The school holiday animated flick is often a hit-and-miss affair. Its critical success relies on the studio getting the right level of universal appeal; a delicate golden ratio that balances the age of its audience.
Catering for children, parents, and grandparents can't be an easy feat and we've all had our share of wading through a movie that didn't quite get this golden ratio right.
It's a trying experience and I was hoping that The Secret Life of Pets wasn't going to join the company of holiday films that tout cheap double entendres and simple slap-stick humour.
Directed by Chris Renaud (Despicable Me) and newcomer Yarrow Cheney, The Secret Life of Pets is set among the high-rise apartments of Manhattan. The film focuses on a dog named Max (voiced by Louis C.K.) whose life is turned upside down when his owner arrives home with another dog named Duke (Eric Stonestreet).
The two jostle for their pecking order, however this only ends with an unfortunate mishap that results in the couple getting lost.