The Secret Life of Pets (2016) is a heartfelt animated kids’ movie that almost everyone knows, and if you don’t, you’re missing out!

The movie takes place in New York and focuses on pets and what their lives are when the humans are away. The main characters, Max (voiced by Louis C.K.) and Duke (voiced by Eric Stonestreet) go on a journey together. At first, Max and Duke don’t like each other because Max was an only dog. When his owner, Katie (voiced by Ellie Kemper), introduces him to Duke one night, things get pretty hectic for the next day. Max tried to kick Duke out of their home because he was jealous of Katie giving him more attention than him.

One day, Max and Duke somehow get themselves lost in the city of New York. Throughout their journey of trying to find their way back home, their friends: Gidget,  a white Pomeranian (voiced by Jenny Slate), Pops, a senior basset hound (voiced by Dana Carvey), Tiberius, a grumpy curmudgeonly red-tailed hawk (voiced by Albert Brooks), Mel, a pug (voice by Bobby Moynihan), Buddy, a dachshund (voiced by Hannibal Buress), and Chloe, a sarcastic, gray tabby cat (voiced by Lake Bell) also tried to find Max and Duke to bring them back home.

Max and Duke get involved with a “gang” of animals who ran away from their owners and end up with some trouble with them. At the end of the movie, Max and Duke finally get along with each other, and they have a happy ending with their owner Katie.

I really enjoyed this movie, especially the development of Max and Duke’s brotherly friendship in the end. However, I disliked that the villains were a gang of runaway pets that hurt other pets. I felt like it didn’t really make sense to the plot. Overall, my rating for this movie is 8.5/10.

There’s a sequel to the movie, The Secret Lives of Pets 2 which was released in 2019! You should definitely check that movie out, too.