Though not a great year for major Hollywood films on the whole, with onlyCreed,The Hateful Eight,Carol, andMad Max: Fury Roadcoming out as honest-to-goodness classics, 2015 was a peculiarly strong year for animated features. My preference was forShaun the Sheep, the latest lovingly simple and very funny wonder from Aardman Animations, butInside Out,The Peanuts Movie, and, to a lesser extent,Anomalisawere all worthy of the critical hoopla that they garnered; not for nothing,The Good Dinosaurwasn’t half-bad either. The big name in 2016 isFinding Dory, the anticipated follow-up to Pixar’s belovedFinding Nemo, but the latest trailer forThe Secret Life of Petsmakes an argument for the Illumination Entertainment animation. The new trailer is anchored byKevin Hart’s character, Snowball, an adorable bunny who also happens to be the furious leader of some fort of animal resistance. You can check the trailer out right below:
Hart is an ideal candidate for animated features, as the comedies he’s appeared in oftentimes have no idea how to channel his boundless, remarkable comedic energy; I’m looking at you,Ride AlongandThe Wedding Ringer. He had some riotous bit parts inThis is the End,Top Five,andThe Five-Year Engagement, but animation allows him to utilize his vocal might into a more imaginative creation, and The Secret Life of Pets seems to be making good use of him. And he’s in good company, withLouis C.K.andEric Stonestreetplaying the other leads, and an extensive supporting vocal cast that includesAlbert Brooks,Bobby Moynihan,Lake Bell,Steve Coogan,Ellie Kemper,Jenny Slate,Hannibal Buress, andDana Carvey, amongst others.
The film, which will be released on July 8th, also has a healthy (enough) production pedigree withChris Renaud(Despicable Me) directing alongsideYarrow Cheney, who worked as Renaud’s production designer on bothDespicable Memovies andThe Lorax. Though I wasn’t a big fan of the secondDespicable Me, ifThe Secret Life of Petshas anything like the charm of the first film andThe Lorax, we’ll be in business.
