. Read full review
60
ScreenCrushE. Oliver WhitneyJul 7, 2016
It might not be remembered in years to come, but it’s good family entertainment, and sometimes that’s enough. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJul 7, 2016
The Secret Life of Pets is adequate animated entertainment, amusing while it lasts but not especially memorable except as a catalog of compromises and missed opportunities. Read full review
60
TheWrapRobert AbeleJul 7, 2016
For all the genuine charm on display, you may be disappointed to find that manic activity overtakes said charm, and that more isn’t made of a simple, clever premise. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 7, 2016
The Secret Life of Pets is a pleasant-enough movie that would have been much better had it lived up to its title. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawJul 6, 2016
It’s not ground-breaking, but there are laughs, and it is a good audience movie. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJul 6, 2016
A sweet, harmless bit of big-screen fluff, and one of the more enjoyable, and cuddly, animated films to hit theaters so far this year. Read full review
60
The TelegraphRobbie CollinJun 23, 2016
To borrow a screenwriting buzz-phrase, "fun and games" is all you get, and the lack of meaningful connective tissue between the antics means the film begins to flag far earlier than it should. Read full review
60
EmpireJonathan PileJun 20, 2016
An affable adventure with a strong voice cast. What it lacks in originality, it claws back with strong visual gags and a witty script. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeJun 20, 2016
There are some funny-sweet observations about pets and our projections on to them. And the animation is expressive.... But the manic pace, piling on the action sequences, is exhausting. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerJun 16, 2016
Like the professional dogwalker who can’t exactly keep count of Max and his cohorts, it feels like the filmmakers are juggling too many chatty creatures at once, while trying to maintain a plot that tends to grow more outlandish as the story progresses. Read full review
58
The Film StageBill GrahamJul 8, 2016
While there’s rarely a story beat that isn’t expected, there’s just enough humor from its all-star comedy voice cast to enjoy the journey. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJul 7, 2016
This is a two-star movie with moments of sheer exuberance and clever good fun — but just as many scenes that had me tilting my head like a dog trying to figure out what the WHAT is taking place before his very eyes. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 7, 2016
The humor is generic. And the film’s most obvious comparison — it’s been called “Toy Story” with animals — only points up the one thing “Pets” lacks, and that any animal lover will tell you their furred and feathered friends have, in spades: personality. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 6, 2016
Speaking of Looney, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how violent this pre-tween farce is. Slapfights, brawls, violent death and near-death experiences abound. Along with butt-sniffing and toilet-sipping (at a party) gags. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 7, 2016
There’s no secret life because there’s no life, only the promise of pets in perpetual motion. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJul 7, 2016
Resisting the temptation to invest its characters and storytelling with any particularly winsome, distinctive qualities, the film quickly devolves into an infernally busy and overextended chase sequence crammed with desperately unfunny comic patter and noisy, pointless action. Read full review
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